#I tried to avoid romance focused scenes

[sweatyracoon]

Can you write something with a very lovesick and obsessed virgin!hyunjin please? ❤️

Movie Lovers

A/n: I'm so happy to receive an ask! And I was really happy to write for another skz member! Thank you!

Warnings: smut, inexperienced Hyunjin!, soft dom! Reader, obsessed Hyunjin, fluff, dry humping, language

You two had been friends for a while. After meeting Hyunjin, you were both inseparable, and you quickly became friends with the rest of his band mates.

It was so easy to be yourself with them. They made you feel welcome.

Three years into the friendship, it was common that you stayed with Hyunjin, and no one questioned it. It was just what was most comfortable for you both, thriving in the others presence.

Every Tuesday and Thursday were your designated movie nights; that was tonight.

You both enjoyed romance and sad movies, so that was normally your go to. It wasn't often, however, that there were intimate scenes. You both tried to avoid those, but you had seen a really good movie you thought he would like, convincing him to watch it.

You though that scenes like that made him uncomfortable, and assured him that you could skip it, that it wasn't essential to the plot.

But in all honestly, if he were to watch something like that with you right next to him, he would lose his mind.

He had been crushing on you for about a year now, and you still had no idea.

He didn't want to imagine you in such unholy ways, especially because he doesn't even know if he's imagining things right. He had never seen a woman. He didn't even watch porn, but he knew all about that stuff.

It almost made it unbearable when he was hard at night, not knowing what you look like underneath your clothes.

He admits, your sexy with them on, but if he could see you without them, just once, he'd die happy.

You both spread out on the queen bed in his room, legs tangled as you both cuddled under the blanket. You started the movie.

About forty minutes in, the sex scene was about to start.

"You want me to skip it?" You whisper, unsure if he was awake or not. He had a habit of falling asleep on movie nights.

"No, it's okay. Just leave it," he responded. He sounded interested in it, so you let it be, enjoying the characters in the screen.

As it slowly picked up the pace, Hyunjin couldn't help but imagine it as he and you, tensing as he noticed his breathing getting heavier. You were basically attached, and he didn't want you catching scent of how he was feeling.

He could feel himself hardening in his sweats, his body reacting to the moans on the screen.

He wondered what yours would sound like.

You felt the heat coming from his body, turning to look at him.

His eyes were glued to the screen, deeply focused. You noticed the light sweat that breached his hairline, and the way his nostrils flared with each breath. His lips parted slightly as his teeth clipped his bottom lip, a small hiss could be heard.

His shoulders lifted and fell quickly, telling you that he was being affected by the heated sex on the screen. It made you grin.

It was no secret that you found him attractive, but the secret was that you had been wanting to be more than friends.

Ever since you met him, he was a charming gentleman that loved to make you laugh.

He was everything you needed in this world.

The sight before you tonight however, was not one you realized you needed. You could feel the wetness sticking against the fabric of your panties.

"Hyunjin?" He didn't respond to you, still looking at the screen with glazed eyes. His breathing stayed consistent, but still heavier than normal.

You brought your hand to his forehead, feeling the burn that boiled his beautiful skin.

He jumped at the contact, glancing at you, the screen, and back before blinking the blur from them.

"Yeah?"

You looked at his soft eyes with your own, asking, "You feeling okay? Your burning up."

His eyes widened, his breath hitching in his throat.

"Yeah I'm fine, just a little warm is all," He sighed, tugging at the blanket around the both of your shoulders.

Just then you realized that your legs were on his in a weird position, your body heat falling into his own. You felt bad, so you started to move.

"Sorry about that, Jinnie," You apologize before pulling the blanket from him, making him wince from the air filled room.

"Wait! Don't move your leg," He said suddenly, making you freeze.

"What? Why?" You were halfway off of him, the blanket completely gone from his body. Your leg was still draped over his, and the longer you waited for a reason, the more uncomfortable it became.

"I'm about to get a cramp, Jin. I'm moving my leg,"

Before he could protest, you tugged your leg from his own, his heavy leg stopping you mid tug.

That was when you felt something that you probably shouldn't have.

At the sudden friction, he let out a strangled whimper, quickly bringing his hand to cover his face.

Your eyes widened, not expecting to find your best friend hard with you draped over him.

"Hyunjin?" You stopped moving your leg, your thigh now pressed flush against his boner.

"I'm sorry. I got a little worked up. Just ignore it, it'll go away," He muttered through his fingers.

"The movie?" You asked, grabbing his wrist to pull it from his face.

"No...Yes? Kinda... I don't know!" He was flustered, you could tell.

Whenever he got embarrassed, he would frown and smile at the same time, making him look a lot younger than he actually was.

"What do you mean, Jinnie? What's got you all worked up?" You unintentionally flexed your leg, trying to get more comfortable, only to get another whine from him.

"Just some thoughts, y/n," he tilted his head back, closing his eyes, and let out a long breath.

You felt his cock twitch in his pants, making you grin slightly.

"Explain it to me. What were you thinking about?" You brought your hand up to his chest, brushing circles against his collar bone.

"Just you..." He shivered, his eyes widening once he realized what he just said.

"Wait...No i-"

"Me Jinnie? Thinking about me doing what?" You smile coyly at him, making him swallow hard.

He didn't mean to say it, but when he did, he expected you to freak out. Instead you leaned in closer. It made him impossibly harder.

"I just...I was imagining those people as us," He let out a shaky sigh, looking back down to you.

"Really? You want those things?" You ask him, bringing your hand to his neck.

"Yes," He breathed, his eyes lidded, glazed over with lust.

You thought he looked like a statue in this moment, one that would keep on display indefinitely.

"With me?" You asked as you leaned closer, both of your breaths mingling. He looked so angelic, it nearly killed you.

"Please, y/n..."

It was all you needed to close the gap, kissing him hard. You could tell you were his first kiss, but it didn't make the experience any less than. It somehow made it better.

Knowing that you were the first to do these things to him, that he trusted you enough to care for him.

And he felt the same way. He didn't know what he was doing, but he knew that you wouldn't care. That you would teach him properly.

He was yours.

You nipped at his bottom lip, asking for entrance, but Hyunjin didn't know. You figured that out, so you pushed your leg against him again, making him gasp into the kiss, your tongue swallowing all of his sweet moans.

You grabbed at his collar, leaning backwards, pulling him on top of you. Your thigh was still in-between his legs.

He pulled away from the kiss, his breathing ragged as he watched the mixture of both of your saliva drip from his mouth to your cheek. He thought it was the hottest thing he had ever seen.

"You want to feel good, baby?" You ask him, waiting for his answer. You wanted to leave the pace to him.

He nodded, making you smile sweetly at him. His tall, broad frame hovered over yours, yet you were the one in control, and he loved it.

"Make yourself feel good, then. Maybe I'll give you something a bit extra," You nod towards your thigh, making him whine, his brows furrowing.

"How..?" He honestly didn't know how. And it made you coo at him.

His confused look made you hotter, the wetness in between your own legs growing.

You lifted your leg, brushing against him. He sighed at the light contact, suddenly connecting what he needs to do.

He grinded his hips down into your plush flesh, a loud moan escaping from his throat. You felt how hard he was beneath his sweats, and you could tell he was above average in length.

You were getting impatient, but stayed still for him, loving his sounds.

He kept grinding into you, his hands placed on either side of your head. He loved the way the softness of your leg encompassed his clothed dick, the inner lining of his pants brushing against his slit perfectly.

His pace began to quicken, the sweat on his face more noticeable than before. His eyes squeezed shut at the feeling in his core, never having experienced it before.

He opened his eyes, letting a groan out at the sight. With each thrust, your entire body went with him. Your eyes watching his expressions with a grin, just letting him get off by using you. It made him cum quicker than he realized, his body convulsing at the force, but he tried his best not to put his body weight on you.

As he let out one last final moan, you hugged him, rubbing his back as he came down from his high, his hips giving one last final rut into your leg.

His breathing slowed, returning to normal after a few minutes.

"You okay, Jinnie?" You whisper. You let your hand run through his sweaty mullet, hoping he was comfortable.

"I'm amazing," He let's out with a shaky breath. "I've never done that before," he lifted his head to rest his chin in between your breasts.

"No ones touched you before?" You found it hard to believe, since he is the sexiest man alive.

He nodded, "I've never even touched myself, you know? I wanted to wait for the right person," he explained. His eyes shook, embarrassment creeping onto his features.

You could tell that he was sensitive right now, probably from his orgasm, so you decided to skip teasing, and save it for later.

"Well I'm honored that I could help you out-" you smile, but noticed the look on his face fell. "What is it, Jin?"

"I was kinda hoping we could be something more. More than friends, I mean," He was still avoiding your gaze, now pinching your skin in between his fingers.

"You like me? Like, like me?" You were confused. You had liked him for years, but never thought he reciprocated the feelings.

He finally looked at you.

"I have for a a very long time, y/ninnie. I can't believe you couldn't see it. The others did, but I told them not to say anything," His eyes glowed with a loving gaze as he stared at you in silent questioning, and it made your heart swell.

"So you want me to be your girlfriend?" You asked, your smile widening by the second.

"Yes! My god, y/n! Yes," He pretended to be annoyed, but the smile on his face said otherwise, making you smile.

"Fine. But you have to be my boyfriend," you tease, poking his cheek.

"One would think those two things go together," he grins.

"Just had to make sure."

You both lied down together in his bed, turning the tv off as you embraced one another.

The first night you share together is absolutely priceless, and your glad you found him.

Thanks anon for the ask! Hope you like it!🤎

[techwrecker]

The Bad Batch Off-Duty Headcanons

✧Hunter

His favorite off-duty activity is fishing off the pier. Due to his heightened senses, sometimes he just needs a quiet break with a little action.

Sometimes will bring Echo with him when he wants a little company. Usually they sit in a comfortable silence.

Conversation includes the occasional complaints about the goings-on of the Marauder. ("Wrecker left his used blacks on my bunk, again.")

Can be coerced into going to 79's but only if Wrecker offers to pay for the first round.

Self-Appointed DD (Except for that one weekend but we don't talk about that one weekend. EVER.)

