#I was going to put them side by side with the text version but they're soooo pretty

[landofanimes]

7th Time Loop

Light Novels' Textless Covers (Vol. 1 and 2)

[ffsg0jo]

tw: grief, death, illness, and angst - i wrote this in like half an hour and i was really in my feels, so pls excuse me if it's bad

uncle sukuna, who's been in and out of jail, is always seemingly in trouble with the law and couldn't give two shits about it. ever since leaving home and his twin brother behind, he's only lived for himself and himself only. he'd be damned if he lets anyone change that.

he receives a voicemail from his brother one day, telling him he's had a little baby boy called yuuji. jin wants to put everything in the past behind them and would love for his brother to meet his precious son. sukuna only scoffs and deletes the voicemail almost immediately.

it's only when jin texts him a video of yuuji (who he's surprised to see almost looks exactly like him, minus all the tattoos) 8 months later babbling what could be interpreted as "papa", does he falter. the kid's adorable, but sukuna isn't ready to face his brother just yet.

many more months go by, and jin seems to have taken the hint. except he gets sent another video, this time on his birthday. he clicks on the video, unable to resist and its yuuji, wobbling on two legs, clapping his hands, and singing his own version of happy birthday (??). he's gotten so much bigger and looks so much like his father.

the only word sukuna recognises from yuujis incoherent nonsense is 'kuna', and his heart softens. he messages back a "cute." and leaves it at that. jin sees the message and doesn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.

jin messages him again a week later, only this time sukuna's heart drops. kaori's dead, and her funeral's next week. he's only met her twice, but she was good for his brother, and she was always good to him too.

he sees his brother for the first time in years at the funeral. jin's hair is a mess, his face unshaven and sunken in; grief seemed to have aged him 10 more years. sukuna's many things, a bad brother included, but something in him breaks when he sees yuuji screaming in his father's arms, not understanding where his mum's gone.

he doesn't know why, but he walks up to jin and offers to take yuuji instead. the toddler immediately calms down in his hold, now more confused as to why there's a man that looks exactly like his dad but with sharpie all over him. jin breaks down, stammering out a thank you, and excuses himself, leaving sukuna alone with his nephew. he'll hunt down his brother later, but for now, he'll keep the brat occupied so his dad can grieve.

sukuna hears from his dad that jin's fallen ill months later. he's speaks to his brother more often now and has even met up with both him and yuuji a couple of times. but jin's never mentioned being sick. he's been looking worse, for sure, but he just put it down to being a single father to an energetic toddler.

he moves in with them the next week. jin keeps getting worse and even little yuuji's noticed.

sukuna tries his best. he really does. he's not been there for jin previously, but he makes sure he's there now when it matters. it's all new to him, caring for people. he tries to cook the most nutritious meals for jin, making sure they're yuuji friendly too. he makes sure the house is always clean, even though yuuji's making a mess every 10 minutes. he changes diapers (both yuuji's and jin's), bathes them both, and tucks them both into bed. he even reads yuuji a bedtime story just to maintain normacly even though he hasnt read since he was a child.

he checks up on jin, constantly seeing if he's feeling okay and gives him his medicine. he holds onto jin with the utmost care (almost carrying him) when they go to visit kaori's grave or when yuuji insists on both of them coming to the park with him. when jin can't sleep at night due to being in excruciating pain, he's there. by his side and holding him. he's never been this affectionate, but he's also never had a dying brother before.

it's still not enough, though. the last couple of days were the hardest, and even yuuji knew enough to be on his best behaviour.

sukuna silently sobs into his pillow at night, when the whole world's asleep. he's filled with regret and hatred for himself, but he knows it's too late now. he tells his brother he loves him and that he promises to take care of yuuji no matter what. jin only smiles, his eyes shining with unshed tears, and tries to kiss his cheek as a thank you, and i love you too.

jin died with one arm holding yuuji, the other holding sukuna's, and his wife's name on his tongue.

sukuna was left all alone, once again. except this time, he had no brother to give yuuji back to. as he promised jin, the stars as his witness, he'd do anything for yuuji and to keep him safe.

his life was no longer his own. he had his nephew to think about.

© ffsg0jo 2024 — do not plagiarise, repost, modify, or translate any of my work, in any way shape or form; i will piss in your cereal if you do. all work belongs to me and me only.

[jiniret-writings]

Warm Blankets Pt. 2

Genre: angst, fluff

Pairing: Platonic!ot8 x 9th member!reader

Warnings: self-doubt, feelings of worthlessness

The actions of the members in this story do not represent how they are in real life. This is all fictional and should not be taken seriously.

Pt. 1 || Pt. 2 || Pt. 3

After buying snacks (and your favorite drink because crying really does numbers on your hydration), you headed back to your dorm and the minute you opened the door, you were met with quite the scene. The entire place looked like a scene from Alice in Wonderland: chaos in the kitchen, chaos in the living room, and something sounded like it crashed in the bathroom, but over it all, the dorm smelled delicious.

When you two walked deeper into the dorm, Minho was the first to look up from what looked like beating eggs. "Hungry?" he asked, pouring the egg mixture onto the pan. Truth was, you were starving. You'd skipped breakfast that day because of an early vocal lesson. Your stomach rumbled low enough for Hyunjin to hear who laughed lightly.

"I think we both are," he said, nudging you in more. Then, like a switch flipped, Hyunjin whined, "Hyuuuuuung! When will it be readyyyyy?" He flopped onto the island seat and laid his head on the counter, watching Minho cook. Minho glared at his younger member, picking up the spatula.

"When you're done cooking in the air fryer," he said in a monotone voice, flashing a Cheshire smile before dropping it and going back to the eggs. You laughed at them, sitting next to Hyunjin and across from Felix. Chan's words still circled your head.

It felt heavy, your head and your heart burdened with the hit of his words and the weight of your thoughts. It had been five years since Stray Kids debuted, yet the whispers never stopped. Comments circled online every month or so about whether you really fit into the group:

I don't know, it's just that the group might thrive more if it weren't for them.

Have you seen the new talker? See how they're off to the side most of the time? They're definitely going to leave the group soon.

I trust Chan and all but I don't know if he was right about them.

It was normal to get hate as an idol but maybe, just maybe, they were right? Hyunjin had reassured you that you were wanted and he was just saying whatever came to mind in his stressed state but, but maybe there were some truth to his words.

As thoughts raced through your head, you stared blankly at the counter. The boys around you looked at you worriedly, giving Hyunjin a look with one question: what happened? He hadn't told them why you had a bad day or what was wrong, but they still rallied to give you warmth and comfort. But you were worrying them. They just wanted the best for you and to do whatever it took to cheer you up.

Wanting to pull you from your thoughts as soon as possible, Hyunjin texted them the short version:

Chan-hyung said he shouldn't have fought for them to be in the group. 2RACHA are on placating duty.

With that sent, Hyunjin put his arm around you to not scare you, but the second you snapped out of your personal trance, Felix ran at you and tackled you to the ground. The little attack came as a surprise to everyone around, leaving them all frozen. The only sound being Felix's "lixie" sounds.

You were shocked as well, arms coming around the slightly older boy on instinct, but eyes still wide. "Felix?!? What was that?!?"

"I love you," he said, digging his face into your neck, causing you to hold in slight laughter because of how much it tickled.

"I love you too but what's this?" you asked, gesturing to the fact that the two of you were still on the floor. At that, he looked down at you, small pout forming.

"My love, y/n/n. Accept it," he said, leaving no room to argue. And in a flash, he stood up, pulling you up with him, and pointed to the pan he was working on with a big smile. "Look! I made brownies, cookies, and a cheesecake! Help me decorate?"

You wanted to refuse, to slip away to your bedroom to lie down and think--no matter how much of a bad idea that was--but the way he was looking at you like you were the sun, how could you not agree? Nodding your head, you walked behind the counter to where Felix was just starting to put on a final layer of frosting on the chilled cake. At that moment, Jeongin and Seungmin strolled. Seungmin sat in the seat you left and Jeongin came up next to you, putting an arm on your shoulder.

"I wanna help too! How do you want to decorate it?" he asked, pointing the question at you. You thought about it and your mind drifted to a movie you had watched recently.

"Lets do it Alice in Wonderland themed?" you asked, unsure if it was a bad idea. The voices around you did well ot drown out your thoughts but they'd pop up every now and again with a new sort of vigor. But with no hesitation, Jeongin just smiled and nodded. Felix brought out red and black food coloring, and started mixing it into different bowls of frosting. At that moment, Minho walked to you with a pair of chopsticks holding a piece of meat. He just brought it to your face and you opened your mouth without a second thought. It was like second nature: if one of your members was feeding you then it must be good.

Your members

The thought brought a feeling of warmth in your chest. Suddenly, tears filled your eyes. You looked away, trying to get them back under control. You shook away the ones that came up, but the warm tightness in your chest refused to let go. You excused yourself to go to the bathroom and once inside, sat on the edge of the bath tub, letting the tears flow.

My members, you thought, letting the tears flow freely.

Back at the kitchen, everyone looked at each other, more worried than before.

"How bad?" Seungmin asked, turning fully to face Hyunjin. He just shook his head, remembering the fight he walked in on.

"Really bad. He was yelling and they were yelling and he suddenly just yelled it out. I grabbed them and took them out right after," he said, looking at all the boys. They shook their head, knowing what it was like when they poked the too-still bear.

"How is he?" Jeongin asked, knowing how this went. Chan cared about all of you, more than he could put into words. Jeongin knew it would only be a matter of time until the eldest realized what he said and started spiraling himself.

"I don't know. The others haven't texted but they're probably just keeping him occupied with work like he wants to be."

Seungmin looked towards the bathroom door, then to the pile of blankets laid out on the living room floor. The table in front of the TV had a cute pink table cloth over it so they could bring all the food out there to eat and watch your favorite show and movies. "Is the food almost done?" he asked, looking at Minho. He nodded and took the lid off of a nearby pot, giving it a final stir.

"Its all done. Just need to plate it and bring it to the table," he said. Jeongin took out the plates from the cabinet behind him and spread them out to make plating easier. Minho thanked the youngest by ruffling his hair and got to plating. Felix and Hyunjin in the meantime were trying to finish up the cake. Felix had just finished doing a slightly lopsided, but still made with love, checkerboard pattern and now Hyunjin was...it was hard to tell if that was Alice or the Cheshire cat, but either way, it was very "Wonderland".

When you walked out of the bathroom, having checked your eyes one last time to make sure they weren't red, you walked straight into Seungmin's back. When he turned around, he just smiled and put an arm around your shoulder, guiding you to the mess of blankets.

"What movie should we watch first?" he asked, sitting you down front and center. The boys were each bringing out plates of delicious food and your stomach growled again, much louder this time. You blushed slightly, looking down. Seungmin just laughed and handed you the remote.

"What type of movie?" you asked Seungmin.

"Whatever you want. We're happy with anything," he shrugged, leaning back against one of the pillow piles. With the food finally set, Minho sat behind you, patting your head lightly. You leaned into his hands, which then started massaging your head. The other boys came around too, Felix sitting on your other side and Jeongin and Hyunjin sitting on either side of Minho on the couch.

Felix grabbed one of the blankets from behind you and draped it across your back so it was hugging you. He then started passing around the plates of food to everyone as you finalized a movie.

With everyone snuggled in, you watched the movie and ate happily, laughing with your members as they recreated scenes, repeated funny lines, and made comments throughout the entire movie. Finishing your food, you put the plate back on the table, passing Minho’s and Jeongin’s plates onto the table as well, before putting your head on Felix’s shoulder and snuggling close.

Felix smiled down at you, grabbing a duck plushie and putting him gently into your arms. You looked from the stuffed duck to Felix and back to the duck. You smiled at it and gave it a squeeze.

You suddenly felt a small pressure on your hand and turned to see Seungmin had scooted closer to you and put his hand on top of yours. He gave your hand a squeeze and gave you a small smile before turning back to the TV.

Now feeling someone pat your head, you looked up and saw Minho patting it softly. Next to him, Jeongin was looking through a bag of clips you hadn't seen before and was picking out all the clips in your favorite color. You looked forward again and the tears were building up again. You held them back as much as you could when suddenly, Hyunjin huffed from above.

