#and additionally books Oh read so many books

[croziers-compass]

oh shit its send you asks hours. ermrmmmm freesia sunflower tigerlily. last one might be hard since you're well read but just go with ur heart

Oh I am so pleased that you sent this in! This is quite the list my beloved friend. Please bear with me! tigerlily— do you have any favorite quotes from any movies, tv shows, books, or poetry? (or from people in real life) This one is incredibly difficult as there is a list. The first one that immediately comes to mind is a whole Poem. Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley Right now it is haunting me very sharply and painfully.

And I am an avid lover of Lemony Snicket. Mostly I adore:

"Never Trust Someone Who Has Not Brought a Book with Them." “All the secrets of the world are contained in books. Read at your own risk.” “All cannot be lost when there is still so much being found.” “Everything. A letter may be coded, and a word may be coded. A theatrical performance may be coded, and a sonnet may be coded, and there are times when it seems the entire world is in code. Some believe that the world can be decoded by performing research in a library.” “I will love you as the iceberg loves the ship, and the passengers love the lifeboat, and the lifeboat loves the teeth of the sperm whale, and the sperm whale loves the flavor of naval uniforms.” - from the Beatrice Letters which will ruin your heart and spirit if you are not careful. sunflower— in your opinion, what is the best photo on your phone of? (serious or non-serious answers) I have recently cleared out many of my photos. However, I have a photo taken from the top of Devil's Lake State Park in Wisconsin and I am with good company and friends whom I love dearly. freesia— what do you want people to remember you for? (serious or non-serious answers) I would like people to remember me for challenging their idea of morality. Of acceptance. Of understanding that the world is not a black and white thing. I want people to remember me for the broad and open mind. That accepts and welcomes the hideous nature and the worst of people without judgement. I want people to remember me as the person that encourages them to embrace their worst traits and if they really dislike something about themself then they have the power to change that. And I know they can. That encourages them to pursue themselves to be who they'd like to be while accepting themselves and learning to love themselves - even the unsightly things. And to not hide them.

[libraford]

(I have permission to share this.)

Text- from Walking Distance Brewing Company

Happy Pride month! We are here another year to celebrate Pride with you! Thank you for your love and support through a difficult year of slander and harassment. Your support has not just kept us afloat but has made us thrive! Our inclusive community isn’t here just for Pride - we’re here all year. It's not always easy being inclusive in town. The library, community organizations, and yes, even Walking Distance have been targets. In this post, we're going to discuss the attacks against the library and against us. Last June, the library had a pride book display [1]. On July 3rd, (now ex) city councilmember Deb Groat wrote an email to the library at the request of the Union Faith Family Coalition [2]. In this email, she wrote: “I am deeply offended by explicitly sexual material on display in the children’s section of our library. Shame on you and your staff for pandering to any social agenda in displaying reading material to children.” [3] Later on in the email she wrote: “The library may well want to pass a levy in the future, or have input in a community TIF.” [3] On November 27, 2023 - Deb Groat was joined by city councilmember Mark Reams in voting for a TIF that would divert money away from the library for 30 years. Luckily, the extension did not pass. [4] According to Union County Faith Family Coalition’s founder, Mark Reams is a member. [2] Deb Groat and Mark Reams vote together to divert money from the library. Let’s move on to us. In June 2023, we had a drag show. On July 8th, Mark Reams’ wife, Leslie Reams posted on Facebook calling Walking Distance “Little Epstein Island” [5] joining in the same rhetoric spread by the Union County Faith Family Coalition, who nicknamed us, “Walking Distance Grooming Co.” Additionally, on April 15th, 2024 - while on-shift at her job, Leslie Reams called us a “den of depravity bar [that] preys on children,” and called our bartenders and customers, “pedophiles” and “drunks.” Let’s be clear. Leslie Reams, the members of the Union County Faith Family Coalition, and their followers have never called law enforcement (to our knowledge) - something we would expect and want to happen if pedophilia was happening. Law enforcement has never been called, we suspect that even they know that it’s not true. We have heard many rumors, as bad as, “Walking Distance is full of pedophiles” to more innocuous rumors that hurt our reputation. Our guess is that the same people who don’t believe we’re pedophiles, but want to demonize queerness, also know their audience and are able to tone it back to do the damage they can. We saw sales dips directly following Leslie Reams’ statements. We have heard city council members echoing similar rumors. Last summer, we had around 10 citations against the owner’s house and the business from the city and council - none of these citations asked us to remedy anything (except for the one about mowing…oops), and in fact there were instances when the local officials said that we were doing everything right, but they are only reaching out to us because they had so many calls. The year prior, Walking Distance and the owner's house had 0 citations. We’ll never know exactly how much business we lost due to the slander against us. We do know, we lost a lot. Similarly, we’ll never know exactly how much the support of our community has meant. We do know, it meant a whole lot. The support has kept us afloat, and with time, it's made us thrive. We know that we have survived to see another June. And we are ready to celebrate it, in the face of the hate. There would be no pride with no hate. Looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday for drag BINGO; Saturday for drag brunch; and also visit us on Saturday during Marysville Pride. We have more Pride events this week and month, keep your eyes peeled! And even if it's not a pride related event, we are always inclusive. Oh, and there's a city council meeting next Monday, June 10th at 7PM.

[/text]

Here's some photos of the extremely offensive library display:

They haven't given a call to action yet.

So anyways, that's what's happening in a nearby town. Marysville's pride event is this weekend and if you'd like to show up for local queers its going to be a very fun time.

I'm thinking of grabbing some of my local gays and giving them our patronage, of course. Its somewhat unrealistic to ask strangers on the internet to do take a hike all the way to Ohio for drag bingo.

So I think I would just like to call attention to it- if this is happening in our area, its probably happening in yours too. If you were thinking of attending a drag show but were on the fence about it, I think you should. They're a fun time.

Being involved in the queer community can be as simple as attending a drag show. Or going to a silly queer-focused event. Or supporting a queer-owned business. Every little bit of support for your queer community counts!

[energeticwarrior]

GLOBAL STRIKE FOR GAZA 1/21-1/28

Apologies for my delay in using my platform, I found out about this strike yesterday and was taking some time to figure out what to say

Palestine has been suffering long before October 2023 and I need everybody to understand that. There is a genocide happening right now and if people don't use their voices to speak up, then they will become a lost cause in our history. We do not want the stories of their people to be told 50 years from now with a side comment like "oh no I wish someone would've done something" or "I can't believe that actually happened." Our voices can spread like a wildfire, so I hope that everybody joins the global strike this week in support of Palestine and uses their voices, social media, platforms, etc to voice their support.