✧Wrecker

Absolute Bumper Speeder junkie

Will beg and beg and BEG anybody he can to go with him once they're off.

He knows exactly how to wear each of the batcher's down. (But crosshair always manages to disappear before he can get to him)

He does calculations on the fly all day to calibrate the correct elements for the explosive reaction he needs, so bumper speeders is a way to just let it all go

Wrecker doesn't have a hard time having a good time. He's a pretty happy-go-lucky guy on on and off duty.

His favorite waitress at 79's has a specially mixed strong brew for him. Because he's so much bigger, the alcohol content is way high. (But he’s on unofficial friendly probation for a few weeks by the 79’s manager because of that one weekend.)

At the end of the night, he's usually doing karaoke with whatever poor sap of a clone he was able to rope into it.

Can still carry everybody back to the Marauder on his shoulders

When he's not pal-ing around, Wrecker can be found sweating at the Republic-sanctioned Workout Station.

✧Crosshair

He typically stays pretty close to the Marauder when he's off-duty.

A surprisingly big reader. Prefers history holos or historical fiction. (One time Echo caught him with a historical romance holo, but in his defense, "the summary had no indication it was romance!") ((He secretly enjoyed it.))

Even though he's off-duty, he still shines and cleans his rifle every day. Can't have it crukking out on him mid-mission!

Depending on the planet they're on, he actually likes to go out with Wrecker and try the local cuisine and food stalls. Sometimes he'll try and convince Tech to go back to a planet just for a food he's craving. (Tech only obliges if Crosshair promises to clean his gear, too. Maker knows he is the least tidy out of all of them.)

79’s isn’t really his scene unless the whole batch is together & even still, he tries to stick to the outskirts to avoid unsavory company.

There’s a few buddies in the 501st that he’ll talk to occasionally because they share an affinity for artillery and sharp shooting (Echo introduced them)

Has to intervene when Wrecker gets too crazy (don’t worry, no fighting… except that one weekend…) and reassure his large friend that “yes, wrecker, everybody is your friend... whatever helps you sleep at night…”

✧Tech

Tech is never really “off-duty”. His projects and experiments are his hobby. Besides, if he wasn’t fixing the Marauder from the most recent mission on the off days, when would the crew find time to do it next?

But if the Marauder is (surprisingly) in complete “working” condition, he focuses more on his hand held technological upgrades by himself or weaponry experiments with Wrecker.

He and Wrecker were commanded by Hunter to yell an obligatory “CLEAR!” whenever they do a new explosion text (because of that one one weekend)

Spends his extra extra free time at the deep used markets on the lower levels of Coruscant to scrounge and barter for parts he needs for his projects.

"I hardly think a second rate, third generation circuitry coupling is worth fifteen credits. I could get better parts from the dumpster outside Dex's during All-Species Week."

Tech will typically just nurse a sweet drink at 79's because "why drink something that does not taste good? It would have little value beyond the mind altering effects."

✧Echo

Always visiting and making plans with his 501st buddies

79's is the place to be when Echo is around. He becomes the life of the party with his old command. (Everybody blames him for that one weekend we don't speak of...)

Prefers to get as drunk as fast as possible

Happens rarely, but Echo gets the WORST hangover and regrets his entire life. Not fun to be around when that happens. "WRECKER! I said. Shut. Your. Mouth." (but he goes out to buy him Mantell Mix as an apology.)

When they're not available, sometimes he will help Tech out with his mad scientist projects, but usually he gets worn out from Tech Talk after a couple hours.

Likes to go on whatever scenic route walks are available to him on the planet they happen to be on that week. (It helps reduce the feedback he gets constantly through his headpiece ever since Skako Minor.)

Will catalog new flora and fauna to the database for Tech on his walks.

Has definitely made a few furry little friends & always brings treats with him to share

Once he finds a great view, he likes to meditate for a few minutes and really soak it all in. It helps keep him focused & calm. (Especially since life with the Batch isn't exactly serene...)

When fishing with Hunter, he likes to create new lures for Hunter to see what the biggest fish he can get (Most impressive catch so far was 42lb/19kg at 10ft/3m) (And yes, of course, he scanned the aquatic creature and saved the records for Tech.)

His datapad background is either of Hunter holding up the latest, most impressive catch OR its of the most breath-taking scenery in the galaxy taken by himself.

[acourtofthought]

Tamlin was the first one to try to stop the King of Hybern during the cauldron scene. Does that undermine what Lucien did?  Lucien thought Elain was in danger in the Night Court but he told Tamlin to “get her back” instead of trying to save Elain himself. Yet Sarah notes that this behavior is that of “a mate already going wild to defend what was his.” Lucien only left the Spring Court when Feyre was already leaving and he had to leave anyways for his safety. Does that undermine his actions? Mor was the first to offer to go search for Vassa. Does that undermine what Lucien did? Unlike Cassian, Azriel didn’t offer to go after the Valkyries at all when they were taken to the blood rite, even though this happens after the bonus chapter. He only said that they needed to get Eris. Does this mean he doesn't care?

No because Tamlin's actions were focused on the king while Lucien's were focused on Elain.

Even as recent as SF we know Tamlin is in love with Feyre therefore it's logical to assume that anything he does is about her. Protecting her, helping her, etc. Tamlin trying to stop the King doesn't have anything to do with Elain specifically so much as Tamlin trying to stop the Kings madness overall because this wasn't what he agreed to (something verified when he says "this is not part of our deal"). A deal which was made in order to break Feyre's bargain with Rhys and get her back.

But Lucien? He tried to step towards Elain before she was put in. Someone he broke free of the kings shackles for, someone who was then revealed as his mate. Lucien paid no attention to Nesta as she was put into the Cauldron, he was more interested in picking up Elain and holding her in his arms so she didn't have more of the Cauldron dumped onto her.

How can anything Lucien did for Elain be undermined when he had never even met her? They were complete strangers yet his instinct wasn't to stop the King but go to her.

This is Rhys after his bond snapped, after suspecting he had a bond with Feyre for months:

No, I don't think Lucien's actions, the "get her back" moment, means his bond with Elain should undermined. He was completely blindsided by the snapping of his bond. If Rhys nearly stole Feyre away but only managed to avoid it by winnowing then I think Lucien being out of his head and having no idea what he was doing or saying can be forgiven. How often do we see Lucien panting and snarling? He's usually quite controlled so it's clear he was a bit out of his mind. Also.... how exactly would Lucien be able to get her back from a High Lord in that moment? "Lucien should have gotten her back himself!". Except Rhys sent Mor in to Spring to retrieve Feyre, right? He didn't even go get his own mate so it's not really as simple as everyone claims.

No, Lucien leaving with Feyre after Spring's downfall doesn't undermine his own actions because Lucien wanted to get Elain back long before that:

End of ACOMAF:

Start of ACOWAR:

People need to remember Lucien is not yet a HL and definitely did not have the power to go against the most powerful HL of Prythian history at the beginning of ACOWAR.

Lucien isn't stupid. Getting himself killed trying to get Elain isn't going to help Elain therefore it was necessary for him to form a plan, not just storm the gates. He knew Feyre was playing him but he knew he had to play the game.

However he was ready to get Elain long before the Spring Court fell, it was just Feyre was finally done playing the game at that point which meant he could then demand his answers.

If another male had been the first to suggest going after Vassa than it might undermine Lucien's actions a bit more but girl power is a theme in Sarah's novels, just as much as the romance. However we also need to remember Lucien is not an Inner Circle member. He doesn't get to order the IC around and tell them how they should be operating, what soldiers they should be sending out, that he should be the one to handle the information accordingly. He rightly gave them time to work through the information as it was presented to the NC since he was only a guest, then spoke up. But either way, he was the only male who fought for her vision.

He was also clearly stunned by everything that had just been revealed:

What happens to Elain also affects Lucien and I think people forget that. Just like her depression caused him actual devestation. I think people need to give the guy a few moments to process the information since she's literally the other half of his soul, whether they accept the bond or not.

Once again, people forget a mated male struggles to react rationally.

In SF, Az was not a mated male. Even if he has a bond with Gwyn he's got no clue, just like Rowan didn't seem affected by Aelin's multiple near death experiences at first. Because of this Az was able to logic that entering the Rite meant her death. I don't think Az would have cared about his own safety but when the laws clearly state she would die too, that it would guarantee her death and he at this point in time was level headed enough to remember that in the way a newly mated male could not, I think it makes sense why he wasn't overcome by emotion to the point it would risk her life.

But Az showing zero concern for Elain when Elain was put into the Cauldron? Az being second to Cassian in offering Elain a dagger? Az not believing in Elain's ability to handle the Trove? Az not feeling Elain's vision was worth pursuing? Az putting Elain's life at risk for both Feyre and Briar simply because he wanted to be the hero who could do it all? Az avoiding Elain at her lowest and only looking into her riddles after Feyre asked it of him? Az looking at Mor with lust while Elain sat in the room with them? Az never giving her credit for her bravery during the war? These things do undermine the supposed feelings he has for her.

[isfjmel-phleg]

@healerqueen asked:

I haven't been around long enough to hear you say all of it, so I'd like to hear it. I'm an uninitiated reader who hasn't read much Wodehouse. I haven't heard about Psmith as much as other Wodehouse. I'd like to know the basics and hear a pitch for why it's worth reading. I'd also like some tips for a first-time reader. Is it a good introduction to Wodehouse?

The Psmith series was my introduction to Wodehouse. These books may not be the most typical of Wodehouse's work in general, but the humor and characterization was enough to make me interested in reading more. I would consider the final book, Leave It to Psmith, as a good example of Wodehouse at his best. It's a light romance/heist story, with lots of convoluted plot twists and connections, witty language, and distinctive characterization.

Anyway, the Psmith series came out of a period when Wodehouse near the beginning of his writing career was moving away from the school stories that he had been writing for boys' magazines and toward writing for adults. The first Psmith book is the last and best of his school stories. Known most often as Mike and Psmith today, it was the sequel to a story serialized as Jackson Junior, about the schoolboy Mike Jackson, youngest of a family of cricketing brothers, and his struggles with school sports politics and his relationship with his next-oldest brother, who is less talented than him. You don't have to read this story to understand the Psmith series (there is a lot of cricket in it). All you need to know at the beginning of Mike and Psmith is that Mike Jackson is an excellent cricketer but a terrible student, so his father pulls him out of his school and sends him to a smaller, more academically focused school.