Before you could ask what happened, the tall boy made his way in font of you, Seungmin, and Felix and just flopped on all three of you. You all groaned at the sudden weight, moving every way to avoid getting his by his arms and legs as he found a position that wasn't extremely uncomfortable. Once settled, he looked at you with a cheeky smile, that then turned into a soft one. He brought his hands to your face and wiped the few tears that had escaped. He didn't say anything further, just patting your cheek and turning back.

Everything was calm now, the second movie now playing. You felt warm, both outside and inside. You always believed actions spoke louder than words, and the way the members all cared for you and spent time with you, how could you not feel welcomed? This was your family. Now, this was part of your family. You still had three members that you know care for you too.

Chan's words still hurt and you weren't just going to blindly forgive him, but he was still part of this big and crazy family you found when you found them years ago.

"We're never letting you go, I hope you know that," Seungmin muttered next to you, now holding your arm. Felix and Jeongin nodded, Felix placing a small kiss on your wet cheek.

"Never. It doesn't matter what people online say or what's said in the heat of an argument. We're never letting go," Jeongin said, squeezing your shoulder for good measure.

"The big bad wolf was extra grouchy today, which means everything out of his mouth was a big bad lie," Minho said, kissing the top of your head.

"If he's the big bad wolf, who is little red riding hood?" Hyunjin asked, turning his entire body--eliciting a groan from you, Felix, and Seungmin--and looking at Minho.

Without missing a beat, he looked at Hyunjin and said, "You are, you're going to get eaten soon."

"Do I taste good?"

"Go into the kitchen and find out," Minho said, standing up and going to grab Hyunjin, but he was quick. He got off of you three and ran to the kitchen, and he and Minho had a mini chase around the kitchen island. You laughed at their chase, moved by the kind words and the usual shenanigans of the members.

Jeongin came down in front of you and laid his head on your lap, looking up. "You're a important part of our group, y/n/n. We all love you here." You smiled at the youngest and wiped the last tears before they could escape. The lull of the TV, the comforting sounds of chaos from the kitchen, and the warmth from the members around you made you feel safe, and stopping yourself from fighting it off, you fell into a comfortable sleep, the negative thoughts nowhere to be found.

Here's the second part! I am genuinely so thankful for everyone who has read and liked part 1. I didn't even think it would get as much attention as it did! I finished part 2 early so I figured I would upload it a bit early!

I'm in the process of writing part 3, but I hope to get it done soon! Part 3 will have a happy ending, so I hope you enjoy that when it comes out as well! Likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated. And as always, have a great morning, afternoon, evening, and night!

-Jini

Divider made by: @cafekitsune

Taglist: @neyangi

[words-4u]

don’t shut me out

pairing: jordan li x f!reader

wc: 750

a/n: i combined the two requests bc they felt kinda similar but i hope you guys enjoy <3

(NOTE: your super power is the ability to transform into any animal you want)

you stared at the last message you sent jordan.

to j 💗 i miss u. text me when u see this pls

you had sent that text at 8 pm last night and it was almost noon the next day and you still hadn't heard back from them. sighing deeply, you locked your phone, stuffing it in to your backpack.

is it me? did i do something? you thought.

it might seem over the top reacting this way but jordan is so communicative especially at night so it was off brand for them to go ghost like this. you were going through the different possibilities in your head as walked the god u campus to get to your next class, you had almost missed your friend calling your name.

“hey, y/n!” 

you looked up and saw cate beckoning you over to a table she’s at with andre.

“hey guys,” you said with no excitement which the blonde found weird.

“did your cat die or something? what’s up?” she asked patting the seat in between her and andre.

you huffed and set your bag on the table and your head on andre’s shoulder.

“okay this is gonna sound so stupid but i’ve been texting jordan all night and all morning today and i haven’t heard so much as a peep from them. i know the messages are going through, i just don't know why they're ignoring me”

“oh y/n. you haven’t heard,” andre begins. ”jordan’s parents are in town. we don’t know much about them but we know they are jordan’s least favourite topic.”

“i mean they’ve told me the basics but…” you trail off.

if their parents are in town then that explain why they’ve been so hard to reach. jordan's parents have never understood them and always made them feel ashamed of their powers which is ridiculous because they are ones who’ve injected their kid with compound V.

"guys i’ve got to go,” you said grabbing your bags and transforming into an eagle, flying off to jordan's student accommodation.

you knock rapidly on your partner’s door, once you arrived. “jordan, open up!”

silence.

you grabbed your vphone out of your bag and checked the “find my” app. “i can literally see that you’re in there so either you open this door and let me in or i turn into a snake and slither in… your choice.”

you hear some metal clanging and something unlocked and in a second you were faced with your gorgeous significant other who looked like they have been crying their eyes out.

no words needed to be said between you before you dropped your bag and pulled them into your arms, rocking them side to side.

you let a few moments pass before you spoke. “why didn't you just tell me?”

“i’m sorry,” they said pulling away. “i fall into this pit of self hatred when my parents come around.”

you guided them to the bed and played with their fingers as you shared your thoughts. “you know i thought you were ignoring cause i might've done something to piss you off or something…”

“no, baby” they whispered. “it’s not you. like at all. it’s them. they… they’ve never accepted my full powers. the girl version anyway. to my parents, i’m their golden boy and nothing else. i came to god u and swore that i would never feel ashamed of myself and would never be forced to choose one gender like my parents desperately want.”

“that’s a lot to carry by yourself, jord,” you move their short black bob out of their face and tuck it behind their ear. “i’m here if you ever need to talk. about any of it.”

“i know,” they smiled softly.

“and for what it’s worth i like…all of you,” you confessed which made jordan put on their sexy grin that you fell for.

“is that right? and which parts of me do you like?” they asked switching to their male form and placing you on their lap.

“hmm now that i think about it, i actually can’t remember,” you stroked your chin jokingly.

“how about i make you remember?” they replied, capturing your lips in an over due kiss. you breathe them in as you run your hands through their short hair.

you pulled away still holding their face in your hands. “promise to tell me when things bother you, big or small okay? i don’t want you to shut me out.”

jordan nodded, whispering, “i promise,” before kissing you once more.

[the-way-of-words]

You Can Have The Best Of Me

Noah Sebastian x OFC

Content warnings: oral sex, P in V sex, hair pulling, unprotected sex

Contains sexual situations with a fictionalized version of a real person. If rpf if your squick, feel free to hit the back button.

Follow up to If That's The Best That I Could Be, Then I Would Be Another Memory also fitting into @signs-of-ill-portent's 30 Days of Bad Omens prompt for Dive

My MasterList can be found here

She takes him to a dive bar the next time they see each other. They're in her city this time and as much as he tries to put on a relaxed air, he can feel his leg bouncing where it's perched on the stool he sits on. He missed her an unbelievable amount for some who's practically a stranger and he almost didn't call her when they finally made it to Denver. Thumb stuck above the thumbnail of the picture he took of the two of them that he set as her contact photo. The one he forgot about until three days after she left and his phone went off. No words, just the picture and a blue heart emoji underneath. 

Noah tried to start a call countless times, typed and deleted texts varying in degrees from "hey" to "I miss you". He probably would have kept going like that too, if Nick hadn't gotten fed up with his shit attitude; telling him to man the fuck up and call her or forget about her, just as long as he stopped being an asshole to everybody in a five-foot radius. 

The bar is a far cry from the bowling alley they met at, but it's nice. Dark corners with a few tall tables scattered about, a couple of pool tables, and a jukebox on the far back wall. Best of all is not once has anyone glanced in their direction with recognition in their eyes. 

"You know," her voice pulls him from his perusal of the bar around them, turning his face to hers, "I was starting to think I wasn't going to hear from you again."

Noah looks down, self conscious, "You almost didn't, if I'm honest." 

Her eyebrows knit together before one of them curls up inquisitively. "And what changed your mind?"

"My friend told me to man the fuck up and call you or forget about you…" he laughs, "So I figured I better call you. Forgetting you seems kind of impossible."

Even in the low light of the bar, he can see her blush a split second before she clears her throat. Reaching for the beer in front of her, she takes a couple swigs of the amber liquid before she stands. "Come on… let's see how well you do at pool."  

~~

You laugh as he, once again, tries and fails to hit one of his striped balls still on the green felt. Taking your shot, you sank the black eight, winning the game. Satisfaction fills your chest and you can't help but laugh at his face when he realizes he's lost for a third time. 

"Pleased with yourself?" He asks, stepping towards you, placing his hands on either side of the table behind you, effectively boxing you in. 

Your breath catches in your chest. This is the first time he's been so close since all those months ago in California and you can feel your body respond. Clearing your throat, you smirk up at him as you nod, aiming for calm when all you feel is the arousal gathering in your belly. It doesn't help that he seems to almost sense it, the air between you rapidly becoming charged. 

His gaze is dark, the brown of his eyes almost black when he asks, "You wanna get out of here?"

Against your better judgment, you bring him back to your place. The cab ride home is full of heady tension, the warmth of his hand burning through your jeans where it rests on your thigh. 

He's on you almost as soon as you enter your apartment, his big hands cupping your face and pulling your mouth to his the second you lock the deadbolt. Your hands fist in his hoodie, holding him close as he licks into your mouth. There’s an emotion pulling at your throat, desperate to break free, but you swallow it down, focusing instead on how his mouth feels against yours. How every swipe of his tongue against yours sends sparks to your core when you remember exactly how it felt when he licked into your folds. 

He lets you lead him to your bedroom, delicately stripping the clothing from your body as you travel down your short hallway. By the time he's lowering you to the bed, only your panties remain. His hoodie is gone when he kneels on the mattress. The of his white tank top stark against the ink on his body in the lamplight as he lowers himself to his stomach between your thighs. 

He takes you apart slowly. Mouthing at you over your panties before tugging at the waistband and pulling them off you. His fingers touch you insistently, spreading you for his gaze. You gasp when he sucks open-mouthed kisses into your inner thigh until his lips meet your center. Using his tongue to tease at your opening before sucking your clit into his mouth. 

Your hips buck against his face and he groans against you when you grip his hair tight, holding him close to you as he gives you what you need. Two fingers work their way into your cunt, a third following when you breathlessly ask for more. They move lazily, stroking your inner walls intently until you feel your climax break against you. He doesn’t object when your legs close around his face. If anything, he welcomes it, using his free hand to grip one of your legs closer, moaning as he laps up your release.

Noah moves willingly when you tug his head away from your sensitive folds with a whimper. His face twisted in a pleased smile as he moved up your body. You pull the tank top from where its tucked into his pants, hands wandering the expanse of his torso as he removes it. He ducks his head down, lips meeting yours in a wet kiss before standing, shucking his pants and underwear to the floor. You tug on his hand when he kneels back on the bed, pulling him onto you while you reach down to close your hand around his cock. His eyes close with a contented sigh, forehead falling to yours as you jerk him slowly and it doesn’t escape you when his hips start rolling to meet the movement. 

Soon enough his hand closes around yours, the other moving to your face, your eyes meeting just as he pushes into you. A sound somewhere between a sob and a moan bursting from your lips as your inner walls stretch around him. 

“God, I know… I know,” he says, soothing you with a soft voice. He sounds as wrecked as you feel. Something about the way he fills you permeates an emotion into the room you have no idea how to deal with.

You clutch his back, keeping him close as he rocks his hips back and forth, starting a slow, steady rhythm. It shouldn’t feel this good, having him close like this, moving in and out of you like this. Yet there's no one else you think you would want between your legs, breaking you undone with every thrust into you. 

“Can you cum again?” He pants, groaning when you clench around him. “I wanna feel you again. Please.” 

And you can. You know you can. You can feel it moving throughout you, the spark of pleasure, and when it makes its way to your core, you cry out, hitching your legs about his side. Your orgasm rolls through you and he grunts, hips stilling as you feel him pulse inside you, emptying his release into your wet heat. 

He rolls the two of you until he’s on his back with you perched on top of him, his arms hugging you close. His heartbeat sounds in your ear, the fast-paced thudding slowing to a calmer rhythm as you both catch your breath.

“How long do you have?” You ask quietly, as if speaking louder could shatter the moment. 

He sighs, arms tightening around you. “I have to be back by seven tomorrow morning.”  

You nod, reaching over to set your alarm before falling back into his chest, letting sleep take you under.