If you are unsure of where to start, I suggest reading up on the history of Israel's occupation of Palestine dating back to 1948. Here is a free PDF download of this book. To be honest, I have not finished reading this book yet, but it's been highly recommended to me by multiple people. Buying the book from the author would be better, but I understand that it's not within everybody's budgets which is why I included that link.

______________________________________________________________

If you follow this link, this is a great guide on how to participate and support the strike this week. Doing every single thing is not realistic but do what you can and that is enough.

Here are some Palestinian journalists you can follow on Twitter, as they are the most reliable source. Many news sources worldwide have been misconstruing this "conflict" and completely ignoring the blatant genocide happening before our eyes. These journalists are Palestinian people who have been living this their whole lives (there are many more people and the Twitter thread can be viewed here)

Additionally, here are some other Twitter accounts that you can receive information from.

I urge everybody (art blogs, fandom blogs, etc) to put their interests on pause for the week and use that time to educate themselves on what's been going on for the last several years. This did not start in October. Keep speaking up and uplift Palestinian voices!

______________________________________________________________

Resources and other ways to help:

BOYCOTT STARBUCKS AND MCDONALDS (among other things)

Donate E-Sims to help journalists be in touch with the rest of the world

Stop supporting Zionist celebrities (ex: Noah Schnapp, Gal Gadot)

Uplift Palestinian journalists

Donate menstrual products to menstruating people in Gaza

Donations to UNRWA, Islamic Relief Canada, Arab (daily clicks and proceeds go to UNRWA)

If I missed anything, please feel free to message me or send me something in my inbox. Again, I urge everybody to pause their week to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and continue to uplift their voices. We are all stronger together.

[blayresmuses]

HOW THEY SHOW AFFECTION

summary: how the hotd characters show their affection in relationships.

includes: aemond, aegon, alicent, rhaenyra, daemon, jace, harwin

warnings: mentions of sex and mentions of violence

authors note: i honestly don’t even know if this concept makes sense but oh well enjoy :)

once aemond accepts his feelings for you he’s surprisingly attentive and affectionate. everyone at court can see how he dotes on you - not that they’d mention it in front of him - and how even the briefest mention of your name has his head turning. he does shower you in affection physically but you notice more that quality time together seems to be his way of showing his love to you. he often invites you to the library with him or offers to take you out on vhagar. his favourite is when you sit and read to him, his head in your lap and your hand absentmindedly running through his hair. more often than not be finds excuses just to be in your presence - he even returns in the evening after doing his daily activities to have dinner with you, most times even following you to the bathtub after. he just can’t stay away.

aegon is much different, more reluctant to openly declare his feelings but wanting you to feel special all the same. it mostly comes out behind closed doors, a gentle, softer side of him exposing itself. he’d take his time undressing you, caressing you slowly and actually putting your pleasure before his own, something he hasn’t done much with the many girls he’d been with over the years. additionally he often surprises you with lavish gifts, helpfully chosen by his mother more often than not but you appreciate it all the same.

alicent dotes on you sweetly but what makes you really feel special is how much trust she puts in you. she openly confides her deepest secrets in you and tells you her fears, just like you do with her. the two of you share dinner nearly every night where you discuss your days and stresses, you’re often the first one she comes to for council. it’s more about emotional intimacy than anything that shows you how special your relationship is. your chambers are usually filled with your shared whispers well into the night as the two of you lay in each others arms.

when rhaenyra is younger, especially after her brothers are born she is all for being rebellious and you love how special being included in that makes you feel. the two of you are constantly trying to outdo each other and it makes for some fond memories for the two of you as the years pass. she shows her affection to you by simply making you feel wanted and important - she invites you everywhere, always asks for your advice and she especially loves when you reassure her of her position. rhaenyra is also always complimenting you - your dresses, your body, your hair - she’ll say anything to make you blush. it’s been noted in court how often she leans over to you to whisper something in your ear, often leaving you giggling or blushing.

daemons way of showing affection is purely sexual. he’s handsy at the best of times and lecherous at the worst, often pawing at you even when there’s others around - showing everyone that you’re completely his as he is yours. in the bedroom he takes utter care of you, even when he’s rough you can see it in his eyes how much he cares, can hear it in his voice when he murmurs dirty words in valyrian to you. it’s addicting and he refuses to stop until you’ve had a few orgasms at least. what makes your heart flutter the most is how protective he is of you and your marriage, even when he’s blunt when asking of your feelings and often doesn’t have much constructive things to make you feel better. he’d never hear a bad word about you, even if it’s from your own mouth. he’d kill for you and he has no problem proving it.

jacerys is nothing but devoted to you, completely. he surprises you constantly with little trinkets or books, things that mean something to you. he’d do anything to make you smile, only so he can compliment you on it. he’s loving and doting, always clearing gaps in his day to spend quality time with you when he can. he’s affectionate in every way, loving to give you soft kisses on your forehead or on your hand.

harwin is just completely soft for you and only you. he’s affectionate always, keeping a hand on you at all times. he’s protective but not overbearing, letting you do your own thing at balls and when you’re out in kings landing but keeping an eye on you all the same. he adores touching you and it’s usually the first thing he does when he returns to your chambers, takes you in his arms and holds you until he’s content to let go. when you’re alone together he’s glued to your side, even offering you massages just to get to touch you. he also loves teaching you to yield a sword, he laughs the whole time at your determination because let’s face it, you’re not beating him but the two of you enjoy it all the same. it always ends up with the two of you rolling around on the ground after you’ve thrown down your sword and tried to tackle him for too many teasing comments.

[faislittlewhiteraven]

Been having some ISaT tech level and timeline (as in 'when backstory things happened') thoughts and want to ramble a bit:

Tech

ISaT's setting is based on your classic sword and sorcery fantasy JRPG so its easy to assume that tech wise everything is 'fantasy medieval' and call it a day but consider:

Body Craft is at bare minimum is magic sex changing surgery (earliest known equivent in our world dating to 1930) that any old person can learn to do safely on themselves in only a few months, and more likely has many many broader applications like regular old surgery, the 'combat healing' Mira and Sif use, etc.

Cameras and photos are rare enough that Odile comments on it (namely she's happy the group get a photo in the House due to them being 'so rare') yet are also common enough that everyone in the party knows about them and doesn't question the existence of a camera beyond being surprised that the mirror was one. (In our world cameras date back to the 19th century, with the earliest manufacturing of them being in 1839). 