Where he meets Rupert Psmith, who has been sent there for similar reasons. Psmith is an immaculately-dressed, monocled teenager who adopts a world-weary air, has a distinctively grandiose style of speech, and has added a silent p to his surname to make it more dinstinguished. He also happens to be a brilliant social manipulator who can talk his way into and out of just about any situation. He and Mike hit it off at once, and the subsequent story is about their friendship as Psmith tries to get Mike out of scrapes and the both of them try to avoid the indignity of getting roped onto their hated new school's cricket team. Hilarity ensues.

The next book, Psmith in the City, involves Mike and Psmith having to work at a London bank instead of going to university as previously intended. Neither of them want to be there, so the story is about how they survive the ordeal (particularly Psmith's ongoing battle of wits with their tyrannical boss) and how Psmith ultimately gets them out of it. Very hilarious, but also poignant at times.

This was folllowed by Psmith, Journalist, in which Psmith joins Mike on a cricket tour of the US and, on a visit to New York City, manages to turn a magazine called Cosy Moments into a platform for exposing horrific living conditions in the tenements, which inadvertently gets him involved in a gang war. This is the weakest of the series, with some content that hasn't aged well and much less emphasis on Mike and Psmith's friendship (Mike is absent for much of it), but it contains some hilarious scenes, such as Psmith's trying to pass off Mike as a renowned cat expert to a hard-bitten gangster with a soft spot for cats.

These three all appeared in a British boys' magazine around 1908-10 and are set around that time. They were not published in America until much later, so when Wodehouse at the insistence of his daughter wrote a new Psmith story in 1923 to be serialized in an American publication, the Saturday Evening Post, he assumed that his audience would be unfamiliar with the character and wrote the story in a way that could work as a standalone, while still fitting in with the previous works. Leave It to Psmith is about how Psmith, having lost his father and the family fortune, is looking for employment as an alternative to working in his uncle's dreary fish business. He ends up getting hired to come to Blandings Castle in the guise of a terrible Canadian poet to steal a diamond necklace for reasons that will ultimately benefit the recently married Mike and his wife. It also turns out that the newly hired librarian at Blandings happens to be Eve Halliday, whom Psmith has decided he is in love with after he sees her caught in the rain and gives her an umbrella (...that doesn't belong to him. long story), and he jumps at the chance to be near her. The result is convoluted hilarity to an even greater degree than previous stories, with a happy ending. Psmith never appears in another Wodehouse story again.

I wrote a series of posts last year about why I like each book--Mike and Psmith; Psmith in the City; Psmith, Journalist; and Leave It to Psmith--if you'd like more about my personal affection for the series. They're not everyone's cup of tea, but they meant a lot to me during a difficult time in my life.

And you further asked:

I noticed a reference to Blandings Castle in the first page of the Psmith typeset you posted. Does Blandings appear in several of Wodehouses's books? Are the separate series interconnected?

Yes, Blandings Castle is a recurring location in Wodehouse's books. It crosses over with multiple of his series. Leave It to Psmith is the fourth Psmith book, but it is also the second Blandings Castle book, if that makes any sense. (You do not need to read Something New / Something Fresh to understand Leave It to Psmith, by the way.) The character Uncle Fred first appears in a non-Blandings short story but would become a recurring character in the series. None of the characters from the Jeeves series appear at Blandings, but both series do occur in the same fictional universe.

These are all the books in which Blandings Castle appears:

Something New / Something Fresh (1915) (the former is the original US edition, the latter signficantly revised for the UK)

Leave it to Psmith (1923)

Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (1935) (first six short stories, set between Leave It to Psmith and Summer Lightning)

Summer Lightning (1929)

Heavy Weather (1933)

Lord Emsworth and Others (1937) (short story: "The Crime Wave at Blandings")

Uncle Fred in the Springtime (1939)

Full Moon (1947)

Nothing Serious (1950) (short story: "Birth of a Salesman")

Pigs Have Wings (1952)

Service with a Smile (1961)

Galahad at Blandings (1965)

Plum Pie (1966) (short story: "Sticky Wicket at Blandings")

A Pelican at Blandings (1969)

Sunset at Blandings (1977) (unfinished after Wodehouse's death)

I consider the earlier stories (Something New through Uncle Fred in the Springtime) to be the best; the prose is particularly excellent and they seem less consciously formulaic than the later installments. But there are many people who enjoy the later books a lot too. It's a matter of taste.

[the-french-laundry]

The Problem with Claire Bear (and how to fix it in S4 without making Clairmy endgame)

This critic is focusing on the writing and is not meant to be an attack against the actress in any way! Also this is my personal opinion.

I must confess, that i am relatively new to the fandom, but 'the Bear' has a chokehold on me for a couple of weeks now. The way it has so many different characters and tries to explore their personalities, their shortcomings, their problems and anxiety, hooked me from the start and i loved to see how they developed over the three Seasons, we have now. But then there's Claire. And she just doesn't work at all.

The number thing and Claire accepting anything

When she first appeared in the supermarket and had that talk with Carmen Berzatto, i couldn't shake off the feeling that this whole scene was very awkward and almost non-human. Of course, we know that Carmen can be socially awkward and seeing his old childhood friend, which he ghosted, is a weird situation for a lot of people. Given his own difficulties to deal with situations like that, it makes sense why he gave her a fake number. I know, she asked multiple times if it is okay, but the whole number thing is a clear sign that he is either avoiding contact, because he doesn't feel ready enough to deal with a past relationship or that, deep down, he doesn't actually want it and uses it as an excuse so that he doesn't have to say it out loud.

Seriously, if i would've been Claire, that would be a RED FLAG for me and i'd stop trying to force any contact. But the script wanted a romance, so it literally made Claire an all forgiving person. She just takes Carmen's bullshit and never truly questions it or tries to make him question those things. She always reassures him, that he's doing good and all, which is supportive and cute, but it doesn't help Carmy's broken personality in any way. It never questions, it never tackles his character to move past this. And in the end, it doesn't help Claire too because this relationship feels very one-sided. She's always there for him, tries to keep the contact, supports him, confesses her love first (even though if it was via voicemail), but Carmy isn't able to give it back to Claire in any form.

Claire got no personality

This is very obvious, but it needs to be said. The script gave Claire nothing to create an interesting or engaging personality. After i finished Season 3 i did a small recap in my head and all i could say about her is: She was Carmy's girlfriend and she is working as a doctor. That's all. And it made me bonkers somehow, because 'The Bear' has so many well-written female characters - Sydney, Tina, Natalie, Donna, Chef Terry. Even Jessica and Tiff, without having much screentime, had more developed character traits that made them stand out. But the script is not able to give Claire something that would make her more than just Carmy's forced relationship!? We rarely see, why she even has this crush on him - maybe due to their childhood friendship, any special moments they'd shared in the past before they met again at the supermarket? No, nothing and i think this is sad. Because with all that, Claire becomes a character, that can be easily written out of the script, without leaving a hole in the story.

Carmen would still have his New York David Fields trauma, mixed with the death of his brother Michael, he would still pressure himself. The rest could be easily explained through the dynamic he has with Sydney and the team - the fear of letting them down, of being not good enough, of not deserving happiness at all etc.

An environment of forcing it

Now it gets a little bit personal. When i was younger, i had a best friend, whom i really liked - but just as a friend. At one point however he started to have feelings for me and asked, if we shouldn't just try and see where it gets, which i didn't want out of fear that it might ruin our friendship. A lot of friends we both known at that time, told me multiple times that we would be such a great match, that he really cares for me and we would be cute together. It gaslighted me into the believe that, well... maybe i should just try. Also because i didn't want to disappoint my best friend. In the end, it was a mess and it ruined our friendship. But why am i telling this story? Because Carmy's and Claire's relationship kind of reminds me of that.

The people around Carmy are constantly talking about Claire, about her being a saint and that she is good for him, that they totally match and that he has a crush on her (e.g. in the conversation with Richie and Michael during the Christmas episode). Yet it never really feels like Carmen loves her deeply enough to make a long-term relationship work. He cares for her and likes her, that much is clear, but i feels forced, whenever they share moments together - not from Claire's side, but from Carmy's side. As if he always has to reassure himself, that he indeed loves Claire. And my theory about his flashbacks of their time together, is that it is more because of his own guilt. He never wanted to hurt Claire and he understands that what he said was deeply painful to her. Confessing that to himself is hard and an apology is needed. But i don't think it would be good if they straight up reset their whole relationship.

What can S4 do to save this mess?

The apology is a big thing that is in fact needed. To jump over his own shadow and to find piece for himself and for Claire, Carmen needs to apologize to her. By talking about what happen and recognizing how bad he'd treated her during the walk-in freezer incident, he also gives her the chance to close that case for herself, so that she doesn't think it was her own fault and therefore she can move on with her life. But it would also make sense that Carmen reflects if he really loves her as deep as he thought he would. In my opinion, the script didn't give us enough to undermine the argument that he does. So looking at that, it would be great to see how he confesses to her, how he'd always thought they were meant to be, but in the end his feelings were not enough for that to happen, that he got carried away by the expectations of those around him and his own anxiety. And maybe we learn, that Claire experienced something similar to that, realizing that they could've been great friends but weren't meant to be more.

Even though i don't like the character of Claire, given the fact that she is in the series now, it would only be fair to close her character arc with an apology and a wholesome conclusion for both her and Carmy before they part ways.

-

Thanks for coming to my short TED Talk. Feel free to tell me your thoughts or add the things i might've missed.