~~

Noah wakes to a head between his thighs, her quiet voice whispering, is this okay as her breath brushes against his cock. He gives his ascent, an audible gasp bursting from his lips when she takes him into her mouth. His hand weaves into her hair, fingers tightening when she hollows her cheeks, mouth sliding up and down his shaft. Just like last time, she doesn’t object when he rolls his hips, thrusting up into her mouth shallowly. 

“Can I?” He asks, and he feels her nod, her hand falling away from his shaft to brace against his thigh. His eyes close, trying to commit to memory the feeling of her mouth around him, how her hair feels between his fingers; the way her hands feel on his thighs. 

He can feel his orgasm nearing and Noah tugs on her hair, pulling her up to straddle him,  because if he’s going to cum, he wants to do it buried inside of her. Their mouths crash together just as she sinks down onto his shaft and she plants her hands on his chest. It’s desperate, hurried. He holds her hips in an iron grip as he helps her move and he hopes he leaves bruises, something to keep the memory of this alive as he moves to the next city. Her nails dig into his chest and he knows he’s going to cherish whatever is left behind until they fade away. 

She cums just as her alarm goes off. Her pussy spasming around him until he has no choice but to follow after her. When she slumps on to the mattress at his side, he turns to face her. Cupping her cheek and tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, he takes in her face. Memorizing the shape of her lips, the slope of her nose. 

All too soon, he’s dressed and nursing a cup of coffee in her kitchen while he waits for his cab. Emotion pulls at his chest, crawling up his throat and clogging it. He tries to shake it, but it seems he won’t be able to open his mouth with the words tumbling out when she leans against the counter in front of him.

“I like you.” 

She smiles, huffing a little laugh. “I like you too.”

“No…” he starts, inwardly cursing himself. “I mean… I like you… as in I don’t want this to be all this is…” 

Noah closes his eyes, trying to stave off the embarrassment that’s starting to curdle in his stomach as the silence stretches between them. He feels like a fucking teenager again, asking his first crush if she wanted to go to a movie.

“I — I would like that too.” 

He leaves her apartment ten minutes later with a smile on his face, a promise to text her when they hit the interstate. Noah knows it won’t be easy, but there's something about the prospect of more than this, leaves him feeling optimistic.

[jaemmphilia]

☾ batshit crazy ☽

☾ synopsis: kyungsoo is getting reeeal tired of your crazy schemes. ☾ featuring: do kyungsoo x gn!reader ☾ prompt: "are you- what the f*ck is that?" ☾ warnings: humor, reader is known for doing crazy things, reader and kyungsoo are married, no pronouns used, but written with a male reader in mind ☾ disclaimer: this is simply a work of fiction and does not represent kyungsoo as a person. ☾ triplejracha, 2024. please do not copy, translate, or upload to other platforms.

read hjenthusiast's version here!

kyungsoo dreads opening the text messages between you and himself. he knows it could only mean that you've done something dumb and need his help getting out of the situation.

kyungsoo reads the message you sent him and he doesn't even stop himself from rolling his eyes.

now, kyungsoo loves you. loving you comes easy to him, he's sure of that. but, of course, every single person has their flaws. yours just so happens to be picking up random animals off the side of the road (where they belong, no matter how injured they might be).

kyungsoo often wonders how he ended up marrying someone as sporadic as you. you often say he's the black cat in the relationship while you are the overly excited puppy. at first, he didn't understand your comparison but as he rereads your message, his eyes scanned the unnecessary abundance of exclamation marks and emojis that don't fit what you sent him.

i got you a present, kyungieeee!!! 🤠🤠🤫🤫😇

kyungsoo feels his heart beat quicker and a soft smile creeping onto his face. now, he might complain about you more than praise you, but at the end of the day, it's you who puts a smile on his face.

kyungsoo steps out of his car and takes a deep breath as he steps up to the front door of his home. he unlocks the door and is welcomed by the heavy scent of spearmint and cucumber. as the pungent scent of the spearmint hits his nostrils, the annoyance he felt on his drive home washes away.

"kyungie, are you home?" your voice calls out to him as he kicks off his shoes and sticks his feet in his houseshoes.

kyungsoo doesn't respond, he only follows your voice and finds you in the living room, lounging on the couch with some...thing swaddled in a baby blue blanket in your arms.

he doesn't even notice that you're holding something in your arms at first, he just starts talking.

"are you- what the fuck is that?"

you gasp dramatically, holding the thing closer to your chest. "kyungie, watch your language around the babies!"

kyungsoo is confused and he can feel a headache coming on. he rubs his temples and decides to approach this calmly. "y/n, you better explain yourself."

"come and look at them while i tell you how i got them!" you adjust your body to show kyungsoo what's in your arms after he plops down beside you.

kyungsoo's eyes go wide as he stares at two smaller pairs of beady black eyes look back at him. "i'm going to ask again. what the fuck are those?"

"they're baby fruit bats! which are also called-" you start saying, but your husband interrupts you.

"i don't want to know. where did you get them?" is kyungsoo's next question.

and you ramble on about how one of your close friends found some abandoned baby bats that need a place to stay and recover. you explain that your heart hurt seeing the poor things so sad and weak, that it was your duty to take care of them when their mother couldn't.

kyungsoo wonders how he married you (he allowed you to keep the baby bats until they were ready to be released).

[queen-of-deans-booty]

Fan Fiction: Final Part

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~1.9k

Warnings: canon angst and violence, extra angst

Summary: Not only did Chuck write books about your lives, but a damn musical theater is putting a play on about your goddamn lives. You try to let them handle this one on their own but they're not letting you go, and it's time to bring insurance to make sure you never leave them.

Season Ten Masterlist

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Supernatural. All credit goes to their respective owners. I love seeing any and all comments <3

x

Marie and Maeve are back in the auditorium but Marie is panicking.

"Hey!" Dean exclaims and rushes over to Marie. "Are you okay?"

"Not really," she gasps.

"Why don't you guys calm her down and I'll find wooden stakes in the trunk."

Sam leaves and Dean kneels down to get on Marie's level.

"Is Marie gonna get eaten?" Maeve asks.

"If we're lucky," you glare.

"Nothing is going to happen. Don't listen to her. Marie, look at me." When she does, he continues. "As soon as that curtain rises, we're going to be there to take out Calliope."

"This is all my fault. If I hadn't written this dumb play, none of this would've happened."

"First of all this play isn't dumb." You open your mouth to say something when Dean glares at you. "It's not dumb."

"I thought you didn't believe in this interpretation?"

"I don't. Like, at all, but you do. I need you to believe in it with all you've got so we can kill Calliope and save your friends. Can you do that?"

"Yeah." She takes a deep breath. "If Sam, Dean, and Y/N were real, they wouldn't back down from a fight. Especially my sweet, brave, selfless Sam. There's nothing he can't do."

"I'm not touching that subject," Dean shakes his head.

"Okay, let's do this!" She grabs a dark wig that the young woman was using who was playing Sam. "I understudy Sam. I used this for my one-woman Orphan Black show, last year. it's gonna have to work for Sam." She puts the wig on her head. "Writer. Director. Actor. I'm gonna Barbra Streisand this bitch."

Guess it's time for a fucking show. People pile into the auditorium once the show is about to begin to see this either rock or go up in flames. The curtains are closed so no one sees what's happening backstage. The girl who plays Dean walks past Dean wearing the amulet that Sam gave him all those years ago. You're not sure what happened to that necklace.

"The Samuelt?" Dean asks Marie.

"That amulet is a symbol of the Winchesters' brotherly love."

Sam comes back with three wooden stakes he's prepared for the fight that will happen. He hands you yours, and you yank it from his grasp angrily. All the girls line up and Sam scans them with a frown.

"Wait a second, where's Chuck?"

"Oh, I love him, I do, but the whole author introducing himself into the narrative thing is just not my favorite. I kind of hate the meta stories," Marie says.

"Alright, listen up, girl," Dean announces. "Now, you're all here because you love Supernatural. I know I have expressed some differences of opinion regarding this particular version of Supernatural. Tonight is all about Marie's vision. This is Marie's Supernatural. So, I want you to get out there, I want you to stand as close as she wants you to, and I want you to put as much sub and add text as you possibly can. There is no other road. No other way. No day, but today."

"Did he quote Rent?" Maeve whispers to Marie.

"Now, you get out there, and you kick it in the ass!"

The girls cheer from the pep talk and encourage each other. They all separate to either go backstage or on stage as they get ready. You and Dean stand on one side of the stage while Sam stands on the other side, all with stakes in hand. Marie slips through the curtain to address the audience.

"This is stupid," you hiss at Dean.

"Shut up and keep an eye out."

"Good evening, everybody! Welcome to our production of Supernatural. I'm not gonna lie. It might be a full-on Gallagher show opening up this piece. Uh, those of you in the front rows may want to use the ponchos we provided for you under your seats. You may, in fact, get wet on this ride. Um, I would like to thank the cast and crew--"

"She's stalling. Let's do this," Dean says to Maeve.

"Copy that. Curtain, kids. It's showtime."

The music starts playing, making Marie jump in surprise.

"That concludes our introduction for the night. Everybody sit back, relax, and enjoy the show."

Marie scurries on stage as the curtains open. The beginning number of singing your life introduction sounds and the girl who plays Dean steps forward. The song you heard when you first arrived starts playing, and she goes through the song about how John and Mary got together, had Sam and Dean, your mother dying, blah, blah, blah.

Dean seems to be enjoying the song while you're absentmindedly playing at the thing on your neck. You can't fucking believe Dean did this. When did he have time to search for something like this? Has he been planning this for a while? Was Sam in on it? You look over at Sam in time to see the big scary scarecrow appear behind him. Apparently, Dean sees it too because he starts warning his brother who is confused.

"Turn around!" Dean yells slightly lower than the music playing. Sam turns to face the scarecrow who grabs him. This is all happening while the girls on stage act and sing. "Come on."

"Do we have to," you complain. Dean drags you along backstage to get to where Sam is, but the younger brother is nowhere to be found once you get to his spot. "Where the hell did he go?"

The first act ends and goes straight into the next one where Fake!Dean and Fake!Cas are having a conversation on fake phones.

"Okay, you can pop in tomorrow morning."

"Yes. I'll just wait here, then," Fake!Cas sighs.

Another song starts playing which is a solo moment for the girl who plays Cas. You and Dean rush over to Marie who is already backstage. Apparently, she saw the moment Sam was taken.

"What do we do now?" she panics.

"Just, stick to the plan, okay? Keep singing until the scarecrow comes for you."

"Don't die, okay?" you grin and pat her back as you walk away from her.

Marie walks on stage as soon as Cas' part is over so she can begin singing her part as Sam. She is nervous about what's about to happen but is acting like a professional. The scarecrow appears behind Marie to consume her, and that's when Dean jumps into action. He jumps onto the scarecrow, forgetting he's on stage in front of a large audience. Both Fake!Sam and Fake!Dean keeps singing as if this isn't happening behind them. You look to the audience to see one of the members in the front row put his poncho on.

The scarecrow and Dean wrestle before the monster throws Dean across the stage over to you. He slides right in front of your feet, and Dean glares up at you.

"Help!"

"Fine," you roll your eyes.

You twirl the stake in your hands as you walk onto the stage. You're not fucking scared of this thing. You'll fucking take it down before it realizes what's going on. The scarecrow runs at you to tackle you but you quickly move out of the way before he can touch you.

"Missed me!" you laugh.

You jump onto the scarecrow's back to strangle him but he grabs both your arms in retaliation. He uses all of his immense strength to flip you over him and to the front of the stage. You quickly get up and ram your stake into his chest. You turn him so his back is facing the audience and yours is facing the backdrop of the set. You step back from the scarecrow when you see it start to tremble.

The scarecrow explodes in a purple goo substance, covering almost everyone in the audience. A bit of goo gets on your jacket to which you huff out in annoyance. You walk toward Dean and shove the stake into his chest.

"You're welcome," you scoff and walk off.

Silence falls on the audience until the guy wearing the poncho stands up and begins clapping. Everyone in the audience follows suit, and Dean steps next to a starstruck Marie.

"Take a bow, Sammy."