Printing presses and ways to make plenty of paper to feed those presses given absolutely everyone in this game can read, expects everyone else to know how to, and both mass produced book series and newspapers are a thing. (Note: Printing presses have existed since waaaay back but it's the mass paper manufacturing that makes newspapers and The Cursing of Chateu Castle possible that really has my eyebrows raised here, especially since neither Siffrin or Odile find either odd in any way, indicating such things are common everywhere, and while newspapers have been around since 1604 in our world, mass produced fantasy books didn't really take off until the start of the 20th century).

Food production and storage: despite being in the middle of a national disaster that almost certainly cut off trade networks and access to most suppliers for literal months now, Bonnie, a small child, is able to easily get their hands on fresh Pineapple, curry ingredients (for samosa), potatoes, plantains etc with no issues or anyone commenting on this being unusual or lucky. Oh and the only character who even brings up the concept of potential starvation is the Fishing One, and only in a sort of 'we're not at risk now but sooner or later...' kinda way due to noticing that the fish they fish up for fun are disappearing and likely being frozen. So yeah, that heavily implies Vaugarde has very good food storage tech/Craft (possibly better than ours), and likely also good food production and harvesting tech/skills also.

The Island's incredible knowledge of the stars: while the oldest known orrery in our world is dated from around 205 to 87 BC (ancient Greek, earth centric model), the fact Sif -who would've learnt this as a child/teen- is so very certain that stars are big balls of fire made up of gas is interesting as that's something our world couldn't prove the theory of until around the 1900s (note: it'd been theorized a LONG time but Sif talks like its complete facts to them . Additionally the earliest existing record of a telescope in our world dates to a 1608 patent and we see one of those in game.

Post posting EDIT: A wonderful user qds-place pointed out that Mirabelle has anti-anxiety medication in her room. This is in both ISaT and SAaP and though we're not sure what form the medication takes (pills? Valium? Megitech esc Craft boosters???) the fact they specifically have 'anti anxiety' medication at all (as opposed to idk dragging Mira off and drugging her through the gills) is kind of impressive and if it IS modern anti anxiety pills those could be as recent in creation as the 1950s! So um. Some high levels of tech implied in chemistry there <3

So... yeah. All this, plus the fact that the highest tech implied area, The Island, literally specialised in the study/Craft of turning wishes into reality (for a long enough time period that Wish Craft is culturally so ingrained in the King and Sif that they do it without thinking and it seems intertwined with their nation's religion) has been completely erased from memory to the point anything heavily associated with them has been forgotten, and also we only ever see Dormont aka a little village well away from the cities, it's not hard to conclude that you can basically justify giving the ISaT world any level of tech you want, so long as you lock any of the truly 'setting breaking' stuff like planes and rockets behind The Island's forgetting curse (I would've said trains too but thinking about it trains were invented in 1802 so it's honestly easy to imagine that they totally exist in the ISaT setting/Vaugarde but aren't ever on screen because rail is way too dangerous to consider using while the Curse is active and potentially time freezing things on the tracks).

Side note: We know absolutely nothing about Vaugarde's transport system but as a fan of fantasy RPGs it is honestly a travesty I have yet to see a fic that has flying dragons/wyverns or other fantasy mounts in setting. Like, ok yes, the party would probably have wanted to use those but maybe they don't like the Curse and fled? Maybe the King's Curse targeted them first? Maybe all their handlers dropped the heroes off in Dormont and said 'Well Saviors it's been fun, but well me and Scales here are off to Poteria until things wrap up so best of luck to you' before buggering off?

This isn't really a serious complaint just. Me reminding myself/potentially other fanwork writers out there that there's a lot about the setting we just don't know about and limiting all travel to walking, horse drawn carriage and boat is not actually required. (Also please mix up travelling to the Island. Boats are a wonderful classic and have great thematic vibes for Sif's original leaving of the Island but like. Imagine the sheer in-universe wtf of the memories of The Island suddenly coming back and people on the north coast suddenly realising there's a massive bridge, subway or underwater tunnel leading there that everyone just forgot about - potentially filled with all kinds of Sadnesses that need taking down. Or Warp Panels in a House of Change, idk XD).

Timeline

Canon notes first:

Bonnie is a preteen (8 to 12), Mira and Isa are in their early to mid 20s (with Isa slightly older), Sif is late 20s to 30, and Odile is 40+ Nille is stated to be around 18 to 20.

Siffrin ran away from home when they were a teenager (13 to 17? 18?) and this is heavily implied to be when the Island was Forgotten.

Bonnie (in ISaT specifically*) says that Nille told them that when it happened all the adults were talking about it, hence why they think The Island is close to their village. *In Start Again a Prologue, Bonnie says that they themself remember the adults talking about the Island disappearing, which er. Is a bit impossible given they likely weren't even born yet when that happened but that can be explained away by AU differences, InsertDisc5 still finalising details between SAaP and ISaT, and/or OG Siffrin having been in the loops so long they weren't actually listening when Bonnie was talking and just 'scripted' in their head something 'close enough' to what Bonnie was saying to get the idea (note: mentioned that idea before in my post here on the differences between the House and King in Start Again vs In Stars and Time for anyone curious so er please feel free to give that a read if you haven't already).

Odile mentions remembering 'when it happened' as well and has been 'travelling for years'.

The King 'appeared out of nowhere' sometime in his adulthood, and lived in the city of Corbeaux for a few years before he became the King.

The King became the King as was freezing people in time long enough before his attack on the House of Dormont that everyone inside knew he was coming, there were a wall's worth of newspaper articles about him, and everyone was expecting Euphrasie to defeat him.

Mirabelle's quest began 'almost a year ago' and Sif lost their eye 'recently'.

Thoughts on the above:

Calculating when The Island was forgotten:

Sif being mid 20s to 30 and having run away from home as a teen means that The Island has to have been forgotten somewhere between 9 to 17 years ago with nine only possible if he ran away at age 17 and is only age 26 now, and seventeen being the far opposite if he ran at age 13 and is currently 30.

To narrow down the timeline: Given Sif ran away from home because he 'didn't want to eat his veggies' and 'just wanted to scare [his] parents a little bit' it's probably safe to assume Siffrin was likely on the younger end of the teen spectrum (teens run off all the time sure but with loving parents and over veggies? That screams 'kid who has not yet learned that freaking out the parents will get their ass grounded and/or yelled at a LOT and is therefore best saved for doing fun forbidden stuff that ideally the parents will never find out about' XD) Additionally given Siffrin can't remember his age/birthday etc but Isabeau outright says near the beginning of the game "But you're older than most of the people here?" meaning Sif must be visibly older than Isa or Mira, so he's probably closer to 30 than not.