[byersfanclub]

if you’re ever having byler doubt just remember that milkman has never spent a season TOGETHER like as a COUPLE without FIGHTING or BREAKING UP. jancy shows us its possible got a couple to go through traumatic horror events together and still be a couple. they have romantic moments, they act like a couple, they talk about how much they love each other. milkshake has never. mike always avoids talking about romance, bffr. he tried speaking in riddles to her in s3 because he was avoiding it so much 😭 meanwhile mike spent all of s1 and s2 focused on WILL. he had no problem telling will how he felt in his s2 monologue. even in s3 mike will do ANYTHING for will, including biking across hawkins in the pouring rain because he wanted to apologize for their fight. take a moment and THINK about that. and then for the duffers to go and make is canon that will is gay and in love with mike? yeah no, they’d be evil for that. i dont even know how to explain how much backlash and hate the duffers will get if they ended up using will’s sexuality to hurt him even more by having him in love with his best friend when it’s so easy to write in a different love interest. the duffers know what they’re doing. if you ever lose hope, watch joey and jack’s breakup scene in dawsons creek and it’ll trigger a certain memory of a m1leven scene from s4.

[wyllzel]

ok so i beat dragon age: the veilguard 🐉⚡💥 here is my report 📰‼️

tl;dr: i really enjoyed it as a player with zero context for the dragon age franchise! additionally, i saw a reddit comment that said something like: "where bg3 revels in its complexity, da4 revels in its simplicity," and i am inclined to agree 👍

minor spoilers ahead! i don't go into specifics about the plot, characters, and romances—but if you're trying to avoid any info at all, do not click in!!!

alrighty so first off, some basic details about my rook:

her name is honoria "rook" ingellvar, and she's an elven member of the mourn watcher! as a warrior with the reaper specialization, she primarily relies on sword-and-shield combat, alternating between bashing enemies up close and tossing her shield from afar 🥏

i really liked playing a mourn watcher! my rook was able to offer more nuanced advice in scenes discussing death, grief, and funerary rites which was really interesting and meaningful to me personally. it's going to be hard for any other backgrounds to compete with this one for me!!

the party 👥

also, the character customization was really nice :') i tried to make my character an elfish version of myself, and honestly it was really nice to see my short (lol 🧍🏻‍♀️ height slider in the negatives HAHA) asian elf girlie running around the screen with ANOTHER asian elf girlie (bellara)!!! the kinship was nice :')

i do like that my rook has a set background and general demeanor too! she felt very much a part of the world/story and it was cool to hear NPCs acknowledge her background 😯 there was even one point where a character had a line based on my rook's lineage (elf) AND background (mourn watcher), it was crazy!!!!!

my team went heavy on necrotic damage, HAHA >:) that's what happens when your team is composed of two mourn watchers ig haha

lucanis is my morally dubious boyfriend w wings and schizophrenia and emmrich is my ethical necromancer peepaw 🥰 yay 🩷

i chose all the necrotic/necrosis-focused abilities and gears for the team; i don't know if it was "optimized" or not, but we were slicing through enemies like butter by the end (on storyteller mode, LOL)

i romanced lucanis and... man... he got me good, not going to lie, i'm somewhat possibly a bit madly in love... i've seen some ppl express disappointment with his romance (most criticism found it lacking, too minimal, etc) but i actually like that it's more of a slowburn subplot—poor dude has been through a lot and it makes sense that he's not exactly rushing to make out with Team Leader LOL

i didn't really swap around my party, so i was just listening to lucanis and emmrich's banters with one another, but they challenged one another's moralities/worldviews in interesting ways!! (they were also incredibly snobby, there were a few moments where i audibly groaned, LOL 😭✋) overall, there was definitely a lot more environmental banter in da4 than in bg3. i like that a lot and it made the team generally feel close to both my rook and to one another!

the playstyle 💥

i feel like the best comparison for this game is like... little big planet and the lego wii games LOL (i am not the world's hugest gamer so this is my point of comparison haha)

in the sense that you're unlocking and learning abilities/tools as you go (very lbp3), the "open" maps are really just corridors (lego/lbp), you're collecting treasure (lego), you're spamming buttons in combat (lego), there's a decent amount of emphasis on puzzles (lbp)... etc etc...

it's all very streamlined, from how you navigate the world to how you get gear to how you fight 🤔 so there's not as much complexity or creativity as in bg3, but i don't think that's a bad thing! i like the challenge of tactical combat and learning all the spells and when to use them (bg3), but it was nice to be able to pick up da4 and understand what i was doing within the first 20hrs HAHA (i don't think i mastered bg3 until i had 150hrs under my belt 💀)

also i like sprinting and leaping over things in my sick flowy armor and long elf hair 🩷 she is so graceful 🩷

it was also really, really nice to play and encounter ZERO bugs :'D again, i think this is a result of the game being fairly simple and straightforward, but also EA being a massive company lol

the story 📝

ok, necessary disclaimer that this is my first DA game so i don't know any of the lore!! ;;

BUT i do like that the lore was so easy to pick up! the writing team did a good job of introducing concepts, it never felt overwhelming and i didn't have to wiki/google anything to understand it 🫨

that being said, the overall plot was also very simple, LOL—two BBEGs with minions try to take over the world by corrupting it with a fantasy monstrosity, lol, where have i heard that before haha...

final remarks 🗣️

BUT the companion subplots were quite good!! the tension between tradition/past and "progress"/future (and the fact that there is such a binary! 👀) that can be found in all their stories was really interesting and i liked how many meaningful spins they were able to get out of that tension!!! i feel like there's so much to say, but i will refrain as to avoid too many spoilers haha

i will also say that the ending was a little abrupt 😅 but it was nice overall and i miss my rook already ;;

dragons are scary 😭

storyteller mode was too easy and now i need to try underdog haha 🐶

i've already started a second playthrough as a human grey warden mage >:) she will romance davrin 😁

bellara really grew on me and honestly she is literally just like me fr!!!!!

i'm really going to miss being a mourn watcher 😭

...i need to play da:o expeditiously tbh

[that-ari-blogger]

Weaponizing Empathy (Mer-Mysteries)

She-Ra and the Princesses Of Power is, pretty fundamentally, a war story. It has psychological affectations and a cyclical narrative structure, but it’s a war story.

As such, there aren’t that many plots that it has access to, although the series is surprisingly good at weaving odd ideas into the central scheme. You want a prom episode? It’s a diplomatic meeting. You want a lone wanderer western? Exile. You want a romance?

One of the best examples of this approach to storytelling is Mermysteries, which draws on detective fiction and film noirs to subvert almost every convention that this season has going on.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD (She-Ra and the Princesses Of Power)

Ok, first up, let me explain my biases: Mermista can do no wrong and so any episode with her in it is a masterpiece. Best character. Fight me.

In seriousness, I like Mermista for reasons I have spoken about before, but I also have a deep love for detective fiction and slow burn stories. I am the type of writer who avoids writing dialogue at all costs, and that reflects in the stories I like reading.

I was guaranteed to like this episode.

But I don’t actually want to talk about the one true queen in this post. I actually want to talk about how this episode and the series as a whole handles Double Trouble.

This is a character who is defined as being the opposite of every other villain in the series, someone who is a threat the protagonists aren’t prepared for at all.

Shadow weaver is completely unempathetic, to the point where she is repeatedly blindsided by Glimmer, who is willing to bend her morals entirely around her care for others.

Horde Prime is also utterly uncaring. His motif is control through the absence of free will. What use does he have for empathy.

Catra, still a villain at this point in the story, is in that place because she seems unaware that there are actual people around her. She cares when she realises, but her trauma has made her self centred and selfish. She can’t comprehend anything in terms other than victory and loss.

Which leads me to Double Trouble, a character whose greatest strength is that they can read anyone like a book and then play that back to them.

They are an actor, a shapeshifter. They exist on replication and take great pride in the art of that. They are terrifyingly empathetic.

Which leads into the plot of the episode and reframes it slightly. Usually, a detective story focuses around finding out what happened, the audience learns about the relevant details along with the detectives.

Here, we all know Double Trouble is the spy. We know how they are doing everything, from the impersonation to the communication. There are no stones left unturned here.

So, instead the story hinges around that dramatic irony, and showing off how easily everyone can get twisted around. You know that Flutterina isn’t Flutterina, so you notice her discrepancies, and you notice how she works as a manipulator.

Hey look, our protagonists are divided by a wall, separated by Flutterina. Meanwhile, Angella hangs over both of them like a ghost.

“It's just that, everyone's so on edge after what happened in Dryl. Have you tried interviewing Shadow Weaver about it? She seems kinda untrustworthy.”

Double Trouble has identified a weak spot that they can use to drive Adora and Glimmer apart, so they use it defensively. The second they are asked questions that might reveal their deceit, they poke at the hole in these two’s armours, then exit the scene.

This carries over to when they are caught. They love the drama, so they strike at that wound a little more, with the question about drawing from experience. Double Trouble knows people better than they know themselves.

In any case, the central question has already been answered. We know who the spy is. So, is there actually a mystery in this story?

You could argue that the question of whom Double Trouble was impersonating functions like this, but you see two Frostas on the screen at once, and Flutterina turns directly to the camera at one point and does the weird blink thing just to let you know.

You could also argue that the true mystery centres around the attack on Saleneas, but I will contest that. This isn’t set up as a mystery, nobody is investigating it. It’s a Chekhov’s gun that gets brought up at the start then forgotten about before coming back. It’s not a mystery, it’s just a plot point.

This flips the season’s theme on its head. We have been focusing on tragedies subverting themselves at the last minute, but now we have everything going right until it abruptly isn’t.

This episode, more than any other, feels like it is being written. It’s not organic, it’s contrived. But this is the point, and it works because the person doing all that legwork to make the plot happen is a character within the story. It’s contrived because Double Trouble is contriving it in real time.

Control over the narrative is a signifier of power in storytelling. When everyone reacts to something someone has done, that means they are significant or influential. Double Trouble takes this a step further by looking the audience directly in the eye and saying “remember what story we are telling here”. They let you have your fun, and then remind you that there is a war going on.

Which brings me to a criticism I have about this character. Well, I have two, but one is more significant to me.

First up, Double Trouble is a flat character. They are a charismatic plot device who exists to cause trouble because they enjoy causing trouble. They don’t have a backstory or a motivation beyond selfishness, and this is disproportionate to their significance in relation to the plot.