Marie, Dean, and Fake!Dean takes a bow for the audience. It's a good time to take an intermission for the rest of the crew to get ready for the final act. Sam suddenly appears with Ms. Chandler and the other young girl who went missing. It's time to finally get out of this shitty town and back to the Bunker, so Sam and Dean are saying their goodbyes.

"You did good out there, kid," Dean says to Marie.

"You're not so bad yourself."

"You know what? This has been educational to see the story from your perspective. Keep writing Shakespeare."

"Even if it doesn't match how you see it?"

"I have my version, and you have yours."

The light starts flickering to signal it's almost time to go on again.

"One minute, folks. One minute," Maeve announces.

You and Dean walk away from Marie, but she stops him from going far.

"Dean?" She must believe you're who you say you are. "You should have never thrown this away."

She gives him the prop Samulet he noticed earlier. Dean chuckles as he takes it, and he admires it.

"It never really worked. I don't need a symbol to remind me how I feel about my brother."

"Just take it. Jerk."

"Bitch," Dean automatically says.

He quickly realizes it's not Sam he's talking to and blushes in embarrassment. Marie laughs at him before turning to you.

"Y/N, look, I don't know what's going on with you, but the Y/N I read about has a love so strong for Dean that nothing can break it. I just thought you'd want a reminder of it."

You take two steps closer to her before Dean has a chance to do something.

"The last thing I'd want to remember is my lame-ass excuse of a husband."

You turn and walk away, not missing the way Dean's eyes fill with sadness and hurt. What you're saying to him and about him is really hurting him, and that fact brings a smirk to your face. Dean pushes back the tears and walks to Sam.

"You know what, Dean? You were right. Staying cooped up isn't helping us. We need--"

It's as if the universe aligned perfectly because the next scene starts with Fake!Sam and Fake!Dean in the car. They're having a conversation that perfectly fits with what Sam was about to say.

"We need to get back on the road, Dean. Doing what we do best."

"What is that?" Marie asks.

"You're right, Sammy. Out on the road. Just the two of us."

"The two of us against the world," Fake!Sam says.

"What she said," Sam smiles and nudges his brother.

The scene moves onto a different one where all the characters get on stage to sing a cover of Carry On Wayward Son. Characters you know in real life. A girl steps on stage that you're not sure you recognize, but when you do, a smirk grows on your face.

"Who's that?" Sam asks Maeve.

"That's Adam. John Winchester's other kid. He's still trapped in the cage in Hell with Lucifer."

Poor son of a bitch.

"Carry on my wayward son / There'll be peace when you are done / Lay your weary head to rest / Don't you cry no more / Once I rose above the noise and confusion / Just to get a glimpse behind this illusion / I was soaring ever higher."

The song continues as Sam and Dean watch with raw emotion in their eyes.

"Masquerading as a man with the reason / My charade is the event of the season / And if I claim to be a wise man / It surely means I don't know / Carry on my wayward son / There'll be peace when you are done / Lay your weary head to rest / Don't you cry no more / Carry on."

You grab both of their shoulders and fit your head between theirs so they both can hear you above the singing.

"I am so glad I don't have a soul because that was painful to watch."

When you leave, Dean turns to Sam with tears in his eyes.

"Purifying her soul better work because I need my wife back."

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[yourdyingwish]

Hi! I saw your post about the blue curtain thing and I was wondering what was wrong with their interpretation. I haven't taken an english/lit class in years so a lot of it has slipped my mind, and the way they explained it seemed to make sense to me (especially because I tend to intentionally do something similar for imagery in my own writing).

I just posted a pretty long explainer a second ago about this because obviously I was being flippant when I posted the original screenshot, but basically: there's nothing inherently wrong with using an author's biographical details to inform an interpretation of a piece of literature. Death of the Author is something else entirely. Some people who have never read Barthes' original essay and have maybe only heard the phrase or concept seem to think that Death of the Author is a methodology in which you ignore the author's life in favor of your "own interpretation," which is somehow always right. This could not be more wrong. But to step back, let's talk about why that original post was limiting to the practice and art of criticism (I'm going to use this instead of 'wrong') because that was your question. At the core of that original post is, in fact, basically the same limited line of thinking present in the post I was talking about. (Btw no shade to OP–I care more about the 40k people who seem to agree with them, they might have changed their mind or not articulated themselves well, I've been there). Let's look at the original curtains are blue post and this post side by side.

Putting the rest of this under a cut because it gets long

The left is a version of the original idea in the "curtains are blue" post, and the right is the post I had an issue with which seems to basically be saying that real academic literary analysis doesn't actually try to match color symbolism to meaning, and instead focuses on autobiographical details of the author's life.

If this is true to OP's experience or the experience of those reblogging the post, I hope they high-tail it out of whatever program they're studying in. The issue with both of these posts, besides their general anti-intellectual undertone, is actually their emphasis on "correct" or "real" interpretation of a text, or one that is understood as "right" by some kind of invisible cabal of criticism-theory referees who all want to tell you "what the author really said." This is, among other things, a very juvenile approach to criticism. I think the reason that this type of sentiment is so popular on tumblr is that, frankly, a lot of people on this website are in high school or early college, and have an adversarial relationship to their English teacher/professor, who grades them on how well they can analyze a text based on sometimes arbitrary criteria. It makes sense that they would see themselves being graded on their criticism as "right" or "wrong" and interpret that there is such a thing as a single interpretation of a text that is "right" or "wrong."

However, that's not really what is or should be happening in upper-level/higher education. A high school English teacher trying to teach their students about color symbolism in the Great Gatsby is simply trying to impart one possible methodology of criticism to their students and enable them to repeat the same basic critical moves that one critic, at one time, has made, because grasping the basic ability to adopt a methodology and employ it is a foundational skill for analysis. However, public schools in America can't and don't take the time to explain that this is a methodology, so many students who are tumblr-aged walk away with this idea that their English teachers or even their professors have an extremely narrow view of what is "true" in a text. Often, exposure to one methodology will leave them with the idea that this is the correct methodology, when what they should have been taught first is that obsessing over what is "correct," especially related to truth from the author, is the one thing you shouldn't do. This is why the second post is just as bad: it says that actually, it's not symbolic interpretations from the author that matter (as in 'the author meant for the curtains to just be blue'), but an author's biography which, buried under psychoanalytic layers, can be revealed as a generator of meaning (as in 'the author's mother died in a room with blue curtains'). Both of these things are irrelevant because they, probably through the above process of intellectual alienation caused by grades I mentioned above, are focused on what the author intended as being a source of truth within a text.

This is what Death of the Author makes an attempt to deconstruct, and why I mentioned it in my original post. Barthes wrote his essay at a time when theory and criticism in general was undergoing seismic shifts following two major world wars & a huge variety of other cultural undercurrents in middle of the 20th century. Many things that had been taken for granted up to that point were suddenly being reconsidered, in particular the idea that texts, art, or even language itself has a central "truth" or meaning. Massively simplified, this is one of the core tenets of post-structuralism, and you can definitely say that Barthes was a post-structuralist thinker. When Barthes wrote that the death of the author is the birth of the reader, he was simply pointing out that the assumption many centuries of Western criticism is built on–that the author is the primary meaning-maker within a text, simply because they wrote it–is wrong. I believe this is true. Some people say death of the author is a "methodology" of criticism, but to me it's actually more like a door you have to walk through in order to do really good criticism. If you free yourself from the idea of a "correct" interpretation of a text driven by authorial intent, what you're left with is the really thrilling, life-giving work of criticism: drawing connections from within and without the text, and treating it as a living document whose meaning changes over time. What I think people don't realize is that poststructuralism, either formally or in practice, is the basis for most of the literary theory we embrace and consider valid. That is NOT to say that some French dude in the 1950s invented feminism or post-colonial theory, or even paved the way for it. Instead, you could easily say that marginalized people were already approaching critical analysis in a variety of ways based on their lived experiences, and it was the academy which had to catch up. There are a lot of more complicated theoretical thoughts people have had on this, which aren't relevant here really. But I think it's worth pointing out that Death of the Author is, by my measure at least, very good to do, and is VITAL to do if you've spent most of your adult life having weird, watered-down versions of symbolic, biographical, or psychoanalytic theories of interpretation pounded into your head by overworked English teachers. I feel like I should make it clear, BTW, that what I'm saying about why I think Death of the Author is a useful text or concept and what Barthes is saying about authorship in the essay itself are two slightly different things. Barthes' investment in overturning authorship at least within the confines of this brief essay is a lot more related to him proving out his theories of poststructuralism in general than it is to opening doors to totally new forms of interpretation. In the essay he is essentially saying that the nature of texts is the nature of language itself, which is that they are completely constructed, culturally determined, and therefore open to endless interpretation. This is a beautiful idea and one I embrace fully. A lot of Marxists, queer theorists, and others rail against this at least in part, because if you stop there, you're still functioning within a very limited paradigm. You've probably heard it before, the move is basically: "everything is a construct, so nothing matters" as opposed to the feminist, critical race theory, queer theory approach, which is to say "the things we consider to be true are constructs; what narratives or modes of being exist to disrupt those constructs?" or a more Marxist/materialist approach which is to say "this is a construct, and someone constructed it because it benefitted them to do so."

But I think the original essay really is beautiful. I'm going to quote from it here:

Once the Author is distanced, the claim to "decipher" a text becomes entirely futile. To assign an Author to a text is to impose a brake on it, to furnish it with a final signified, to close writing. This conception is quite suited to criticism, which then undertakes the important task of discovering the Author (or his hypostases: society, history, the psyche, freedom) beneath the work: once the Author is found, the text is "explained," the critic has won; hence, it is hardly surprising that historically the Author's empire has been the Critic's as well, and also that (even new) criticism is today unsettled at the same time as the Author. In multiple writing, in effect, everything is to be disentangled, but nothing deciphered, structure can be followed, "threaded" (as we say of a run in a stocking) in all its reprises, all its stages, but there is no end to it, no bottom; the space of writing is to be traversed, not pierced; writing constantly posits meaning, but always in order to evaporate it: writing seeks a systematic exemption of meaning. In summary: the reason I think we should engage with texts at all is not to find a single meaning. It's not to prove out what the author said or what they didn't say. Instead, when we engage with literary criticism, our goal should be to simply say something as clearly as we can, based on the methodologies available to us. To ask "What is this? What is it doing? How is it doing it, and why do we care?" is a fundamental, beautiful question and the source of pleasure to me as a reader. Art isn't autonomous, and exists in our lives criss-crossed with social and political forces which change over time. When we can untangle the knots around a work of art, we discover ways to articulate ideas that might be impossible in other contexts. To only untangle the knot of authorial intent does ourselves, and the text, a disservice.

[yuukei-yikes]

chatting with my kagefriend @hibihiiyo about ayaki

i keep imagining how whenever shintaro activates retaining, all the routes bleed together in his mind so post str since its his constant state it's confusing AND terrifying to live past that august once and for all. like, it goes on beyond what he has known and remembers hundreds of versions of. so picture that, but from ayaki's perspective.....

all those routes, and shintaro finally knows. constantly. because shintaro will ALWAYS remember at one point, but then he'll forget again. ayaki is used to it. in fact she resents how she looks forward to it because it's the only time she interacts with... anything!!! she has actual influence when shintaro activates her. depending on what she says shintaro will say something different. routes always differ, at least slightly, but seeing shintaro at the end before it starts again is her one chance to say ANYTHING before she waits thousands of years again until shintaro is born and grows to be 18. she has actual presence when he remembers, even if they're tiny pockets of time in her eternity. however post str this is constant. shintaro is There.

and you know who else is there. HERSELF. time for ayano math.

ayano just fucking hates herself that's like. ayano 101. but what happens when there's 2 of them. they both hate themselves for doing things but those things are vastly different from each other. so... same person, different contexts and choices. which one is most hated by both? the answer is. well. whichever is alive!!

Because THAT ayano, so basically our final route ayano, has everything. but... erm, SHE wasn't supposed to Make It. ayano is never supposed to survive. ayano staying is an anomaly. and ayaki will continue to be miserable as her family and friends are alive and she is not there to be by their side, but that's always been part of the deal, she knew that she wasn't ever getting "a happy ending" because her Happiest Ending is her family's safety. her very existence is being doomed for infinity. but this route's version of her staying around and... GETTING A HAPPY ENDING!??!?!?! THAT.... WAS NOT EVER EVEN CONSIDERED.

shintaro continues to astonish her when he pulls something like this, letting ayano survive? SAVING ayano? who the hell does he think he is. hasnt ayaki suffered enough? why is she also cursed to watch herself get a happy ending. she doesn't deserve it and ayaki knows ayano knows she doesn't deserve it.