Those alone would imply the Island likely disappeared closer to the '17 years ago' side of things BUT Nille (tops 20 years old) told Bonnie that "[the Island's disappearance] was all the adults would talk about for ages" and kids usually can't remember anything prior to 4 years of age so with that in mind...

I'd say The Island most likely disappeared between 13 to 16 years ago.

Nille stuff:

This is more a general mention but. Nille is tops 20 years old. Bonnie is between 8 and 12 and doesn't remember their parents at all.

This means Nille ran away with Bonnie and gained emancipation and custody of Bonnie (if Vaugarde has formalised that kind of legal stuff) while she was at most 12 years old herself and could have in theory been as young as 6..!

Regardless, it's very likely the original home situation was that bad, Nille deserves a ton of credit for raising Bonnie as well as she has and I'd say it's very VERY likely she had a lot of help from villagers in Bambosche and/or the local House of Change in doing so. ...But also Bonnie is very adamantly 'my sister and village' and not 'my sister and [specific names who live with us]' so there's clearly by the time Bonnie was 4 or so they were living in their own place so... Yeah. Lotta drive for independence there too it seems (so the party might have more trouble adopting Nille into their group post ISaT than Bonnie might expect).

King stuff:

Already an adult 13 to 16 years ago so at bare minimum 33. Given his vibe probably much older though.

Newspapers get printed pretty quick though for there to be so much speculation and research done into his background so quick, either Vaugarde has some form of fast messaging system (something like a Chappe telegraph on top of the Houses of Change? Odile I think does mention that they'll have a message sent to let Nille know they'll be returning Bonnie...) or the King was freezing stuff for IDK around a month or two before reaching Dormont? Alas can't find out how long it takes to walk across all of France out very easily (I'm sure the numbers are out there but my brain is pudding rn) but if we had those numbers we could probably make some guesstimates based off the rough sketched map of Vaugarde InsertDisk5 did... Which I would link but apparently the tumblr post I had it linked on has been deleted???? 'wails at this very unhappy development'

Mira's journey and Sif's eye:

We really don't know a lot but almost a year ago gives us somewhere around 9 to 11 months to spread the journey out along and after eye removal surgery the patient can out and about as soon as 2 to 6 weeks after, maybe sooner with magic healing (though full recovery/growing used to the changed spacial awareness -which Sif clearly does not have- probably can't be sped up and takes around 3 to 6 months) so um. I'd guestimate Sif's eye injury is really recent; like two months ago tops recent. ...Which sorta explains a lot of why Bonnie is not dealing with it right now and also why the others might be trying to avoid bringing it up (since Sif clearly loves avoiding the issue but they haven't yet realised that maybe they really should bring it up even if it annoys them anyway?)

Odile with some Ka Bue speculation:

When it comes to The Island, how did Odile, presumably living in Ka Bue at the time, remember 'when it happened'? Was the Island well known enough even on the other side of the world that it's disappearance made waves? Or was Odile herself or someone she's close to paying attention to the region? (Like maybe her dad or a friend is/was into politics or trade, keeping up with overseas news and got concerned it could happen to Ka Bue? I'd say 'I remember when it happened' line implies it was more immediate knowledge than being informed by a messenger much later though...)

As for Odile's 'years of travel' I have to wonder, what's left behind for her in Ka Bue? She brings up going back there quite a bit, might just miss home and possibly her father if he's still alive, but given it took her years to get here for something so personal rather than idk 'materially rewarding' I think Odile might have some kinda family estate or something back in Ka Bue... Something she wasn't worried about potentially losing while far away, but solid enough to want to return to, beyond her father who she'd definitely want to see again if he's still around. (...But given how open she is to chilling about Vaugarde a few more months with the others, I really don't think he is alive, since well, given their respective ages and travel between Vaugarde and Ka Bue apparently taking years, there'd definitely an uncomfortably high chance of him passing away while she's gone and that seems like the thing that'd stress Odile out so... Yeah. Probably got an estate in Ka Bue she'd like to take the Family to visit/possibly sell off if she decides she'd like to live with them in Vaugarde so... Just my off the cuff headcanoning here and hoping that gives others ideas or something).

---

Anyway that's all the ramble I've got in me so... yeah! Hope this was interesting and useful for those needing a bit of a 'possible tech'/timeline calcs breakdown for the Island + a few more vague things and um. Probably will post a long winding ramble about my attempt at a ISaT Selkie AU fic I've been working on next <3 (Not to be confused with looped-140-and-counting's already existing and quite wonderful Selkie Siffrin AU which already has a completed oneshot fic, a snippet of sequel, two snippets of prequel/Sif flashbacking and I believe a comic too, all of which I highly recommend <3)

[valorant-drabbles]

Hallo! I'm the one who requested the iso x reader from last time （＾ｖ＾）

I was wondering if you could make a part two showing how they slowly progressed with each other if it's alright since I really loved the first part and I'm brain rotting hard about Iso

PS - I'll go by ♠️spade anon from now on

Not me accidentally creating a multi-part slow burn Iso fic!! Oh boy

Could be seen as platonic or romantic… but if people want a part 3, it’ll definitely be more romantic.

Gender neutral reader!

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: Mild Cursing, Spoiler for Part 1 of this fic

Cold Shoulder

Reader x Iso

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 |

It had been about three weeks since the incident; since you and Iso had your little quarrel, and inevitably having started to understand one another. It was definitely a challenge for you, since you’d struggled for years when it came to getting along with people outside of work hours. Thankfully, Iso was proving to be extremely patient and courteous towards you and your growth. That wasn’t to say he didn’t get irritated every so often if he noticed you slipping back into your old, cold habits…

But you were making a genuine effort. What more could he ask for?

Despite it only having been a few weeks, you and Iso had started getting along quite quickly. He’d made it clear that you were always welcome to join him if you were feeling lonely- and considering your friend quantity in the Protocol was quite low, you were finding yourself ‘lonely’ often. It was strange- last month, you were completely fine being on your own. And now, if you went a few days without a casual conversation with somebody… you felt an odd emptiness inside your chest. A yearning for connection that you’d thought you’d severed long ago.