This is actually not my criticism, but one I’ve seen online and want to examine a bit. This is based on the assumption that complex characters are more effective, and to that I ask the following question: “more effective at what?”

Is it engagement with the audience? Every early Disney villain would beg to differ.

Nuanced storytelling? I would argue that Rasputin from Anastasia is an incredibly simple character who doubles as an allegory for grief. Even if the film isn't the world's greatest, it's a nuanced story and part of that is its villain.

The key thing to understand is that, on a basic level, all characters are plot devices. They exist to serve the story. They are not real. They only need to do what the plot decrees and all you have to do as a writer is to create a motivation or quirks for the character that cause them to fill those needs.

In that case, complexity is a matter of preference, some people like one end of the spectrum, some people like the other. I would recommend a balanced diet, but what do I know?

The other piece of criticism is my own, and needs to be taken very carefully.

The fact is, Double Trouble is the only named nonbinary character in She-Ra, which steps into some tricky ground. Coding is a complex topic, and the idea that the only character who is nonbinary is a shapeshifter alien who plays both sides isn’t the healthiest. It implies that this is either a gimmick chosen for the character, or it has other, nasty connotations about nonbinary people being inhuman. Stereotypes have baggage attached to them that isn’t always obvious.

This is, I need to clarify, so obviously not the writer’s intention. I have no doubt in my mind that the coding was not intended. But it is still there, and it causes turbulence. It’s just something to be aware of.

But I’ve complained too much. This is a detective story, it’s all about the fine details. So, here are some that I really liked.

Every time a character looks away from the camera and out of a window or into a fire pit. They are silhouetted against it, their back to you, hiding their face and their motivations. Bonus points for Glimmer and the window especially because it alludes to her desire for freedom.

The lighting in this episode is brilliant. It’s soft enough to not be jarring, but its warm, framing the truth as welcoming and benevolent.

The camera pulls back here, stretching the scale even further and making it seem almost infinite. But that pales in this scene in comparison to the fact that Mermista doesn't speak. She's too stunned, too broken. She's had more lines in this episode than the rest of the series combined, and now she is suddenly and noticeably quiet.

That final scene, with the shot of everyone looking over a destroyed Saleneas. I’ve talked before about the show’s use of scale, but it comes back here to highlight just how massive of a loss this was, and how devastating it is.

I also like that the purple lightning. I think that’s pretty.

In this one shot, Perfuma manages to be the smuggest here, despite not being that at all. She is nice, eternally so, and that's annoying in the best way possible. It's the "oh, did I foil your cunning plan? I am so sorry." It's such a fun character beat.

Final Thoughts

Why does Horde Prime smile at the end? Why is he in this episode? Like, I get that he got the message about the port, but why would that make him smile?

And what does it do for the episode and season? Are we just associating him with bad stuff?

You don’t need to remind the audience he’s there. They last saw him destroying a moon. He will show up when he shows up and the audience has already been given enough about him to care. This feels redundant.

However, because this episode is perfect and I will hear no word against it, I am choosing to ignore this criticism, because I said so.

Next week is Boys’ Night Out. Stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

[ineffable-opinions]

Fumi Yoshinaga is known for her big hits including Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, which depicts the rise and fall of the Tokugawa family in the world where the Ōoku becomes a harem of men serving the female shogun, Antique Bakery, a story about a bakery where only men work and What Did You Eat Yesterday?, a slice of life series focusing on a gay couple. 

Excerpts (emboldened - for my own benefit)

Ever since I was a little girl, Patarillo! has been my favorite, so I enjoyed reading stories about male and male relationships. I didn’t think of it as a homosexual story at the time.

However, when I was in junior high and high school, bullying was a social problem, and I thought that if I stood out, I would be bullied. So I tried my best to hide the fact that I was an otaku so that it would not be obvious. Although I read major popular manga to keep up with everyone, I tried to avoid talking about the manga I really liked outwardly.

I had friends who were otaku, but when I graduated from high school, not only me but also all of my otaku friends “mimicked” normal people by reading the atmosphere. I dressed as normal as possible so that I didn’t look like an otaku, and I didn’t join manga club. I would go to coterie events, though (laughs).

Since then, I have not been able to do anything other than creating fan-fictions, and I even went to graduate school to continue my doujin activities for as long as possible. During that time, various BL magazines sprang up. A friend I met through doujin activities became the editor of one of the BL magazines called Hanaoto. And the opportunities I have been given to be involved in it have helped me build the career I have today.

Also, at the time of my debut, the term “BL” was coined and there was an atmosphere in which the entire market was gradually gaining momentum.

At the time, it was seen as pornography for adult women. Although I was embarrassed in the sense that I was creating erotic manga, I had no special feeling about the fact that I was depicting male/male love stories.

[...]can easily broaden my imagination as to stories starting from “comradeships,” “master-slave” relationships or the kind of friendship that becomes too passionate and then turns into romance.

Nevertheless, although I debuted as a BL manga artist, it was not at all easy for me to draw many variations of romance.

Even though I was drawing BL, love is love. At that time BL was basically short stories, characters in manga met and fell in love each time. I was troubled by the fact that they were another kind of love stories after all. Also, due to the policy of the magazine, I had to include sex scenes, which was very difficult for me. So I tried to move to a general magazine soon.

About All My Darling Daughters

In this work, I straightforwardly express the feelings I have had since childhood, such as the oppression I received from my parents and the speculation that I could be happy without falling in love. I didn’t want to use manga as a means to convey my ideas, but I was conflicted because I had to touch on these feelings in the creation of the story.

Sayako, who has no romantic feelings for anyone

She is what we now call “asexual,” but I didn’t even know that category at the time. I think it is very important to be named and recognized. It has certainly made life easier for many people.

It all started when a friend said to me, “I pay my taxes, I take out the garbage on garbage day, and I live a decent life, so why should I feel as if the world is blaming me just because I am not in love?”

I nodded deeply at her statement because I too had been uncomfortable since I was a student because I was not passionate about love. I guess I had to go with the flow of society, where people who have never loved others are considered to be living a pitiful life. I have been skeptical that loving someone is the highest good. If I say, “I don’t want a boyfriend,” people say, “Don’t try to act tough!” so I had to pretend to want a boyfriend, which is too much of a bother (laughs). I felt like I was mimicking them all the time in my life.

Gay people

I drew my BL and other works thinking that gay people might read them. So when gay people read my works, they may think “this is different,” but I was careful not to make them feel that they were being denied. I thought it was still okay to be unrealistic, but I never wanted to portray them in a way that might give an unusual impression to the readers.

But Ono [in Antique Bakery] was in a way the only exception. I had no intention of making him a laughingstock, but I felt bad if I had given readers a mistaken impression about gay people by portraying him in a funny way.

I have a gay friend who reads my works. When I apologized to him for how I portrayed Ono, he said, “If you get angry at every little thing like that, you can’t live as a gay person,” which baffled me. At that time, I felt very sorry. Since then, I have been careful not to change the attitude mentioned above. As for the depiction of gay men, I am not really conscious of whether it is realistic or not.

I think there are not many male-female love stories that depict realistic dramas. Rather, I enjoy reading them while thinking, “How could this happen? ” or “I hope this kind thing really happens in my life.”

What did you eat yesterday? & serialization of it in the youth magazine Morning

At first, I presented the idea to the editor of a BL magazine, but that person didn’t respond well to it. In the context of BL, the relationship of the two who have already gotten together was not interesting. There is no description of sex, no indication that the two are growing closer. For the readers of ordinary BL manga, there is no part of the story they want to read.

The editor-in-chief of the gay magazine also contacted me politely and said, “It is epoch-making for a story like this to be published in a youth magazine like Morning, so please feel free to ask me anything if you have any questions.”

I was just drawing what I wanted to draw, which was not much different from what had been published in BL magazine, so the objective opinions made me raise my consciousness and feel horrified at the same time.

One thing I changed was that I made sure to draw the recipe and ingredient quantities properly because I received a postcard from a reader saying that she had made the strawberry jam that appears in the piece. Although I was able to make some adjustments to it in the aspect of cooking manga, I thought I couldn’t change much about the setting of the gay couple, so I continued the manga as it was. However, the editor-in-chief of Morning changed around the time I published the second volume, and when I greeted him, I was surprised to hear from him that Morning is a conservative magazine for middle-aged men.

expressing yourself in a place where many people would see your work & fear of hurting someone

Doujinshi is simple; people who want to read it read it, but that is not the case with commercial magazines, so I was worried in the beginning.

When I was young, I once told an editor that I wanted to draw a manga that didn’t stand out in any way, and he admonished me, “That won’t make for an interesting work” (laughs). As long as it is a concrete expression, it will definitely hurt someone. So, in a way, I gave up on that point.

I think I am probably in a kind of trance when I am drawing. I am outputting what I wanted to read and reading it myself, so there’s definitely an adrenaline rush. That kind of pleasure is what keeps me going with this job.

Changing world, changing manga

I think that the range of content that we can depict has become much wider. Even in terms of BL, there are now not only love stories with sexually explicit descriptions, but also love stories in which couples gradually deepen their relationship. Manga featuring argumentative but attractive girls are also popular. The number of stories that do not depict romance has also increased dramatically. But as a reader, I also love romantic stories.

The range of manga I enjoy reading has expanded and now I like manga even more than before. As a reader, I look forward to the future.