THIS ayano roped kano into it, she basically threw haruka and takane at the wolves, she left her siblings completely unprotected. ayaki was Left because she was willing to do something extreme and awful and scared her siblings away and made it right in her mind by cursing herself to be This, just for her "succesful" version to kill herself out of the situation AND get put on a pedestal for it? bullshit!!!!

this route's ayano is glorified and praised by her siblings and welcomed back with open arms and tears. this ayano gets to apologize and make things right, she gets to eat her favorite food again, she gets to become friends with mary, she gets to go on a date with shintaro, she gets her siblings to trust her. she gets everything despite she was a coward and wronged everyone FAR MORE than ayaki did, and she only suffered 2 years of the daze compared to ayaki's eternity in there.

hope articulated so spectacularly their thoughts abt ayaki's psyche that i am straight up quoting her text rn:

"she decided she’d punish herself by dying over and over again, and watching the people she loves die over and over again for all of eternity, until she manages to find some way to get thru to shintaro and fix it and never be able to be a human being again and live normally. thus is forced to become so numb, desensitized, and uncaring to pain and suffering that her otherwise human brain, which was never meant or designed to be turned into an immortal demi deity and the patron saint of suffering, would split in half and make her go insane. which it probably did. her human brain was not meant to live forever, to suffer forever, to watch others suffer forever, to watch the same mundane endless events with no agency or control over how they occur. death, pain, and suffering became tools to win her ultimate game of 5 dimensional, temporal chess and thus she can no longer abide by morals to fulfill her ultimate purpose. deci and ryan’s self determination theory states all humans need to feel relatedness, competency, and autonomy to thrive in their environment, and by martyring herself into a snake, ayaki chooses to deprive herself of all of these things. she is not good at her job and must fail over and over again for eternity because the story playing in front of her is RNG out of her control. ayaki cannot relate to anyone because nobody knows she’s there, not even shintaro except on rare instances. and ayaki has zero autonomy over anything, except her incredibly cryptic vague dreams that rarely even work"

ayaki's big curse is her humanity remaining. It's the pain she feels because of the love she feels, over and over, it nevers gets any easier and it never hurts any less, her love grows stronger and stronger with each reset. ayaki hates herself so much which is why she hates our route ayano Even More

[broodingheroine]

tmagp thoughts (this will be pure nonsense I just need to write it down)

alice is so tim coded

obviously there's a connection anyone can make to the multiple statements abt urban exploration/spelunking in tma and the redcanary forum thread.... it invites the horrors (connection to danny?)

gwen is a ✨️bouchard✨️ (implication that while its a parallel universe the same ppl still exist? supports possibility of spelunking forum thread connecting to danny somehow (not actually super sold on that but seen a lot of ppl mention it so))

colin is definitely going to succumb to the horrors :/ (either first to die OR..... this universes version of an avatar?)

CHESTER AND NORRIS!!!

I'm of the firm opinion that they're jmart BUT! but but but! I do believe they're echoes of who they were, this just so happens to be Somewhere Else.

also! yes I understand that we most likely will Not get any tma characters in any meaningful way in tmagp, however I also believe that alex and jonny couldve very easily.... not...... voiced the text to speeches....... like yeah I dont think we're getting jmart as we knew them but..... come on

also also. the text to speeches got less robot sounding the longer they were reading and it really reminded me of how ppl reading statements would slowly get invested as they were reading and emote as if it were happening to them.

sam is on the archivist (or tmagp equivalent) pipeline already yikes

the turpentine line was raw as fuck. so was the canary one obviously. don't want to beat a dead horse by talking abt that bc so many others have already said it. but! the institute is deadly stay away!!

the sound engineering is god tier I love all the bleeps and bloops

colin knows smth is Watching. inadvertently feeding the eye by being paranoid? does the eye even exist the same way it did in tma?

theres definitely smth to be said abt whether or not robert smirke did his thing the way he did in tma and if anyone in the know uses the same classification or if the oiar is the only group categorizing. the fears always kind of blurred together at certain points so maybe without the human interpretation of it being 14 distinct entities it's more of an..... amalgam?

magnus institute is in a different place which is interesting. if it was built for the same reasons (outside of just research) is there another panopticon esque structure underneath? (brings us back to if smirke was doing his thing)

very curious to see if theres gonna be a leitner books equivalent.

I deeply deeply deeply desire a michaela salesa cameo at some point. he's one of my fav side characters.

sam and gwen using classic horror characters to help him try and memorize the classification categories was very cute

another thing I'm sure everyone has talked abt already but the whole world wide WEB thing and possible jmart in the computers and omg they're in the web and the oiar is part of the web and blah blah blah u get the image.

lena is intriguing to me. my guess is she's going to be a gertrude esque character who knows at least the basics of what's really happening and is trying to put a stop to it.

I havent seen anyone talk abt like...... what IS the magnus protocol. like tma was the archives in the magnus institute. the magnus archives. self explanatory from like ep 1. what the hell is the magnus protocol. is it smth fr3-d1 will run? or the text to speeches? is it tmagp's version of a ritual? using protocol to reference the updated tech from tma? is it smth the actual organization has to run in the event of Something Happening? WHAT THE PROTOCOL WHATS IT FORRRRR

I know nothing abt the ARG shit, just to note that

okay I think that's it for now..... feel free to discuss in the notes lol

[xerith-42]

My Street Ramblings

Ok ok ok so @gonedreaminggg put it into words very well when they described My Street characters as more of characters than people. Which is so true!! Like I can list off some personality traits of some characters, but can you honestly tell me what Katelyn really thinks about Zane? Even though they're both main characters?

(Editors note, this post ran the fuck away from me so it's long as fuck sjdfjsdhg)

The problem MS has is that a lot of these characters get boiled down to the silliest, memeist versions of themselves, until Jess did a spin maneuver and made the series a story driven show with a darker tone and promptly crashed her faster car into a brick wall. But even before that happened, a lot of MS characters were lacking because of the forced perspective.

Until the plot shows up in season 4 and mandates characters splitting up constantly, a lot of the series is (sometimes literally) only seen from Aphmau's perspective. If interesting character drama is happening and she isn't around for it, it won't be seen. This was somewhat rectified in Season 5, but it was really too little too late. Because Aphmau has to be around for important stuff to happen, we don't really know the characters on a smaller scale, because the series is allergic to taking things slow.

Imagine an episode that's just watching Nana go through her day. She wakes up, starts making coffee, pulls a blanket over Katelyn who fell asleep on the couch watching K-drama's last night, and then goes outside with her morning coffee, a small breakfast, and sits on her porch and scrolls through Tumblr while people watching.

We follow her taking the bus to get to her barista job, and watch as she goes through an opening shift. Scenes fade showing the different parts of her job, maybe she has to deal with an angry customer and we see how she responds. Maybe while she's working one of her other friends from My Street shows up and gets an order and they have a chat as she's working. We watch the care she puts into it, and how she leaves little positive notes with drawings of cats, hearts, and flowers next to their name on their order.

My Street characters suffer from feeling like they aren't doing anything if the Main Character isn't around. How does Travis like to spend his weekends? We can make headcanons about it, but the show, the actual text, can't answer such a simple question about one of it's main characters.

My Street also suffers from having too many characters, but if the series was willing to slow down, all of them could be given proper time, especially because a lot of characters probably spend time together when Aphmau and Aaron aren't around.

I'm talking about an episode where it opens on Garroth honking his horn, and then Zane comes trudging out of his house, gets in the passenger seat, and lets out a huff. Garroth just gives him the aux cord, and Zane puts on his high school emo playlist he unironically enjoys. Garroth nods along to or even lip-sings some of the song (probably Welcome To The Black parade by MCR, I just know all the Ro'maeve brothers love that song.)

Speaking of which, they then pick up Vylad, and all three of them just go for a drive. Eventually they drive into the country side, pull off, and then turn the car off. Garroth pops open the trunk and the three of them all just chill out on a pile of blankets and pillows that were already there. They sit in silence for a while. Vylad and Zane pass a vape pen around, and every now and then Garroth takes a hit off of it.

Finally they all just talk. About life, about their feelings, about their parents, whatever they can think to talk about. Maybe Garroth brings up some of his gripes about his roommate, or Vylad confesses that they're struggling to figure out how to come out to their parents. This is clearly a routine these three established, and something all three of them greatly appreciate. Garroth and Zane never quite felt like brothers to me, but this? I could see myself doing this with my brother.

And for my final random idea I had while in the shower, I want to talk about Melissa my beloved. A character who only exists to help prop up an already existing character. Melissa has almost no identity outside of being Aaron's Sister. Let me ask you this, what's her job? Without checking the wiki?

My idea is that she works for her parents company, a boring, dreadful, and soul draining office job. It's the same routine day in, day out, nothing changes. Wake up, drive to work, sit at her office for 8 hours, go home, sleep, repeat. Until on Friday, when she's truly had enough, when she's just so tired as she slams the car door as she's getting in her car to leave and hangs her head. She's so exhausted, so drained, so miserable. Her moment of anguish is interrupted by her phone playing a stupid love song, and you can just see her face relax the minute she hears it.

She answers the phone, puts it on speaker, and sets it up on a stand in her car. Her relaxed expression turns into a love struck grin, her ears relax, and her tail starts wagging the minute she hears her girlfriend Lucinda's voice. After the drudgery of every single day being the same, just hearing her voice is like medicine to Melissa.

And then the two talk the entire time Melissa is driving to Lucinda's, and they're so so so gay when they see each other in person. They both get dolled up and flirt like dorks the entire time, and then we get a montage of them going out clubbing, singing karaoke, and getting white girl wasted despite neither of them being white.

My Street characters don't feel like people because they're not. They're mostly one dimensional characters who exist to fill out a roster or scene, and we get depressingly little insight into who they are as people.

I hope this post gave them and the MS fandom something to chew on.

[ferronickel]

Lettering Tips for Comics Artists!

Lettering is an easy to overlook aspect of comics creation, partially because good lettering is designed to be invisible, but bad lettering can ruin an otherwise well crafted project.

Now, I'm not a letterer by trade, I'm a colorist who thinks too much about comics craft, but I've picked up on a few common mistakes I've seen new webcomic artists making, and I thought I'd share my tricks.

#1: Get a Dialog font

Sorry, despite Comic Sans having the word comic in the name, it's not actually good for lettering comics. Comic book letterers usually use specially designed fonts when they're lettering comics, and they often have websites where you can get these typefaces for a reasonable fee (or sometimes even free!)

What makes dialog typefaces special?

The barred-I! (and other contextual options)

This one is subtle, but generally, you want to only use the barred-I for the personal pronoun "I" or for roman numerals. It helps clarify that what you're looking at is an I and not an L, but it takes up more space in the word, and we're trying to reserve as much space as possible for the art on the page.

Specially made comic book fonts will also be custom designed to be legible at a distance, have multiple bold/italics options, and might even include special versions of individual letters for when you type multiple of the same character in a row! It'll give your lettering a personal touch that you won't get from typefaces designed for other things.

Blambot is a great resource for all your lettering needs. Here I'm using Backissues and Nightmark

#2: Dialog Stacking

Dialog should always be stacked such that your longest line of text is in the middle. The block of text itself should have a sort of diamond shape <>. Sometimes this is difficult to do, especially if you have any long words at the beginning or end of a sentence. You can't always get it to work (and if you're unwilling to rewrite your dialog so it fits), so sometimes it might not be perfect, but if your text block is more hourglass shaped >< that's a good indication that you should try putting your line breaks somewhere else. Basically try to make your text as round as possible if it's in a balloon.

#3: Balloon Shape

One of the more common mistakes I see webcomic artists making is using perfectly elliptical balloons. It's actually kind of difficult to fit text into balloons that are perfectly elliptical; there ends up being a lot of uneven space around the text, and it looks kind of cheap. Making your balloons slightly more rectangular is going to give you more bang for you buck, they'll fit the text block a little better. I like a hand drawn balloon, I tend to think they add variety.