There were many days where Iso would return to his room after training to find you sat on his bed, listening to the playlist he’d shared with you. Usually you were reading, or watching movies on your laptop… passing the time until he’d return and possibly join you. Iso knew you had a bit of trouble asking to spend time together, so when you were in his room- it was kind of obvious why you were there. Once he’d shower and change clothes, he’d settle into bed and join you in whatever you were doing.

Overtime, this became routine. On days neither of you had a mission, you’d spend time together in the comfort of Iso’s room… quietly bonding, occasionally starting conversations- though usually it was Iso initiating. After all, even after all this time, he still found you to be absolutely fascinating, and desired to learn more about you.

“What do you think we learn from fighting ourselves?” Iso’s voice cut through the current silence filling the bedroom, causing you to look up from your book, eyebrow raised curiously at the sudden query.

“… what?”

“Ah- sorry. That came from nowhere.” Iso apologized quietly, his gaze sheepishly moving away from where you were watching him. “I was just… thinking about our mirror selves. From Omega Earth. How they look and act almost exactly like us- and our teammates as well.”

“Mhm. What about them, though?” You questioned further, noticing Iso shift in his seat.

“I’ve… had this question on my mind ever since I saw myself on the other team. ‘What do we learn from fighting ourselves?’… I’ve asked a few of the others, but… honestly, none of them had an answer I was looking for.” Iso grimaced softly at the memory of him asking Phoenix this question, only for the Brit to cockily answer ‘How much better I am compared to that fake me!’.

You took a moment to ponder his question. This was something you genuinely appreciated about spending time with Iso- he posed questions that made you think. Nothing too philosophical, usually… but it kept conversations interesting, and additionally helped the two of you learn more about how the other thinks.

“I guess… we learn our weaknesses.” You answer after about a minute of silence. “Though it’s not ideal… there’s certain circumstances where our double will be better than us at something. It’ll reveal a weak point in our abilities… and give us something to work towards improving. Alternatively, we learn the weakness of our double, and how to potentially exploit it if need be.” Your shoulders shrugged slightly, as you bit gently at the end of the pen in your hand. “It can also help us to… uh…”

Your hesitance to speak further piques Iso’s curiosity, and his gaze moves to you. He can’t help but notice your cheeks glowing a faint shade of red. You seldom showed emotion like this… allowing yourself to be embarrassed or even revealing a moment of weakness. Despite his desire to urge you into finishing your thought, he knew pushing you to answer would just make you uncomfortable. And, there was the possibility it could cause you to throw out your walls again, giving him the cold shoulder again- he couldn’t risk that. So, he waited.

As much as you wanted to change the topic or just… leave the thought unfinished, Iso’s eyes on you made it clear that he really wanted to know what you were thinking.

“Y/N?” Iso called out quietly. A sigh escaped you reluctantly, as you turned your body to face away from him slightly- only so that he would have trouble seeing how flushed your face had become.

“It… it also helps us to… see what we couldn’t see before. In our own teammates.” You finally continue, deciding to occupy your twitching hands with twirling your pen between your fingers. “How much our team would do to… to protect us. In the face of danger. The threat of death is always so real when you know the enemy won’t hesitate to kill you… sometimes you forget how dangerous it can be. How quickly you can lose somebody. And… how… if a teammate dies, you might go about the rest of your life… regretting that you never got to know them better. Or you might die with the same regret…” You swallow.

You thought back on the day you nearly died at Pearl almost every day. It all felt so surreal… the rush of emotion you felt when you saw Iso in danger? The searing pain from the bullets that had pierced your body?… the last thing you see being Iso using your Operator to take down the approaching threats…

His words echoing constantly in your mind.

“Don’t you dare die on me, Y/N.”

You’d always been so cold towards him… never giving him any reason to like your company. And yet… Iso risked his own life to save yours. With no hesitation.

“Y/N.” It was only after feeling Iso’s hand on your own that you realized he’d been calling your name. His voice was gentle, worry lacing the elegance he spoke your name with. His gaze on you was equally as concerned. It was only in that moment, seeing your own reflection in his eyes, where you notice you’d started crying.

“Shit.” You pull your hand away from Iso’s, and quickly moved to wipe your face of any tears that may had fallen. This was… new. You never let such fragile emotions show in front of the other agents… you only ever let out your piled up emotions behind closed doors, where nobody could see. Where nobody could know. “Sorry, I don’t… know why I’m crying. Can you just forget I said any of that?” You requested, though your voice wavered as you spoke, making you cringe internally. Were you truly so emotional when you thought back on that day…?

Without another word, you found yourself being pulled into Iso’s lap, his arms wrapped around you comfortingly, yet not intrusively. Physical contact wasn’t something you were used to either, but… in that moment? It felt… incredible. You needed this… so badly. For how long you’d needed it for, you didn’t know. You just knew you never wanted this moment to end- as soft as that sounded.

“I’m… not going to let either of us die with that regret.” Iso promised ever so softly, with his head resting comfortably against your shoulder. “And believe me, I don’t intend on dying anytime soon. So you don’t have to worry to much about missed opportunities to… get to know each other. And stuff.”

You kept your face hidden away from Iso; thankful he wasn’t making an effort to look regardless. You felt incredibly vulnerable in that moment… so you truly appreciated that Iso was making the effort to give you some level of privacy. At least as you attempted to pull yourself together again.

“I… I’m glad that… you didn’t give up on me.” You mumble gently against his chest. “… even though I was kind of an asshole to you.”

“Oh, no. You were a total asshole.” Iso chimed. You could just hear the grin on his face through his voice. It made you want to strangle him… not to death, per se.

“… besides. There’s no way I’d give up on someone as… incredible as you.”

Iso’s hand managed to find yours once again, and slowly, gently, you found your fingers intertwining with his without even thinking about it. The previously jarring silence in the room had been replaced with an air of comfortable quiet, as the two of you sat in each other’s company.

You never thought you’d have this thought towards another agent… but…

You really did enjoy Iso’s company. To what extent?… You were unsure.

Yet you enjoyed it regardless.

[hunxi-after-hours]

Hello! I love your ORV posting. I do have an embarrassing question; can I ask how heartbreaking the ending is? I've tried reading it a large number of times, but have had trouble getting past the chapters in the 300s; I'll reread it up til that point over and over again, but can't continue. Not because I don't enjoy it, but because I get so swept away by the emotions, and all the characters go through is agonizing. I know it's not real! But my heart aches all the same, in a way I've never experienced this with a novel before, and I feel like a child LOL (It's also extremely funny-frustrating because I realize how thematic this is to the story itself). I'm not worried about the characters Kim Dokja is fighting for, but given the patterns in the story and how it seems to be told, I'm too afraid to keep going. I know I could just look it up, but at the same time, I don't want to spoil all the mysteries; just if my heart can rest easy. TLDR, if it's not too spoilery, is there any light for kim dokja in the ending? or is it a tragedy through & through?