[pagesandpothos]

Fall for Him by Andie Burke

Official Blurb:

Dylan Gallagher’s hot neighbor loathed him from the second he moved in, and causing a flood, falling through the floor, and landing directly onto that same neighbor’s bed probably means that’s unlikely to change. The poorly timed “It’s Raining Men” joke didn’t help. Meanwhile, ER nurse Derek Chang’s life is a literal when-rains-it-pours nightmare. A man he hates dropped into his life along with an astronomically expensive problem originating from Derek’s own apartment’s plumbing. Also, the local HOA tyrant has been sniffing around trying to fine him for his extended, illicit banned breed dog-sitting. Since Dylan also wants to keep the catastrophe quiet, he offers to fix the damage himself. Dylan’s sure he’s not Derek’s type, so he focuses all his ADHD hyper fixation energy on getting the repair job done as quickly as possible―avoiding doing anything stupid like acting on his very inconvenient crush. Meanwhile Derek tries to ignore that the tattooed nerd sleeping on the couch is surprisingly witty, smart, and kind, despite the long-term grudge Derek’s been holding against him. But will squeezing all their emotional baggage plus a dog into a tiny one-bedroom apartment be a major disaster…or just prove they’re made for each other? Fall for Him combines banter, hijinks, and heart in a story of finding out what it means to fix things after your life crumbles.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed Fall For Him. I've read some great romance books this year and this one is certainly going on my list of favorites. I always love it when a romance can make me laugh, cry, and swoon along with the characters. I want to feel like I went on a full emotional journey by the end! Fall For Him gave me all those feelings.

Dylan and Derek are great characters and their emotional journeys throughout the book were really well done. Some scenes seriously made me want to cheer because I felt so proud of their fictional growth.

I also loved the cast of supporting characters, Gus, and the book's humor. I really had the best time reading this! It's delightful and the ending made me shed some happy tears.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tropes/Tags:  romance, rivals to lovers, forced proximity, slow burn

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5. There are multiple sex scenes that are “Open Door”.

Content Warnings: Nothing major but it does focus slightly on grief. Grief is not a heavy theme in the book but it does factor into why one character is behaving a certain way and e processes this grief throughout the book.

If you liked this I think you will like Fall For Him: I think fans of Alexis Hall's contemporary romances should enjoy this book!

Other Notes: Fall For Him is a companion novel to Andie Burke's Sapphic romance from last year called Fly With Me.

Links: Storygraph | GoodReads | AndieBurke.com

Fall For Him will be released on September 3, 2024, and is available for pre-order!

I received an advanced copy of this book for free thanks to NetGalley. The above are my honest feelings on the provided book.

[f3r4lfr0gg3r]

just right 🐻🍯 [goldi crush/dating headcanons]

Art Cred: Zac Retz

A/N: Sorry this took so long, I use my phone to write and it's been acting up lately 🥲. Ty for waiting so patiently and I hope you guys can understand!

CW: nothing but fluff and a tiny bit of angst in the beginning??? That's about it!

romantic/crush (x reader);

- With how guarded and abrasive Goldi can be, in my opinion it would take awhile for her to be attracted to someone romantically (I hc her as demi lowkey). So it would definitely have to be something of a friends to lovers situation, and even then Goldi wouldn't pick up on why she felt so..weird around you. Which is funny because it seemed like everyone else knew but her.

- At first she didn't question why she began to feel so nervous but giddy when you came around, opting to ignore the fuzzy feeling as it continued to grow

- She began to notice little things about you that she never did before, like your small pouts whenever she'd jokingly teased you or the way you'd hum a small tune while trying to stay focused

-"Though Goldi didn't care much for appearance before, she started tidying her hair up a bit and making sure she looked clean if she knew you guys were going to meet up– becoming more conscious of how you saw her

- Touches became more lingering and happened more often (I don't see her as such a touchy friend outside of noogies, playful punches, nudges, etc so it would be totally noticeable)

- And yknow those scenes in movies with people longingly staring at each other in the midst of a conversation?? That was you guys-

- Along with that I feel like Goldi would start to show off just a little bit, yearning for some praise (just a lil tho!)

- In general…with a crush I just see Goldi being a bit of a dork, constantly trying to look cool, but still a dork

- Once someone (*cough cough* The Bears) brought these sudden changes to her attention, Goldi would deny anything going on before returning to her bed.

- Even though it seemed so easy for her to deny it, Goldi ended up not getting a wink of sleep that night, questioning everything as she never thought of being anything but friends with you

- Once she actually gave it thought, it was clear to her…she liked you, a whole lot (not like she'd ever admit it though) but she didn't want to ruin what you guys already had

- After said realization, Goldi became a little more hesitant and avoidant towards you. Trying to block out the crush so everything could be "normal" again

- Despite her trying to be subtle, Goldi's avoidance was very much apparent to you, though whenever you tried to bring up concerns she'd give a random excuse for why she's acting so weird and becoming a bit flakey

- Soon enough you get tired of all the excuses and confront her, leading up to her blurting out her true feelings

- She'd tried to convince you that she said something else right after, in a panic as she was not ready emotionally to be rejected but that instead you hugged her and confess your own feelings, reassuring her that you weren't weirded out in the slightest

- At first Goldi would be in shock, silent as she continuously replays what you just said in her head to make sure you really just said what she thought you said

- Full of excitement she'd hug you back in a practically bone-crushing hold, her fears squandered maybe along with a few of your ribs

Romantic/Dating (x reader)

- I feel like the most Goldi knows about romance is from books. So with this knowledge it's clear she'd be pretty inexperienced!

- Despite all that, Goldi would try to take the lead because she feels more comfortable being in control of situations, even so she fumbles at it so hard at first

- To make up for that inexperience, she'd begrudgingly ask her parents for advice…the embarrassment was worth it to treat you well!

- Now that I think about it…I actually feel like Goldi would like feeling like she's leading things while in reality it's 50/50 (she deserves to be wined and dined like the queen she is!!!)

- Though hesitant at first, she's be more open to being cared for over time, it just takes a while because of her stubbornness

- Her love language would be a mix of gift giving and suprisingly physical affection (I really just love the idea of her stealing stuff for a s/o honestly-)

- She'd definitely spoil her lover rotten yet would get really flustered if they did the same 💞

- I also feel like she'd be a bit clingy but in a very quiet way (always subtly touching you/in your proximity) though if you ever said anything she would kinda stop for awhile out of embarrassment

- Playfighting is a given in the relationship, she loves expressing her love through a bit of aggression- SHE LOVES CUTENESS AGGRESSION SO MUCH (nothing ever too rough though)

- Since I'm having fun with this...I mentioned in my gen. hcs for Goldi that she's a biter so...definitely gives little love bites/nibbles on her partner from time to time in private

- An awkward cuddler at first but becomes very obsessed with it after some time in the relationship (loves having you lay on top her like a weighted blanket, the pressure soothes her)

- Not to keen on PDA will hold hands, give brief cheek/hand kisses, or something else that's subtle but nothing beyond that (it flusters her too much >_<)

- On a last note, she has ungodly hand placement without even knowing- she's so oblivious to the way butterflies erupt in your stomach everytime she caresses your waist just right...and it flusters you so much

(There will be a part two so dw about the actual dating hcs being short!)

Taglist: @zenmieisaa

[thetypedwriter]

What the River Knows Book Review

What the River Knows Book Review by Isabel Ibañez

Mystery, murder, romance—this book has it all. What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez is a fun and thrilling young adult novel set in the late 1800’s in Egypt.

The main character, Inez Olivera, finds herself making the long trek from Argentina to Egypt in order to solve the mystery of her parents and try to figure out along the way why they always left her for six months every year to go visit their beloved Egypt. 

I want to say more about the plot, but it’s better if you go in knowing as little as possible (although the book jacket gives away way, way too much—avoid reading it if you can).

If a headstrong Latina main character who won’t take no for an answer, multiple mysteries that intersect and keep you turning the pages, a witty and actually good enemies-to-lovers romance, and a beautiful setting filled with magic and history alike sound alluring to you, then you will adore this book as much as I did. 

The characters in this book were all multi-faceted and interesting. Inez herself, while not perfect, was a pretty infallible main character, especially considering that even though she’s a sheltered young lady living in a Bridgerton-Esque society, she’s incredibly determined, intelligent, witty, brave, and not worried whatsoever about societal etiquette.

I’m not saying that women weren’t capable of having these qualities in 1884, but Inez acts like a modern, independent woman living in 2024 instead of a person from her own time period. This annoyed me from time to time, but overall, it’s a small criticism to accept in the face of such a fun book. 

The other characters all added good depth to the story, including the British love interest, Whitford Hayes, and Inez’s remote and closed off uncle, Tio Ricardo.

Instead of welcoming Inez to Egypt with open arms and charming smiles, they are cold and distant, constantly calling her a headache and telling her to go back home. 

Inez, unwilling to leave until she’s solved the mystery of her parents, slowly carves out a place for herself amongst her uncle’s archaeology team, proving herself as a talented artist and as a capable adult.

As the book continues, more characters are introduced but I found the relationship between Inez and Whit and Inez and her Uncle the stars of the show. 

Inez’s feelings around her family were complex and nuanced. Her love for her parents simultaneously warred with her anger at them, her attraction to Whit danced alongside her rejection of his alcoholism and the fact that he works for her uncle, she desired her Tio’s acceptance and love while also being wary and suspicious of him. 

These intricate relationships were one of the things I enjoyed the most about What the River Knows. However, emotions were not always Isabel Ibañez’s strong suit.

My other main criticism of this book was a strange lack of emotional beats during certain scenes. Sometimes Inez’s emotions were spot on and multi-dimensional—portraying the thoughts and feelings of a real human being dealing with enormous change and shocking events.

Other times, however, I felt like Inez focused on the completely wrong thing while enormous occasions of magnitude were occurring. I won’t spoil what these are, but she would learn a harrowing filial detail and comment for a page and a half instead on how attractive Whit was. 

….Like what? It’s the equivalent of having a tornado hurtling towards your house and only remarking instead on what your crush posted on instagram. The gravity of what Inez focused on didn’t always make sense. 

For a main character who’s supposedly so mature and smart, it was a bad stylistic choice that she didn’t reflect or even think about massively significant events happening in her life during different moments in the plot beyond a few simple phrases. It bothered me just as much as I thought it was a dead give away. 

Isabel Ibañez tries to create some twists and turns in this novel—all of which I predicted because Inez simply didn’t think about a particular issue too deeply.

Whenever that happened, it was a clear indicator that more was going to happen with said issue. I think Isabel Ibañez was trying to be sneaky and subtle, but instead it made it glaringly obvious and shallower than the book needed to be. 

While some of Isabel Ibañez’s emotional beats scored and others failed, her descriptions of Egypt always succeeded. I’ve never read a book set in Egypt before and I loved all the descriptions about it.