One thing you definitely shouldn't do is this:

This might be a personal preference thing more than any kind of hard and fast rule, but these lettering styles give me the impression that the text is pasted on top of the art, and that no real thought was put into arranging it thoughtfully with the art. These are probably more appropriate for captions, not so much for dialog

Lettering is a part of the medium we're working with, the dialog should be approached as a part of the artwork, and treated as such.

#4: Balloon Placement

The number one, most important rule of lettering, is that the placement of your balloons should never confuse your reader. The goal of balloon placement is to guide your reader around the page, each one should naturally lead your reader towards the next thing they should read. Here's an example of something I see a lot:

While yes, it is true that on a comics page, people read left-to-right top-to-bottom, if two balloons are connected with a line, I am going to read them one after another. Readers are not going to intuitively assume they should jump to the other side of the page just because the #2 balloon is slightly above #3. In this situation the balloons should be interwoven.

It should not be possible to look from one balloon to another and skip over intermediate dialog. If your reader misses a part of the conversation and has to double back to figure out what they missed, you've broken the flow and immersion of the page.

Like I said, lettering is all about guiding your reader around the page, it should be a part of your composition from the beginning, don't forget to incorporate lettering into your work when you're first laying out your page. Put yourself in the place of your reader and see how your eyes track across the page.

Hope these help! Like I said, I'm no expert; it took me a while to learn a lot of this. I would have found these tips super useful when I was first starting out. If you're interested in the technical side of lettering, I highly recommend The Essential Guide to Comic Book Lettering by Nate Piekos. It's one of the most useful reference books I own, and I learned most of this from that book.

[noessecretstash]

Stream/Q&A with Anastasia

Some time ago Anastasia (GOE, OTI, SBTR) had a live sorta AMA on her telegram channel, and later one fan group-channel posted a text version for those who weren't able to join the stream. It took me a while, but I managed to translate it after all (and before the update, too!)

An important preface/warning/etc: I am literally a linguistics & translation major, I know both english & russian and the text below is translated by an actual human being - yours truly. I've seen someone post another translation of this Q&A, but 1) I was going to do this anyway; 2) I believe mine will also clear up some things, since some parts of another translation were very confusing; 3) actually this is good to have different translations of one and the same thing. I don't claim to perfectly translate all of it or whatever, I'm not trying to put other people down, most importantly, I am not accusing anyone of spreading misinformation. I am doing it for fun and, once again, to clear some things up.

Another note: all of the sources will be in a reblog because otherwise tumblr refuses to show this post in the tags. girl help

What is the relationship between Kai and Lia?

Answer: Spoiler. You'll get your answer in the next update, but I love your theories :)

2. Out of all LIs, who is the closest to you?

A: Let's put it this way: if we're talking about who is the easiest to write, then it's Dean and Cas - they're always easy to write. When I sit down to write scenes with them I don't even have to think twice on what those scenes will be about, because I know beforehand what I have to tell the reader about them and what I want to describe. At times I struggle with writer's block when it comes to Lia or Doo-yeong, but once I start actually writing scenes with them the block goes away momentarily. I have troubles with Seong-hwa. At times it's hard writing his scenes because he's a very good person, he has his flaws and all, but, nevermind that fact, it's still hard for me personally to write characters who are good people.

3. Who, out of your characters, could you date in real life?

A: Someone like both Dean and Brandon. I wouldn't say it has to be either them, no, but a mixture of these two would be the one for me.

4. In this update Lia said something along the lines of "My family wouldn't understand", are her relatives homophobic?

A: Essentially, Lia's route is meant to be complicated like this. If we look at Luna and Lia as they are now, society will not even necessarily disapprove of their relationship, people - their families, fans and agencies - might not understand them in the first place. That's why her route is even more angsty than those of the other idols'. The most placid route on which you don't have to worry about these things is Doo-yeong's, but things are slowly escalating with the others.

5. Will there be a fling with Dong-hyun? And a finale with him if MC is otherwise single?

A: I confirmed from the get-go that there'll be no more new LIs. Maybe a fling. Romantically coded scenes - yes, 100% guaranteed. Most likely you will be able to get them with Dong-hyun and Madame Park. I can't promise you that, but I will try my best. I can feel that kind of chemistry between these couples. But not between Luna and Aria, because I can only see her in a relationship with Woo-jin, so please don't judge me :)

6. When will we learn the whole truth about Mi-yeon and Seo-yoon?

A: The entirety of the plot is based on it, so we probably unveil the whole truth closer to the finale of the story. We'll be gradually unraveling these mysteries.

7. Will we be able to pair off side characters in GOE?

A: I was thinking about this, the possibility of playing matchmaker, but it depends on who you want to be a couple. If it's Madame Park and Doo-yeong's manager, then no. There is some kind of chemistry between them, I'm not denying that, but I won't be pairing them off. There are certain reasons for that which we'll learn later :)

8. Can you tell us more about Minhyuk?

A: We'll be learning more about him as the story goes on. But people who played On Thin Ice remember how Leon developed as a character: at first we thought he was an antagonist, then it turned out he was a hero. But Minhyuk can be an antagonist just like he can be a savior, or maybe even both.

9. Which of your stories is the closest to your heart?

A: I love all of them, and I'm being honest :) When I see fan art/fiction for Seduced by the rhythm I'm hit by the wave of nostalgia. I'm looking at your art and thinking how I would go about writing this novel now. I'd love to tweak some things a little, like LIs' routes, but still consider SBTR the closest to my heart because it's my very first story. Many people think that there wasn't much drama in that novel, and they're right, it was more positive and light-hearted.

10. Will there be a good finale with Lia?

A: There'll be good and bad finales alike for all LIs.

11. Is Garden of Eden based on the Burning Sun scandal?

A: Somewhat, but the resemblance is only in small details.

12. Will we meet our LIs' parents or not?

A: We will meet some of LIs' parents. I'd like to dive into the theme of family in the story, but I'm already running out of space for that. I was actually planning to give you more details about Seong-hwa's, Cas' and Lia's families in season 2, but we'll see how it goes.

13. Just how dangerous and angsty Minhyuk's route is?

A: I cant answer this without spoiling stuff. We'll know for sure later, but he's a very contradictory character. He has his pros and cons; someone might dislike him, someone might be wary of him, someone will deem it best not to trust him while someone else will take their chances with him.

14. Which of your three female LIs was the easiest to write?

A: I think it was Liz, but it depends on my experience as a writer. My first time writing same-sex relationship was Claire's route, then there were Joseph and Christian, then - Liz and Lia. I think Lia's route is more nuanced than the previous two, I'm working really hard on it. There were several issues with LIs in SBTR that I fixed later in OTI, but I've seen the players' feedback about Liz's route being a little lackluster plot-wise in 2nd and 3rd seasons, and I'm doing my best to avoid repeating that with Lia's route.

15. Will we get a fling with Yeon-ah?

A: If you mean a fling with the main character, then no, they are strictly friends. If you were imagining someone else as possible Yeon-ah's partner, then we have, for instance, Lin, Dean, Cas and Seong-hwa (if you're not on any of their routes), I might think it over.

16. Will there be any romantic undertones in MC's and Kai's relationship?

A: I've seen your comments, but I don't feel that kind of chemistry between them. Just friendship vibes, nothing more than that, sorry.

17. Can we pair off Yeon-ah with Kai?

A: I feel like they'd fare well in tandem.

18. Do you listen to many k-pop bands? Any favorites? And where did the idea for Garden of Eden come from in the first place?

A: It's no secret that Alexandra [Remy] is my lead-writer* for this story. We were brainstorming possible ideas for the story when she suggested k-pop as a setting. In a setting like this you can really go to town with drama, plot, code branching, you can tell a story of forbidden love - this sort of angst that we're all so fond of. I was really worried and contemplating if I should or shouldn't go with a setting like this, but Alexandra wrote me a detailed design document where she explained many nuances and opened up the door to the world of k-pop for me, and ever since then I've been studying and learning about that world. We joined the forces and figured that we should try and see what comes out of it. I've listened to some k-pop groups before, but I wasn't really a fan, nor was I interested in this industry, but since I've started working on GOE I started listening to Blackpink, Stray Kids and Ateez. Right now I'm obsessed with the song Deja Vu, which we suggested for the post about Castiel for RC official social media. * [translator's note: the next question is actually about her role in this book's development but really, she's more of a beta writer than a lead writer]

19. How is Alexandra Remy affiliated with GOE?

A: I made a post on my channel where I explained it in detail. She gives me feedback for each chapter: something I can add, something I can change, something to add to the scenes with LIs, or some moments that are better left out, or maybe just shrunk, and many other little details like these.

20. Is it possible for any other idol to die? And for characters who are not idols as well?

A: It's actually a spoiler, but if we think about it logically, two deaths in the same agency is already a red flag. So you'll have to really contemplate whether or not something like this will happen again.

21. How do you overcome writer's block, if you ever get them?

A: The problem with writer's block is that it always appears out of nowhere. You send the finished chapter like usual and get ready to start writing the next one when you suddenly realize you just can't write a word. You put it off for a day, two days, but you have deadlines and players waiting for the update, so you know you have to pull your socks up and write it. At times like these I listen to music, watch movies or read something to get inspired again. Sometimes I draw, it also helps me to cope with the block a little.

22. Do the authors come up with the story achievements themselves?

A: Yes, we do it ourselves.

23. Will there be any more songs in GOE?

A: Yes, there will.

24. With which LIs will we get the scenes in the next update?

A: All of them.

25. Which main character is the closest to you?

A: To be honest, right now it's Luna with Michelle coming in second.

26. Do you want to write a new story after GOE?

A: I do and I hope I will.

27. How is it even possible to get an achievement for romancing two characters at once if we're locked in LIs' routes almost right away? (translator's note: the achievement in question is Three's a crowd)

A: You can romance Lia, Seong-hwa and Castiel, thus getting this achievement pretty early on in the story. If you're not interested in Lia but only in Cas and Seong-hwa, then you need to have at least 8 relationship improvements with each of them to get the achievement. It's easier with Lia since she only needs 3 improvements.

28. Will there be any heavy scenes with MC's parents?

A: I could write some dramatic scenes, but I felt that peaceful atmosphere would be more appropriate. Yes, they were reminiscing about Seo-yoon, they'll never be able to forget her, but they're trying to keep on living for Luna. If they are constantly reminding her about Seo-yoon, it will be unlikely for Luna to come to terms with it.

29. Is it possible to maybe hear male vocals in the story some day?

A: Tough question, I can't say for sure yet.

30. Is Doo-yeong's route extensive*?

*[translator's note: this is, once again, a case of unfortunate naming: she does call the routes incomplete when talking about her love interests that just have less screen time, but are still end-game LIs. However, I think translating it as 'incomplete' is misleading, since there will be a finale with him, so this is what I came up with: extensive = complete and limited = incomplete.]

A: His route is limited, so is Dean's, but there will be a finale with both of them. A reminder that I might add romantically coded scenes with the SIRENS' mentor and manager, but it's very unlikely that they will be end-game love interests.

31. Can MC die in the finale?

A: Spoiler.

32. Why is Aria so mean to MC?

A: Aria is a very straightforward person, she speaks first and thinks later. It's very important for her to speak her mind and explain her point of view even if it means offending someone. Afterwards she may think it over and apologize or not.

33. How would you describe Cas?

A: My characters are always a mixture of their prototypes, a real cocktail of different people. I know that a story needs a good boy, a bad boy, but it also needs someone easygoing and amusing, with a distinct sense of humor, like Dean, and someone contradictory, like Minhyuk. That's the plan I was going with in OTI and the plan I'm going with now in GOE.

34. From SBTR to GOE, tell us about your growth, experience and feelings in general.

A: My personal opinion is when it comes to love interests, I've grown a lot. It's evident upon comparing the routes in SBTR, OTI and GOE, because I'm trying to write them so everyone is satisfied with their LI. The only issue is that not everyone gets enough of their love interest in some updates, but I'm trying to compensate for it. Concerning the plot, I'd like to try something new, maybe mystery/supernatural or something very close to it.

35. Do you watch any streamers playing your story?

A: Yes, I do.