(If this is a dumb question, please feel free to ignore this)

oh boy anon, I've been sitting on this ask for a hot second because it's hard to answer! so I will attempt to talk around it in a way that will hopefully (?) avoid spoilers

as I see it, the nature of orv's ending (broadly writ) is additionally complicated by the fact that there are approximately four(ish) endings:

1) the ending at chapter 516

2 + 3) the ending(s) at chapter 551

4?) the side stories

the ending at chapter 516

this is probably what many people would characterize as BE, but I'd personally compare it to the ending of my love, my life, 《琅琊榜》 Nirvana in Fire, in that the ending may be "sad" (broad air quotes to vague-ify whatever "sad" entails) but it feels earned. it feels right. it feels like the logical conclusion of what the entire book was building up to. some may consider it a tragedy, but it's not a hollow, meaningless tragedy — it feels correct. this is the note that the novel officially ends on, but is then over(?)written by the existence of—

the ending(s) at chapter 551

Kim Dokja's Company looks at the ending of ch. 516 and says "aw hell no" and sets out to rewrite that ending. after 35 chapters of epilogue, we've unlocked an OE — an open ending, that concludes the moment before the HE/BE ambiguity will be resolved. schrodinger's ending, except you, the reader, get to choose what you believe — and I do think the epilogues are written beautifully to get you here (they implicate the reader in a wonderful and deeply empathetic way). and from what I've seen, the vast majority of the fandom chooses to take the offered HE option and run with it; everyone lives happily ever after together in a big house, a million domestic post-canon fics will attest. this is the closest, I'd say, that would come answering your question of whether Kim Dokja has light in his future with an emphatic, loving "yes"

(I also think it's worth mentioning that the epilogues add a lot to the story; they fill in narrative lacunae and tie up loose threads that aren't answered in the original 516 chapters, so I don't consider the epilogues as "separate" or "extra." the epilogues aren't a fix-it tacked onto the end of the narrative; they serve and enrich the narrative in a way that would actively reduce the luster of the story if lost)

the side story

a few years down the line, Sing-shong have returned to the text to tie up "a few more loose ends." the side story is currently being serialized, and more or less picks up from where chapter 551 left off. this necessarily chooses among your OE options as detailed above; whether the side story will end happily, or with "light for Kim Dokja," currently remains to be seen as it is still ongoing. I've fallen off the bandwagon and have been meaning to catch up, but from what I've read so far I think the side story is an interesting and worthwhile addition to the text. Sing-shong continue to innovate and develop upon the worldbuilding and narrative they have already created, and we have met a new cast of characters that have rapidly become as dear to us as the old (the old cast of characters are also here, don't worry). if I were a betting person, I would say that the side story is headed in a more-or-less HE direction; the side story is currently engaging with and complicating themes of (self-)identity and (self-)worth through the many lenses of Kim Dokja, and while it remains to be seen how it resolves, I am tentatively optimistic that it will, if nothing else, be satisfying

TL;DR the ending(s) of ORV can be variously construed as HE, BE, or OE, and the elements of tragedy woven into the narrative and characters are inherent to the text. however, no tragedy is meaningless in ORV, and all of the endings feel earned

[rollercoasterwords]

like. ok i am going to spell it out

the reason having conversations about representation can be productive in the realm of like. tv or movies or published fiction is that

a) those forms of media are outside the realm of your control. like. most individuals do not get much of a say in the creation of film and most individuals never publish books, etc. BUT

b) those forms of media are largely driven by audience consumption. they exist in a profit economy and rely on reaching an audience to survive. so it does matter what the audience thinks, because a bigger, happier audience = more money

ergo, yelling about liking or disliking something is essentially one of the only ways you can make a difference in those forms of media. it can be productive to push for lesbian rep in tv shows, for example, because if consumers are putting their money where their mouth is then it incentivizes the people who do control what gets made to make things that consumers will want to buy.

but none of that applies to fanfiction.

do you see where i'm going with this? generally speaking, fanfiction is something made as a hobby by individuals who are writing stories that they want to see. because there is no profit, it doesn't really matter what an audience wants; at the end of the day, people generally aren't going to be motivated to write stories for free in their spare time if the story isn't something they themselves want to write. if someone is choosing to write stories about men over writing stories about women, that is not automatically or inherently misogynistic.

additionally--this is a space where you can control the media you consume! if there's a story you want to read, you can just write it. like. it's fanfiction. you can literally just write anything you want to see.

"oh but i'm not a good writer" "oh but that takes so long" "oh but that's so hard" "oh but i don't want to write it, i just want to read it"

okay? go search for the stories you want then. there are tons of people writing wlw fic in this fandom; you can find them if you try.

"yeah but the wlw fics aren't as good--" fuck off

"yeah but there aren't as many--" THEN WRITE SOME. or find a fic writer who writes wlw fic and shower them with praise if you really want to encourage them to keep writing. aside from writing it yourself, supporting wlw fic writers is the most productive thing you can do if you genuinely feel that this is a serious issue.

but when you complain that there's "not enough" wlw fic, you are approaching fanfiction in the same way you would approach media created within a profit economy. you are acting as if fic writers are obligated to provide you, the consumer, with certain types of "content," which deteriorates the boundaries that keep fanfiction outside the consumer economy and protect it as one of few community spaces left that has not been entirely swallowed by the chokehold of capitalism. is there a conversation to be had about how misogyny might play into the popularity of mlm vs. wlw fic? sure! but that is a nuanced conversation that cannot be boiled down to a one-sentence tweet or a single comment on tiktok, and trying to simplify it down to a punchline does more harm than good.

[dozing-marshmallow]

hi! i was wondering if you could write duncan and courtney dating headcannons with a fem reader on the show? (separate) if not that's ok!

Awww no, it is okay! Thank you so much for the request, enjoy!<33

DATING COURTNEY HEADCANONS

From what we know about Courtney, it wasn’t hard to guess that her type was someone contrasting her.

So you were a bit of a cheeky contestant.

Okay, “a bit” was an understatement. Courtney didn’t like to admit it, but she found jubilation in your many ploys on the show.