From the lurid details of the Nile, the history involving Britain’s imperialization, to the food, language, and architecture, Isabel Ibañez did an incredible job setting the scene and making it magical. 

And while her words were magical in of itself, Isabel Ibañez also literally made her world magical by having artifacts imbued with old world sorcery.

The small slice of life fantasy elements never interrupted the story too much, but every time a small piece of magic would arrive, I devoured the explanation of what it did, how it worked, and its connection to Ancient Egypt. 

By the time I turned the last page of What the River Knows, I had thoroughly enjoyed myself. The characters, the world, the relationships—it was all a beautiful concoction that allowed me to overlook the flaws I perceived while reading.

While I don’t think this is a perfect book by any means, it was really thought out and different from other YA books in the sense that the tropes Ibañez uses were all very well executed, especially the enemies-to-lovers romance (which is getting increasingly saturated and cliched in the YA market). 

I am excited to read the sequel and can’t wait to discover Inez’s next adventure, her relationship with Whit, more information about her parents, and the continued world building that helped make this book such a charming read from start to finish in the first place. 

Recommendation: If you want a Bridgerton-Esque tale with hints of magic, complicated family relationships, and set in the fascinating land of Egypt, this is the book for you.

Even if you don't like all those things, this is still the book for you because it’s a great book that will hook you one way or another, be it the romance, the history, the low fantasy, or the crocodile-packed action sequences.

Score: 7/10

[tathrin]

Writing Year Wrapped (2023)

Ooh, thank you for the tag @sallysavestheday!

3 Favorite Fics You've Written This Year:

Of course we have to go with my current obsession, And In The Darkness To Unmake Them, an as-canon-compliant-as-possible Fellowship-AU that asks, what would happen if Celebrimbor got himself re-embodied and came back to Middle-earth to try and make up for his mistakes by helping to destroy the One Ring (and brought all his unhealed trauma with him)? Plus a slow-burn romance for Legolas and Gimli, a whole lot of delicious world-building for Mirkwood, and a more active role for Arwen too!

Five Times Gimli Died (and One Time He Didn't) is, I think, despite the simplistic and trope-y title, one of the most elegant things I've ever written, and I am very much in love with it. It's the story of Gimli and Legolas's romance, from beginning to end (well...not really end, because the joy of them is that they're a story that doesn't end—Gimli Immortality Agenda, you can't stop me!—but the story ends with the beginning of their happily-ever-after, which is a sort of end, no?), told in a series of scenes that takes place from Moria to the Undying Lands, and could almost slip right in between the pages of canon if you squint enough to overlook a little bit of meddling from Mahal on behalf of his new favorite dwarf (don't tell Durin).

To Live In Undying Lands is a series of snippets set in Aman after Legolas and Gimli cross the Sea, focused on both their new life there and that of our beloved Hobbits who went over before. And I went back and forth several times deciding whether to swap the placement of this one and Last Temptation... below, but I ultimately think that was a bit more of a stretch than this one, despite the fact that I Never Write Hobbits and am writing quite a lot of Hobbits for this one, and also I Never Write Snippets Without An Overarching Plot—and because I'm such a sucker for Gimleaf that if I have to pick a favorite between any two comparable stories, it's always going to be the one with them in it! (Also: Gimli Immortality Agenda, always!)

3 Fics That Stretched You the Most:

Dead Faces In The Water; Dead Faces Everywhere - I don't write present tense, I don't write modern AUs, and I don't write zombie stories...but here I am, writing all three at once! (Thanks, @katajainen! This story is 1/3 your fault, 1/3 @roselightfairy and @deheerkonijn's fault, and 1/3 Mira Grant's lol. And you were the inciting incident, so you get first blame!) And somehow having a great time doing it! (So much world building! I'm in paradise!)

The Last Temptation of Narvi of Khazad-dûm - probably one of the most overtly ambitious stories I've ever done. It's likewise in present-tense, although that's considerably less daunting now after almost forty chapters of zombies; but there were a lot of other balls to juggle on this story, including my first time properly writing both of the main characters as well as anything set in Ost-in-Edhil; and of skirting right up against the line of how close it came to all ending differently and making that (hopefully) feel almost like it could have gone differently and avoided all that tragedy in a way that, hopefully, both satisfies and distresses the reader.

And (I suppose this is a bit of a give-away, but it's not like I tried very hard to hide anyway; the anonymity is mainly designed to make people feel more comfortable offering con-crit, which I have no idea if it actually helped or not but I did get some lovely and helpful feedback on it, so I'm going to say the tactic has been a success) definitely Cliffside Revelations, which has the honor of being my very first explicit smut fic...even if most of the smut is an excuse for world building, which I'm sure shocks all of you lmao!

(And sneaking in an honorable mention of On The Far Side of the Sundering Sea, because my name isn't on the previous one so it probably doesn't technically count...which means I can slip in an extra story as a technicality, right? Right. Shhh, it's fine!)

3 Favorite Lines You've Written (loosely interpreting "lines" as sallysavestheday has cleverly demonstrated):

Oh this is difficult. Most of my best lines are only their best because of the context around them; and it's hard to remember them as distinct lines after their sections have been finished and posted. But this does at least save favorite and not best, so that helps; let's give it a try, then.

First, from Five Times Gimli Died (and One He Didn't) we have a moment of a revelation on Gimli's part, as he discovers that his heart might not be as alien to his Maker as he feared it was:

He stood in silence, staring at the unseen form of he who had made all Dwarves; of the Maker of stone and rock and mighty mountain. Mahal, who had made the Dwarves…Mahal, who loved the green.

This is one that definitely needs the context to make it work, so we're including the whole preceding paragraph from Blows Uncounted, a little AU-take on Helm's Deep where either the uruks are stronger or Gandalf is slower, and the battle has a darker ending.

For Legolas was not simply any elf: he was an elf of Mirkwood. Taur-ne-Fuin, the forest under nightshade; Taur-e-Ndaedelos, the forest of great fear. These orcs and uruks of Isengard, used to preying on earnest horse-lords and forthright farmers, had never met an elf of his sort before. Their northern kin could have told them stories of what befell orcs beneath the black boughs of Mirkwood…but orcs did not often come alive from those dark woods, not at least without Nazgûl to guard their travels.

And there were no Nazgûl here.

And taking a complete one-eighty in tone from the previous, I am quite inexcusably delighted with this one from Honeysuckle and Cider, and still giggle to myself whenever I re-read it:

"Uh," says Aragorn, son of Arathorn, King of Gondor, first of the House Telcontar.

(The line after it definitely qualifies as a runner-up, but I do think this one beats it out. Sorry, Faramir!)

Actually there's one other line I really wanted to put in here, even more than the one about the Nazgûl, but I'm not going to, because it's the very last line of the story it appears in, and reading it before you read that story would suck all the wind out of its sails, I think; so if you want to know what that is, you'll have to go read The Last Temptation of Narvi of Khazad-dûm for yourself.

3 Characters You Enjoyed Writing (that surprised you):

Anntar (Sauron), actually! I got to play with him as more than just a Menacing Presence in The Last Temptation of Narvi of Khazad-dûm and oh, he was so much fun! This was Sauron in full-on seducing-the-Gwaith-i-Mírdain mode, with maybe just a hint of how he actually wanted to be stopped, so that he could let the schemes for world-domination go and just be happy here with his smith-lovers...or maybe that was all wishful thinking on Narvi's part. Regardless, it was great fun to play with both failed and successful manipulations here, as well as to actually write something with my new favorite OT3.

Boromir may have come as even more of a shock to me, actually. I very quickly went from "distant fondness but very little interest" in Boromir to taking great delight in him, thanks in largest part to Dead Faces in the Water, Dead Faces Everywhere (and a little bit to Two Fell Into Shadow, although most of that was written or at least sketched-out earlier; but I'm counting it, because I don't think I realized how much fun he was fifteen years ago or so when I was writing it initially). Also, of course, his part in And In The Darkness To Unmake Them, although I haven't gotten to the point of posting any of his Grey Company chapters yet (shhh). He's such a wonderful sort of "I did not sign up for any of this; I have no idea what's happening; but I Am Participating Anyway!" sort of character, dragged out of his element commanding Minas Tirith's armies (where he's an extremely competent and confident fellow) and tossed into this baffling world of weirdness full of elves and magic and nonsense, for which he is so ill-equipped and ill-prepared. And yet he gamely goes along with it, because it needs doing! Whatever the fuck it is! He has no idea!

And last but certainly not least: Gimli, although this one may be less of a surprise; but it was a surprise to me how often I ended up writing from his perspective. I did not expect that, because I'm much more interested in elves (especially Mirkwood elves) than I am dwarves in general, and I've done a lot less world-building (a lot less) for Erebor than I have Mirkwood; but it's so much fun using Gimli as "the sensible perspective" (as well as an excuse to get really flowery with my wording sometimes, shhh!), not to mention an extremely astute and observant one, that he makes for a very addictive viewpoint character. I actually ended up having to make a conscious effort to switch to Legolas's pov sometimes, in fact, because it was so easy and charming to fall into Gimli's head and stay there! That was definitely a surprise to me.

3 Unexpected Inspirations:

This fucking dream! I still don't know what the hell happened to me that night, but it sure was unique and extremely unexpected!

And quite startling was the time where seeing the Legolas-always-looks-back-for-Gimli gif-post from the LotR movies cross my tumblr dash right to an Orpheus-and-Eurydice poll basically popped this whole-ass story fully formed into my head in one big rush of inspiration. Although the same thing happened with this post and And His Hands Ran With Gold and Shadow, so maybe I should stop thinking "random post on tumblr" is unexpected inspiration...

And uhhh....this XD

3 WIPs You're Excited About in the Upcoming Year:

And His Hands Ran With Gold and Shadow which I swear I will get back into working-on as soon as I get some of my other ongoing stuff finished, because I absolutely adore it! and I definitely want to write more on it! very much so! but the vibes required for writing it are so different from the other stuff that it's hard to switch back-and-forth between it and them (same goes for the zombie-fic).