36. Would be nice to read a story about zombie apocalypse by you.

A: I don't think it's my type of genre.

37. When are we getting sex scenes?

A: I can't tell you when, but you're definitely getting them.

38. Any ideas for the next story?

A: Yes, but I for now don't even want to give any hints.

39. Is it easy for you to write Doo-yeong?

A: It's hard, but once I focus and tune everything out his scenes start coming along nicely. Perhaps it has something to do with him being not the most important character for the plot, since he's an actor and isn't connected with k-pop all that much, but both his friendship and romance scenes are always something special.

40. How did you choose the names for GOE characters?

A: The name 'Castiel' is a recurring theme in my stories. I know it isn't very fitting for a k-pop setting, but still. The name 'Seong-hwa' was suggested by Alexandra and I liked it a lot, although initially he was named differently. But usually I google the names and their meanings and decide whom they suit best. I have serious troubles with last names, since many koreans have the same last name despite not being related, but I'd like to have more variety in the novel so the players aren't confused and don't start thinking that character A is related to character B and etc.

41. In your opinion, who out of all LIs is the most compatible with Luna?

A: The most canonical* one is Minhyuk, but only canon-wise. I think that all of them are very compatible with Luna. [*perhaps a poor choice of words, but later Anastasia clarified what she meant: Good afternoon :) I said this with my own preferences in mind. What I mean is, if there was a book based on GOE, then, most likely, Minhyuk would be the end-game love interest in it. But during the stream I also mentioned that in the visual novel every route is canonical :) Don't worry, Minhyuk is not going to steal or take other LIs' screen-time. I'll write him the same way I write every other LI.]

42. How tall is MC?

A: Around 1.70 m* [*5.6 ft in case anyone needs that]

43. Did you have any plans for Aria to become the leader of the group in case MC wouldn't be able to handle the pressure?

A: Aria is very impetuous and Yeon-ah is too kind. The main character is not exactly impetuous, although she has her moments, but she can keep herself in check, she can hold her own and she's more reserved. But it also depends on whether you maintain good relationships within a group. If you don't, then MC doubts whether she deserves to be a leader at all. That drives her to internally belittling herself and thinking she's unworthy of being a leader and she can't carry out her responsibilities. That, in turn, will confuse her group, so the girls will also start thinking that she's an unworthy leader and, without even understanding it, will belittle her with their attitude. If your relationship with the group is good then Luna will do her best as a leader.

44. Is it important to have a good relationship with the group?

A: The story will start branching out depending on the level of relationship with the group in season 2. You can compare the good & bad relationship paths as soon as in the next update and decide for yourself if it's worth it :)

45. Any favorite scenes in GOE?

A: I know I have a favorite scene but not in June's update, but the one that will come out after the June's one. I'll tell you in more detail once that update arrives.

46. Will you make a post about the characters' prototypes/who the characters are based on?

A: I'm thinking if I should do it or not, because I always use a lot of prototypes, never just one.

47. Will we learn MC's an LIs' last names?

A: We already know MC's last name. As for LIs, we probably will, if not in the story, then I'll post their last names later.

48. What's your favorite trope?

A: Enemies to lovers.

49. Will we see the characters' childhood?

A: I can't say for sure we'll see it, but we'll definitely hear about it. I'd love to delve into characters' past: what they've been through before becoming trainees, what was happening to them at the time and why they decided to go into k-pop industry.

50. How do you feel about criticism and what do you do about it?

A: I feel fine about constructive criticism, as long as the critics aren't crossing the line. There's a difference between criticism and irrational hatred. But of course I'm trying to take criticism I receive into account.

51. Out of LIs, whose scenes are the hardest to write?

A: I've already said that for now it's Seong-hwa, but he really is too good both for me and the main character. I want to do him justice and will try to pay him more attention in the updates to come. He isn't crucial to the plot at the moment.

52. How many tattoos do you have?

A: 8.

53. How old is Minhyuk?

A: Older than 30.

54. Is there any chance we could leave the agency after the contract expires?

A: Of course. It's your story.

55. How old is madame Park?

A: 35 years old.

56. Is a visit to the Garden of Eden club in the plans?

A: Sure, but when is a whole nother question.

57. Luna's and Seo-yoon's father used to be an idol?

A: Nope)

58. Which Romance Club stories do you read?

A: I'm trying to read all of them.

59. In May's update Lia said that she "planned to just be alone [her] entire life". Does it mean she's only interested in women? Why would she hope for something like that otherwise?

A: Yes, Lia is only interested in women, that's why she implied that she'd be alone most of her life.

60. Will we learn about Dean's past?

A: Over time we will learn about everyone's background, but not right away.

61. Any chance to have two female LIs in your next story?

A: I'm already thinking about it. At least about having one extensive and one limited route for two women.

62. Will we meet Castiel's father in the upcoming updates?

A: It seems that we're destined to meet him, whether we want it or not.

63. Have the players' wishes and expectations ever influenced the story? Have you ever adapted the novel's script to what the audience desired?

A: Of course, I added Dean's route after the fandom requested it, but I felt romantic tension between them even before, otherwise I just wouldn't be able to write his route.

64. Which GOE LI was created first?

A: Based on a design document where I planned the story, plot and characters Seong-hwa was the first, but based on how I imagined the character, his personality and role in the story it was Castiel.

65. Will there be a visit to the Garden of Eden in the next update?

A: Spoiler, but I can tell you that starting next update we'll be getting even more involved in the investigation.

66. Any possibility of a polyamorous relationship in the future?

A: Probably not in this story, but I could consider this option for my next one.

67. Has Ji-yoon ever been in a relationship?

A: Yes, once.

[majimasleftasscheek]

May I ask how you made the shaker charms? I've been wanting to do that a while but no clue how to.

aight so I'mma go into this with a lil assumption that there's some prior knowledge about making digital art but if you have any questions about anything, you can definitely ask!

so first step is finding a place that can make you the shaker charms. I use vograce - it's a lil more expensive than other places but I like the customer service and low minimum order amount. they have a specific tab just for shaker charms that breaks them down into what options you can pick, sizes, what the art files need to be like, etc that you can take a looksie just to see how they're made. I like to see in the comments at the bottom too to see what neat things people have made.

and this is what my art looks like (minus the background). I made the main shaker with plenty o' room to shake around the bits inside. and then the pieces to the right. the gate itself is around 1300px wide, 600dpi (which is tbh a lot, 300dpi is fine) — big enough so when it's shrunk to charm size it doesn't lose too much quality. save them out as transparent pngs separately (the main shaker + pieces). most places prefer CMYK color profiles but I'm a scrub that doesn't use that so I go with RGB and it works just fine. if you have the ability to preview color profiles, I go with CMYK: Japan Color 2001 Coated to help me adjust my colors for print.

then I made a draft of what I wanted it to look like when finished, specifically showing how the text should not flip the wrong way on the reverse side. I also put the bits inside but the manufacturer should be able to figure it out anyway lol. the dots atop the charms are where I want the hole to be for the chain. I send this to the manufacturer too just to make sure we're on the same page.

send the files to whoever is making the charm and that's about it. the hardest part really is making the art assets. there's no real rule to anything, I just eyeballed it all tbh.

the most important part imo is making sure everything's big enough (1000px, 300dpi or larger for the main shaker part imo) and making sure your colors are okay because what you see on screen can be pretty different in actual print. that requires a lil research like purple for example sometimes shows up like ass when printed.

as for sizing, that's very much up to you. sometimes making paper models to hold irl can help you decide how big you want things. I went thru 3? iterations of just this charm alone cuz I wasn't happy with the sizing or colors so I had to make a few adjustments. I often ask manufacturers for previews of my charms before they actually make them just to be sure they followed my draft.

this is the final version (ignore the scratches, that's just the film you gotta peel off). I also requested for sequins to be put in. the inside bits may come out a tad smaller than compared to my draft, just due to compensating for the outside border around the bits but more or less it's what I drew 👍

[anglespin]

Hi! I love your art so much! Unsure if you’ve answered before, but what made you start shipping DI/RE6 Leon together? Especially since they’re the same person (but obviously different at the same time from how you create you). I love your art of them and all the scenarios, I’m curious how it actually came to be! Thank you!

I think it originally started along the lines of (since they're both my favs): "They should kiss" then it became my Plaga RE6 Leon + Death Island Leon as the main. I've never really seen much older!LeonxLeon in honesty. Its mostly RE2/RE4, RE4OG/RE4R... along those lines at least. I was like-- well shit, I'll be that mf lol Its really comforting though for me personally. I really enjoy the versions of both DI and RE6 I've made for myself to basically do Barbie dolls with. Also yes!!! They're quite different to each other and that's what makes it special. Each version is still pretty respectful to their life states to the best of my abilities. DI doesn't drink and is overall healthier/better off mentally + has the support of his friends and even a thing with Chris on the side. He's looking up despite his circumstances. DI feels... uplifted and somewhat content. The "today is a good day to die" from the manga doesn't get swept under the rug though... nor his hyperfixation on saving others, putting them above himself. This is how he kind of acquires 6-- he refuses to leave the poor thing alone in a world that's not his own and selfishly, deep-own, he wants a companion. 6 is still a very heavy alcoholic which makes him extremely sick (since he's unable to drink) when he's first staying with DI. He's also struggling very badly with self-worth and depression/hopelessness that tie into how he behaves, even with DI. Not to forget the Plaga of course, which is it's own can of worms. A major factor into fair chunk of his trauma and behavioral issues + his treatment for years. As mentioned above w DI, 6 still has the self-worth/hyper-fixation/empathy aspects that's typical of Leon Kennedy. It's dialed differently to the point of sub-servance and self-destruction, which is two very unhealthy behaviors paired together. These aren't taken advantage of and do 100% get addressed by the characters at some point. Both have their own little twists that I usually don't talk about on twitter bc of the text limit and on here, I'm usually too nervous to go off about them in whatever artwork I post because what I like isn't popular.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask any time :3 I generally don't check Tumblr much because I don't understand the platform or it's overall culture enough to engage with it in-depth. I will 100% reply though!! Don't stress if it takes a few days <3

[pumpkinstrawbrew]

Do you have any NSFW headcanons for batcrow?

gosh, do i ever! 

i’ll admit this ask took me longer than it should have. i had struggled to figure out how to spell my 'main' naughty hcs in like, one page max. but i failed miserably to accomplish this, so prepare yourself for the walls of text instead. somehow, it turned into an essay along the way.

still, to keep this at least somewhat modest leght, i will mostly talk about comicverse two here. the arkhamverse duo requires their own large paragraphs *even if bc there are two slightly different versions of crane within the same universe*, which would make this post even more bulky, than it already is. n' btas one would prob get the same amount of words, that i have for comicverse. so they all will have to wait lol.

but welp, i have to say, i love it when one part of my otp is kinda knows what they want an' what they're doing. while the other one is kinda either fully or partly lost. i find it funny, how bruce n' jon invented chad vs virgin meme, before it was actually made lol. even if it's not all that simple.

either way, i can't imagine a middle aged virgin like crane to know to a ‘t’ what he wants in sex. he sorta / kinda knows what he wants at best, but he also kinda doesn't know shit. as for bruce, while he had a fair share of experience with different people, n’ therefore expirience with different sexual preferences, he’s also kinda…not into anything too specific himself? well, not really. at least from what i saw, it’s hard for me to picture him having some set in stone kink, that he would indulge in with every person he sleeps with. in fact, i feel like he tends to go along with what his partner wants vs what he might have wanted. which adds to all those layers of why having sex with jon is actually a good thing for both of them lol. so my first hc is that while they both clearly would have prefs n' kinks, it's smth that needs to be expolored. bruce have more knowlege about the subject, but like jon, he has a very shaky conection with his own deepest desires. the big bad bat cannot let himself fully enjoy anything. instead, he sticks to 'simple' stuff, that feels 'safer' to approach vs examining those 'hiden' sides of his brain. i think, bruce would be afraid to emotionally rely on someone in this fashion as well. he's the kind of man, who in the end of the day, craves intimicy that he assumed would come with sex. but boy, was he dissapointed. he can still enjoy good sex, but sometimes, it's like all that he can get from it. n' after so many 'fails', he usually would tell himself, that it's better this way. don't show too much of yourself, don't get too invested, beyond what feels nice in the moment. but then, comes jonathan n' throws a wrench into everything, like he usually does by accident or not.