Because of them though, she’d be on the assumption that you weren’t taking the competition seriously (even though you weren’t actually there to win the money), but you appreciate her reminding you to focus on the game and her helpful tips.

She wouldn’t want to openly say you guys are in a relationship as she’s aware that some people may try to exploit that for their own motives, but makes it clear that you’re off limits.

At night, you often share a bunk with her. Courtney would insist to be the little spoon, all the way through to the morning with her head on your chest.

Your darling Princess!

She loves sharing school stories with you.

“They actually had to rush her to the ER! Can you believe the manners some people have? How much of a litterbug do you have to be to throw your juice box out of a window from the fourth floor? We have bins for a reason!”

“Woah... So your teacher got a concussion from someone doing that?”

“Yeah! It sounds pathetic, but it’s what happened! The school assigned me to be in charge of delivering work from her and delivering notices to her. Makes sense since I was the only qualified student to take up that responsibility while still ace all my classes!”

She’s also fond of discussing hair with you and you play with hers and vice versa.

You like giving her little plaits, ponytails or a bun as high as it can go.

Additionally, she tries persuading you to do karaokes with her.

“It’s way better if we don’t have any instruments! You have nothing to hide behind and we’ll get used to being vulnerable with each other!” she smiled when she said it.

Looks like that couldn’t apply to her,“Oh, man...”

Though she’s a perfectionist, she loves complimenting you a lot.

“If you took that cap off your head and wore a headband instead, you’d look even more adorable! Would you do it for me at least?”

And her occasional feedback.

“What do you mean you haven’t read a single book this entire year!?” she jumps to her feet, horrified.

“Courtney, relax! It’s not a big deal.” you try to assure her with a grin.

She was more shaken at your presumably clueless behaviour to reading,“No, it is a big deal! You can’t just have everything on the outside and nothing in here!” she taps a tense finger to the side of her head,“My girlfriend’s gotta have brains with her beauty! I’m not dating no dummy!”

So she ordered you to sit down on the entrance steps of the Killer Bass cabin while she searched for a novel to give you- girl brought ten.

Out of her choices, she decided to provide you with Mercy Among The Children.

“There!” she hands you the clean copy, no crease or wrinkle, like all brand new,“You will read all of that and when you’re done, you will answer ten summary questions that I came up with to show me how much you learnt. And I will know if your answers are accurate, because I happened to give a presentation on this very book! I did it with ease thanks to my experience as a CIT.” her CIT talks got tedious very quickly, however if it made her happy, you didn’t want to take that away from her.

Therefore you gave something of your own instead,“What if I don’t know how to read?” you knew such question would aggravate her.

She shakes her head in disbelief, perfect autumn hair swaying,“Oh, you’re gonna have to do a lot better than that! You read the fine print of the contract to participate, didn’t you?”

Nope, but let’s pretend you did.

After a few seconds of “reading”, you call her name, to where she sat next to you, watching.

“What’s on your mind now?”

“I uh...” you turn to the back of the book, eyes scanning over the blurb,“Kinda don’t like the voice in my head narrating this. Could you read it to me?”

It seemed this request had halted her brain for a moment as she had stared at you with eyelids split apart again before her loving reprimand frolicked in the air,“Are you crazy? (Y/N), you know I love you, but I can’t do that! You gotta do this on your own, get used to reading in your head! How will you do in an exam when you have to stay quiet? I refuse to hear you getting disqualified over something as little as that!”

She’s so irresistible when she gets worked up,“Then I’ll transfer to your school so I can hear your voice everyday and be sure to pass my next exam.”

Her aim to lecture you had evaporated,“Oh wow...“ her eyebrows sprung back and she couldn’t believe herself for laughing at your not so futile charm,“Okay okay, just this once!” she declares, gently taking back the novel with both hands so it was still open.

As Courtney’s elegant voice embellishes the passage written down on the pages, you make promise to yourself to continue reading it in your own time.

After all, you know she’s just looking out for you.🤎

DATING DUNCAN HEADCANONS

You thought he asked you out as a joke, but he was serious.

Serious in love.

And he loved to be open about it. Not with words, but with his arm around you, calling your name.

He sprayed your hair for a day to see how green would look on you, however you got worried when it didn’t come out.

He would share stories from juvie and usually had an edible treat to give you as you talked. You always thought he had brought a stash of sweets, but looking at his luggage, you realise there was no way any high caliber food could survive in it.

“Mm, thanks Duncan! Where did you get this from?”

He winked,“Don’t worry about it.”

So you didn’t.

Duncan’s surprisingly very good at drawing; you use that talent as a couple’s activity.

He also likes drawing his initials on your arms with a marker, never forgetting to add a skull.

Loves playing with your hands and placing his one on your leg.

Sometimes you wear his shirt or use it as a blanket.

While Duncan wouldn’t really like to hug in public, he’d do gestures like rubbing your head or squishing your face.

He fantasises you someday getting a matching piercing, since you refuse to let him give you one.

“This nose piercing wasn’t painful, like a lot of wet wussies say, but it is a bit uncomfy for a few days. You sure you don’t want me to pierce ya? It’s free of charge~”

The treatment for the infection won’t be,“No thanks! I might decide to pierce my ears!”

“Ear piercing?” his face scrunched like the choice was boring, but his voice held hope,“Where exactly?”

“The lobe would be nice... But I’d also want to get one on the inside! Like industrial!”

“Now you’re talking.” Needless to say, he approved of those ones.

Duncan’s a night owl, so found his favourite part of the day being at night, when everyone else was certainly asleep. You two would go out to a different part of Camp Wawankwa every time to breathe in the wildlife air and have conversation crafted for the dark.

The first nights, you were hesitant. Your chest was tight. It was hard to enjoy the secluded moment with Duncan when your mind was racing with panic.

“Oh Duncan... What if someone sees us? I don’t wanna get in trouble...”

“We won’t. We’re not doing anything wrong.” his calm tone of voice somewhat helped, head swivelling to the closest functioning camera duck tapped on a tree,“The worst Chris’ll do is tell us to go back inside, though knowing him, he probably doesn’t care.”

You trace a finger on his chest,“I wish I could sleep with you in your cabin. But the girls would be suspicious if my bed was empty, and let’s not talk about what the guys would do.”

“Keen, huh?” his unibrow forms a squiggly line as one of the separate eyebrow bones upreared, making you push him gently out on exposed instinct,“I’m pretty sure everyone knows about us by now and the guys would be fine if you crashed in for a night or two.”

“I know...” Duncan’s friends were nice guys. When they wanted to be,“I just don’t wanna make anyone uncomfortable.”