An As-Yet-Untitled story set many, many, many years after the end of the War of the Ring in the Undying Lands, where our three beloved Hobbits (and one Dwarf) living on those timeless shores discuss their mortal lives, and decide when and whether to let them end.

The sequel to The Dark Reborn, because I am at some point going to drag my brain back into the galaxy far, far away enough to start reading and writing Star Wars fic again, and I fucking will finish this fucking awesome sequel trilogy fic I started, kriff it!!!

3 People Tagged to Share Theirs:

Tagging with zero pressure: @babybat98 @bifuriouswaterbender @katajainen

[spacedlexi]

Also do you think there’s a chance Louis and James would end up being together/growing close if he did join the school?

answering this question first since i put this post in my drafts last night lmao the timing...

i havent really thought too much about how james would fit in with the ericson kids if he ever came back. but the writers didnt have to have james say "...cute" in regards to louis saying some goofy shit so i do find that notable 👀 especially since thats the only scene where they actually interact....very interesting way to use their very limited time (in violets version i dont even think he reacts to her?? lmao)

the james we know is trying his best to be peaceful and kind and is doing what he can to preserve life. because of his time with the whisperers he tries to avoid conflict so i think he might be able to appreciate louis' "im here to have fun and blow off steam" outlook where the others usually dont (although he'd probably disagree about the walker bashing). he could benefit from that carefree influence like if anyone needs to loosen up its james aha the peaceful and kind stuff is something hes still striving towards. based on how he was gonna kidnap aj over disagreeing with clems parenting style hes not totally there yet. but clem talking james down by telling him he cant force his beliefs onto others (calling back to what he said to lilly about her forcing her ideas onto others because shes weak) i think is a wake up call for him and gives him something to think about. he needs to learn the only person he can control is himself. pairing that with louis' "dont know whats gonna happen tomorrow so might as well enjoy today" outlook i think would actually be a healthy perspective for james to take from

so yeah i think james could have a surprisingly high tolerance for louis' antics compared to the rest of the group. and i think thats something louis would in turn appreciate since the others can get kinda sick of him fucking around. i can definitely see them hanging around together finding ways to enjoy a nice day while the others are focused on their work first. in regards to romance well we know james had a boyfriend and thinks hes cute so i could at least see a one sided crush happening but idk if it would be reciprocated

[livums]

yours and his alike. {🌹}

Hello! More The Romance of the Demigods content! This little snippet is the byproduct of my non-chronological sort of... habit now. I made a document (I called it the Sanctuary. LOL) listing all the scenes I am excited to write. I closed my eyes and picked one, so here it is! Trying to get a better sense of Eve.

I think this one avoids major spoilers but still. If you prefer to read chronologically.... beware! 💜

cw: emetophobia / mention

In the reflection of the water’s surface, Eve beheld the face of one who, out of spite more than anything else, refused to vomit.

The pools were beautiful. Glossy ripples pulsed through the surfaces when disturbed, settling into a steady glass-like sheen when not. In her wandering, Eve had noticed how some appeared nothing short of bottomless. Even those that appeared to sink no deeper than ankle height on her, she could not be certain that they would not swallow her whole. Not a hint of her left behind. Such was the nature of the Fae domain.

So, even as she stumbled beneath the dizzying sense of some unfathomable weight on the softness of her brain, Eve was careful not to stray off the mossy path. When she knelt, it was with a stony and spiteful determination—she would not vomit.

She could, in the eye of her mind, envision the resulting series of events with grim clarity: one Fae (or more, with her fortune) happening to spy upon her vulnerable state, spewing the contents of her pitiful human stomach into the serene pools of the fabled Aiamede. And with an unnatural speed, they would spread vicious word throughout their network of siblings that the human paladin had shamed herself into their pristine waters. And it would eventually make its way to Nysa, to Kesh, and to Irial. And when she saw him next, he’d be wearing a smile that would drive her to violence.

So she stared into the pool, and focused on breathing deep. In the time since their arrival, her sense of being slammed about by the whim of a giant had only intensified. Some invisible force tugged and squashed her spine and stomach. And she looked every bit of it, too—her eyes were burdened by ghoulish dark circles, and the skin of her face had developed a most charming gleam of sweat. The bun of dark hair atop her skull clung to the barest pretense of form. Behind her head, she could see on the dark earthen ceiling the gentle breathing of the light that lived within the Aiamede’s flora and tiny crawlers thereupon. The perfect frame for the picture she made.

It was only with titanic mental fortitude that she forbade herself from dwelling upon what the Fae had told her, upon how she’d embarrassed herself with her response. They would love for her to be sick at the thought of Kesh and Irial, together in any one of these pools. At the thought of his hands on her. At the thought of them speaking of Gods-knew-what.

Her fingernails dug trails into the maroon dirt as she weathered the last roils of her stomach. Eve squeezed her eyes shut, and tried to believe that she were not clinging for dear life to the soil. One beat of her heart. Two. Three.

With a deliberate exhale, Eve straightened her spine. She opened her eyes to see Cirsi crouching across the pool from her.

The water rendered a hypnotic double image of their tail of bone swishing languidly this way and that. Their wings were folded closed delicately behind their back. They regarded her through pale and glassy eyes that revealed nothing, as Eve was rapidly coming to expect.

Earth-sick. The words rippled across the pool. They were not unkind.

“Whatever,” Eve grunted. “So you’ve come to find more gossip for you and yours.” She made herself begin to rise, slowly.

Not to find. To deliver. To the Star come to the earth-beneath-earth.

Eve felt her stomach lurch. She answered with a rough shake of her head—then aborted it, for it sent her surroundings spinning. She opened her mouth, and nothing came out of it.

There is talk.

Heat swelled beneath Eve’s skin. Talk. She knew well, now, the traps that awaited her should she venture unwisely into the clutches of Fae conversation. She had been so foolish once—never again.

So she hoped.

Eve turned away, lest Cirsi catch sight of the blush that threatened her cheeks. “None of you seem to ever cease chattering. So I suppose there’s always talk.”

There was a flick as Cirsi’s wings opened, and a flurry of movement. Eve glanced back in time to watch their cloven hooves alight upon her side of the pool. Most interesting talk, pulsed the lights around and above them.

The Fae was small, Eve was reminded, now that they stood before her. The highest curve of their onyx horns reached just to her collarbone. It bolstered her in a way that it shouldn’t have.

“I’ve never been concerned with anything less.” It wasn’t true, but Eve said it anyway.

Of the Star’s own desires, she has never been concerned? Cirsi tilted their head. Eve was coming to despise those unblinking eyes, wide and shimmering and all-seeing.

Eve narrowed her eyes. “Whatever you and yours think you know of my desires—“

Refute us, then.

“You would like that.” A sour taste revived itself inside her mouth.

We should like that.

Eve paused for a deliberate breath through her nose—in, out. “Piss off,” she said, finally. She turned away from the Fae once more, long ready for the end of this encounter. “Find somewhere else to feed.”

The Star must forgive us our curiosity, murmured a breeze that had not been there before. We aimed only to hasten the inevitable. We are so rarely met with mortal visits. It delights us that we might behold your story.

As if leashed, Eve found herself jerking backwards, turning on her heel to jab a gloved finger in the Fae’s direction. She no doubt looked unwell. “There is no story,” she hissed, “and there is nothing which you have the right to hasten.”

The Star—

Once she started speaking, Eve found herself unable to contain herself. “I am not a plaything of yours, and neither is she. If you were ever a force benevolent to man, you would leave her be, and let us see to our task here.”

Cirsi’s eyes flared, all six of them. It was the most emotion she had seen from them yet.

In your grand mortal sight, you misunderstand. You. You are the interloper, the surrounding pillars creaked. It is you who seeks more than just the Faeling’s touch, as those among us whisper. Unless we are mistaken.

Eve sucked in an indignant breath. The words had struck like a spear through her chest. She thought of how she’d carelessly revealed to the Fae folk her weakness. Now, she reaped the consequence of her mistake. Eve began to realize for certain, then, that no matter how she protested, she could not erase what she’d spoken into truth.

And now, when she needed a voice with which to shield herself, the iron grip of overwhelm was not so easily shifted.

The water laughed at her. Then it is only her touch for which you would so ardently vie. Though the veil hid the lower half of their face, Eve could not dispel the sense that Cirsi was smiling. And why should we concern ourselves if so? She gives her touch freely. Take it, and be content, if that is your design. Yours and his alike. Yours and all man’s alike.

“You have no dominion over her bonds,” Eve bit. The fear came back—that she and Irial were the same. Undeniably the same. Despite everything, she kept her hands at her sides. “She’s not one of you—you and yours have made it so.” She was sick. Sick with anger. Her hands and forearms trembled. Gods, if she had her sword. “You and yours, who share her blood—“

No. The moss shivered. When Cirsi stepped backwards, Eve was momentarily stunned. The Fae looked, for a breath, like any swordsman Eve had ever disarmed in a duel—taken by surprise and forced onto their back foot. Their small hands, typically clasped together serenely in front of them, raised and parted to trace lightly at their face. For the first time, those eyes were trained downwards. Lightly clawed fingertips grazed over their temples, down their cheeks. When they met Eve’s eyes again, she was struck by the emotion there. Unreadable, but undeniable. It is not so simple a thing.

Eve’s vision was drawn by a shift in her peripheral. When she looked to the side, she saw a curling current of myriad colors bleed through one of the pools. In it, the colors swam one way and another, searching for their part in a greater image. Slowly, slowly, shapes took form. For a moment, the pool hurt her eyes to behold—as if her vision had been forcibly unfocused. She struggled for several seconds to make sense of what she saw.

Some decades past. Beyond your years. After the upheaval of Earth and Sky. I was summoned by Father. He tasked me thusly—seek out this creature, half-Fae. Bring it here, before Our court. We would look upon this thing.

(tag, DM, reply, or fill out this google form to be added/removed from taglists)  

The Romance of the Demigods taglist: @aalinaaaaaa​ @sarahlizziewrites​ @thecrookedwriterspath​ @inkspellangel​ @crystal-librarian​ @hallwriteblr​ @bluberimufim​ @wip-nook​

General taglist: @enchanted-lightning-aes​