n' i really like how both bruce n’ jon deep down associate sex with romance. or smth inclosed in this vein. with years of heartbreak, bruce clearly abandoned this notion. not fully, but mostly. love doesn’t work out nor does it last. crane is even worse in this sense. he had learned by bitter firsthand experience how not only romance, but compassion is smth that he can’t have. he can only speculate about those things. even if he's so desparate for it, that unlike bruce, he'd be more openly, pathetically pinning for even a small chance of this to come true. he'd be figthing even for a scrap. so it's good, that he n' bruce want the same thing. they can eventually met each other half way. even if they also will have to eventually put their back into it, vs being paranoid about everything.

now as we know, crane clearly has a type *shallow one, but still*, n' bruce is an embodiment of it. the walking imagery of ancient horror figure n’ dashing knight from woman’s romantic novels in one single mix. what a lucky catch for him. on the contrary, jon himself is pretty much everything, that you don’t see in bruce’s many bedmates. crane isn't curvy, nor he openly flirty or daring. even his costume is baggy n' in most designs there isn't any skin showing at all. he does not tempt or seduce or does anything esp attractive. jonathan not anywhere close to males or females, who bruce might have felt lust toward. he’s his own category, n’ this exactly what makes him stand out in a way. body is just a body, but it’s the only part you can see n’ touch. learning that you want to touch someone bc of what you see in them vs what you see on outside is an experience on its own. n' it goes both ways, since while i do think, that scarecrow was at first more focused on batman's looks n' aestetics, it eventually grew into smth else. for bruce, it's the other way around. he was more interested in crane's inner build, even from crimefigthing point n' then found that he doesn't mind how he's looks either. he even finds certain aspects of it attractive. so my other hc, is that crane lusts for bruce first *naturally*, n' then begins obtaining fee-fees along the way.

the next big thing for me, *which i meantioned in the beginig* is that in all versions of scarebat, i picture that jonathan is a prudish virgin, who is also comically horny. basically, he’s one of those people, who would harbor all kinds of longings, but look at everyone else like on a pervert, when they do the same thing lol. crane isn’t himself, if he’s not a huge hypocrite. he’s also not self-aware enough to notice his own slip-ups. bruce kinda does, but he’s generous about it. the only instance, where he won’t take selfish pleasure in bullying jon is this. he, actually canonically seem to leave this subject alone, which is nice of him. even tho, he could like, really drag jonathan about the whole 'handsome, large jock thing', bc no straight man would ever refer to another men like that. but jon is in the closet, without knowing it. everyone else kinda do, but they also never talk about it. rogue's version of bro code bruce certanly won't talk about it, either.

but the favor is never returned, bc jonathan would be on the bat instantly, if he noticed some kind of odd response. it's in his nature to be mean n’ prying. he can’t help himself, even if it goes beyond creepy in some cases. that’s the dual wields of being a deviant n’ a total virgin. he also prob assumes, that bruce will be into females only. n' he's no female. he's just a cranky, ugly twink lol. so if the bat would begin act weird around him, it's breathtaking in its own right. that's like, his wildest *wet* dream coming true. you can't hope for him to be normal about it. crane would throw himself into this, like a sad desperate loser he is. *i'm always calling him those things with upmost love, do not fret*

meanwhile, bruce with all that sexual experience of his *prob less so with men tbh* is kinda not fully sure how to go about things. it won’t take much for jon to cream his pants, realistically. n’ yeah, literally cum before even the main action will begin. i feel like between btas n’ arkhamverse, comicverse crane is the most ‘easy’ one. the other two will at least attempt to calm themselves down to not look ‘stupid’ n’ inexperienced, comicverse jon is like, never this 'cool'. which makes the bat feel a tad torn, since i don’t think that he was with many virgins before, n’ he also cannot just mentally ‘rely’ on his partner doing what he thinks they want from him here. he has to improvise n’ also let himself do what he wants as result, which is so scandalous lol. but he would eventually get that crane won’t do what he wants, unless bruce will start doing it first. the sex was never scarier, than this. where you actually have to enjoy yourself fully [gasp]

humble the ‘sex god’ bruce is my kink, i guess. prob will become jon’s too, once *or if* he realize what kind of ‘power’ he has. no women had this power over the bat. bc bruce knows what to do with them. with jon, he has to learn those things. has to let himself go a bit too. less of cinematic kisses an' grouping with the catwoman, n' more of slightly messy n' fumbling encounter with the 'crow. jon not knowing how to kiss *but agressivly tries to learn* will just add to this lol.

n' while scarebat will always have power struggle / power imbalance in their dynamic, even given their statuses as villain n’ the hero, in certain areas, it might get flipped on its head. in my head, bruce does to a degree view his sexual encounters with crane as isolated experience. n’ he doesn’t know what to do with this revelation, esp bc he has a lot of things to compare it to. bruce is all about self-control n’ strong will, its wild for him to be this…exposed n’ aching for intimacy yet again, i suppose. n’ that’s not even about his pride or anything, it’s just plainly dangerous n’ scary. every fiber of his being would be tense n’ doubtful about repercussions of what to come, if this fails or backfire too. n’ it all despite the fact, that if there is one villainous plot that batman can be certain for crane to not ever use, it’s this. jonathan is manipulative *his faulty brain would make him act like that*, but not in that instance.

on his end, jonathan basking in this new thing, but he’s scared for different reasons. mostly, to be abandoned later on. for this to end for whatever reason. so he might grow more active / somewhat pushy at times. unlike the bat, he has nothing to compare this to, not any other person to learn from / with, but bruce. n' he’s not interested in trying those things to later on use them on someone else, he only cares to figure out what responses bruce has. the obssessive focus, that they share, but that disorientating all the same. esp for bruce. he’s not stranger to have people or his rogues being hyperfixated on him, even with sexual undertones, but he wasn’t in actual center of such an obsession before this moment. in center, where he actually allowed access to his person. it's also new to be with someone, who isn't apt in this or does smth to be seductive or to show off, it's just yet another attempt to figure the other out, just in different ways. an' without ulteror motive for once. tho, crane also be more offten than not selfish about this too, if he give the room to roam so to speak. some discipling be needed from time to time, but this part bruce knows like the back of his hand. jon also knows the back of batman's hand, considering that it had slapped him at least twice during their fights in the past lol.

their sex can be anything tho. rough, gentler, slower thing, smth in between. it’s situational, whimsical n’ depends on the mood of both parties. crane is usually more horny, than bruce. the years of his sexual frustration could move a mountain at this point. he’s greedy, but he also can be sustained with 'lesser' things, which are just as 'big' to him. heavy petting, handjob, just rutting would do the trick. n' this i think, bruce also usually doesn't have time to be doing. or whoever he had sex with, had no time for this.

as for what kinks they might have, well, there is too many to list them all up. esp since sometimes, i can see certain characters having some…uh, weird prefs, that i myself not a big fan of even visually, but in my mind eye, i can see that exact character possibly having it. like, all comicverse scarecrows are serial killers *besides the period of time, where all villains were just robing banks* some stuff would be more intense with jon, than if bruce would simply fucked someone who loves him. crane, isn't just in love or just obssessed, he is obssessedly loves him. so body worship is surely be a thing for jon, when it comes to the bat. n’ not like a cute, sweet kind, but an over-attentive, needy one. the more skin he can acess the better, all while, crane would insist on keeping some of his own clothes on, or his mask or just try to hide his face, since his appearance is the biggest insecurity of his. bruce will have to be crafty about this one, bc for him it’s not an issue. but it’s hard to make it stop being one for jonathan, who had this mentality his whole life. his not pretty or bosomy. dude barely has fat on his ass, but there is a novelty to a figure, that is all skin, bones n’ tight muscle. can press a hand to stomach n’ almost feel up how organs lie there, or a dick. now, bruce just have to find ways to show it.

speaking of dicks, while jonathan had always thought that bat is hung, actually seeing it in person would make him feel odd things. on y’know, masochistic spectrum kind of odd. he won’t mind to be choked on it for one, or that it would often slightly hurt, if he had to fit it inside himself. he does want to be actually wrecked like this sometimes. n’ it’s rare when bruce can let himself be this aggressive with anyone else. even if sometimes, he does want to be mean. he has anger issues, no matter how much he tries to repress them. having someone, who won’t judge him for it or look at him side-ways after those moments will surely help. jonathan knows a lot about the bat’s anger, even if via their stand offs. it doesn’t shock him. or like scares him, if he knows that this roughness isn't out of negative emotions toward him. but then again, i don't imagine that jonathan's thoughts are super coherent, when they intimate together. usually, he's relieved n' happy, that it happens again n' again. n' thinks about details more rationally later. he also understand some 'abuse' n' kinda can ignore the other, so this can be a bit of an issue in some cases. but it's more of specific set up, i think. vs like general one.

on a more specific note, i strictly see the bat as top, n’ jonathan as bottom. i rarely have ships, where characters switch. in 99 cases, those ratios are how i see dynamic in its core. jonathan is very submissive. esp submissive to the bat. even if this doesn’t mean, that he can’t be more assertive, despite being the one who takes it up the ass. even if comicverse crane is usually this, when batman in specific state or when he’s with bruce, not the bat. he still have that mean, bossy stick up there. unless, it's bloodrain version of scarebat, where jon is submissive as fuck almost all the time in every sense n' way. n' bruce is very pushy n' greedy. to the point, where it’s a wonder how crane even survives them fucking so many times in the row. i mean, evil bruce isn’t a very considerate lover lol. even if there is love in it, he's also goes at it like a hungry animal. that particular jon would dig it, but it's not healthy or actually good for him. n' this time around, bruce isn't sane enough to put a stop to this either. but once again, i feel like some kinks / dynamics n' issues can be very specific an' depend heavily onto au or situation, it all happening in. like almost every ship, scarebat can be good for those involved, n' it also can be not very good, or rather clearly dangereous, but it'll be akin to being stuck inside the car without breaks. can as well push onto gas pedal, while you at it, then. or try to jump out of car.

another bit of hc, is that jonathan is pretty noisy n’ whiny. every touch pushes a sound out of him. bruce is more silent, so getting noises out of him is rewarding. crane savors every bit n’ every note, when he gets those. bruce thinks, that jon’s noises are kinda cute. no one was ever this vocal, when he touched them before. crane is also shit at trying to keep said noises behind his teeth. he’s too sensitive. n’ blushes like a tomato too. not very elegant or graceful in that sense, but it’s very real n’ not what the bat is used to. jon still be an incel about it at times tho, don’t worry. not all his comments will be ‘flattering’, bc ‘of course, handsome, big jocks would be good at this’. or ‘what reservations with this a thot like you can have’. but hey, at least, bruce will have smth else to shut him up with besides a fist, this time around. 

i also think, that in aus, where crane involved with either only batman or bruce, he would act kinda differently with both of them. despite, the fact that if he tried to sleep with them both within the same story, he would have figured out instantly that bruce is the bat. while in masks, jon n’ bruce can act tougher, or meaner, but the core is all the same. they are the same dude each time, even if they both love distancing themselves from their maskless attires. i do find it sad n’ funny at the same time, since them being involved like this woudl throw a wretch into this whole narrative. like, who sleeps with crane, the symbol of justice or a man, who the bat claims does not exist n’ only serves as a daytime disguise? n' who earns for such a closeness, the master of fear, who is supposed to be ‘above’ it, or a lil loser jonathan crane, who should be long ‘gone’ n' replaced with sinister scarecrow? 

them being forced to deal with their mental problems, while bumping uglies is the best self-therapy that they can get prob. so once again, scarebat having 'spooky' sex in ways, where emotions are scary is just such a good stuff. can enjoy the ride, but all those pesky 'problems' are still there. like, if their sexual encounter can’t be smth, it’s ‘casual’. full-time commitment right here.

inside crane’s faulty mind, this checks all the boxes. held hands, had a kiss, fall in love, had sex. they are basically married now lol. i mean, he IS crazy, all things considering, so him being able to fuck n’ be close with the bat will only make certain delusions of his way worse. his jealousy will get worse too. gonna throw hands with the joker n' catwoman each time, he sees them near batman lol.