His laugh gets clogged by his nose,“You? Make anyone uncomfortable? Babe, trust me, unless your name starts with H and ends in arold, you don’t gotta worry about being alienated. If it means that much to you, we can wait until more people go home for us to share a bed.”

Ohh! You had forgotten about the competition and how it worked! Love makes you forget about the everyday things like the collection of the fires supplementing the sky just being rocks floating in space,“Until more people go home... How...will we make sure it’s not us?”

“Welll. I like you so that’s one less person to vote for you.” he starts,”The rest of the guys like you so you can count them out. Now for the chicks... Anyone you think wants you gone?”

Instantly, someone came to mind,“Heather,” your boyfriend makes gagging noises at the name, vining a smile on your lips,“Ever since I turned down her offer to join her alliance, I must’ve ended up on her watch list. Sure, we can act civil, but I can tell she’s impatiently waiting for my elimination.”

He snorts, brushing his hand on your back,“Seriously? Chicks hold a grudge over anything! Well, that alliance of hers can’t be doing so good when one of her so called members don’t even like her, so it’s not like you’re missing out on anything.”

“True... I get to enjoy the Duncan instead,” you look into his blue vision for that, seeing his irises sprout in ardour. You leave a tangible mark of your lips on his, finding your eyes wondering to a large robust tree not so far away from where Duncan held you,“I wonder... Do you think we could secretly build our own secret treehouse?”

“Up there?” he follows your gaze and whistles,“It is possible... All I’ll need are some tools to steal from Chef and it’ll be there in no time.”

“Duncan!” his romantic selfless take on your suggestion is piled over by his out of place mention of Chef’s inventory, which clicks something to your attention,“Is that...where you’ve been getting the snacks from?”

An unbeaten chuckle rippled out of his ribs, how carefree he was,“Looks like the cat got outta the bag!”💚

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez

4.25/5. 7/9/24.

Vibes: hooking up on the low, getting over the Worst, big guy/plus size heroine, librarian joy!!!

Heat Index: 6/10

The Basics:

Marcela has been in love with her best friend Ben ever since he decided they were better as friends after a few dates in college. Now he's engaged to his longtime girlfriend, and she's struggling. Until, that is, she realizes Ben's older brother, erstwhile ex-NFL player Theo, is in even worse shape when she overhears him practicing a speech... Confessing his love for Ben's fiancee. Marcela prevents a disaster--and everyone now believes she's in a hookup situationship with Theo. Hmm... while they're there and they both need to get over people... might as well, right?

The Review:

Aaaah, this was such a good debut! Gabriella Gamez has a real touch for a romcom--and she knows how to bring the heat too. Like, this is an actual romcom; it's funny and it centers the romance. And there's an edge of the illicit to it as well. The best way to get over someone is to get under someone else, but what if that someone is the first person's brother...? It's kind of delicious.

There's a lot of heart here, and the dynamics of longing for someone you've built up in your head versus the real opportunity right in front of you. And like, of course, the idea of being with a person who actually values you for who you are and puts you first. There's a real sense of "so that's what it's supposed to be like" in this book that I think a lot of people can relate to.

Also--the writing is snappy and I swept through this super fast. I'm so excited to read more from Gabriella!

Diving Deeper:

--I'm actually a big fan of a "girl has been longing after dumb man for far too long and then Good Man comes along" moment. I think we have way too many stories in which it's like... oh, he's finally noticed you (or run out of other options) hooray, the boy is yours! And I don't know. To each their own, but I always feel like the heroine is settling for someone who never actually valued her. I don't want the heroine to finally get the attention of someone who should've seen her early on; I want her to get someone who doesn't need to be convinced to want her.

And Ben is just such a tool in the best kind of way. I loved watching him lose. Frankly, I also loved that Theo was this BIG STRONG HOT MAN and Marcela basically went from wasting away over the nebbish brother (largely because she didn't get closure and always wondered about what would've been) to this giant dude who is SOOOO physically about her, and then gets to know her and is also mentally tapped in.

Because I also like a story in which the couple is initially all physicality and catches feelings more gradually. And you definitely get that here. In a lot of ways, Theo awakens Marcela; she's not a virgin heroine by any means, but she hasn't really had someone... light her fire, as it were. There's this vicarious quality to it all. You really feel like you're reading about someone who's finally getting the opportunity to be THAT GIRL. And it's so great to see that happen not through Ben finally Seeing Her, but through another man having his moment with her and going "all I CAN see is her".

--I've talked about how I find the way heroines' insecurities regarding their weight is portrayed in romance often really doesn't work for me. As such, when I read that this book gets into Marcela's insecurities, I was... worried. However, this was one of my favorite portrayals of a plus size heroine. Marcela is hot, and she does know it; but she doesn't always know it. I found this deeply real, and I so appreciated the honesty in this narrative. Additionally, there's a moment in her past with Ben that reads as something that could happen, and that would also be one of my own personal worst fears.

It's like... not even that Theo is this hot guy, right? (Though he is.) It's that he can pick Marcela up like she's nothing. It's that being with him makes her feel... delicate, in a way that she hasn't always with past people. That's so real, dude. I got it.

--This is a first person book from Marcela's POV. Sometimes, first person single POV romance novels bug me because I feel like I'm not getting into both sides. However, the way that Gamez writes Theo is so clear. He's a good dude, but he's not a flawless dude. He can be a little prone to fuckups in the beginning (I mean: see premise of the book). He's a little messy.

But all of this reads as so, so endearing in this particular hero, and he's like... a good guy without being a boring guy. I mean, the premise of the novel in itself keeps him from being boring, right? He was thisclose to blowing up his brother's relationship.

--I think that if I was going to critique something about this book, it would be that Gamez could've gotten Theo and Marcela fully in the bedroom a little earlier. I mean, don't get me wrong, it doesn't by any means start late in the book. But when a book is pitched as center on a hookup, I do think you want to move that along a little faster. We had a couple of random interruptions, and I don't think we super needed that. But that's just a note; it doesn't take away from the story.

--There's so much love for librarians and libraries here. As there should be, as the series is indeed called "Librarians in Love". I so appreciated that. We need books about happy librarians and the happiness librarians help create--now more than ever.

The Sex:

While the sex here could've been a tad more explicit, is still is very much on the page, and quite hot. You get a few different scenes, and I loved details like Marcela being a little insecure about being on top (and Theo very much enjoying her being on top), fooling around as a totally valid substitute when condoms are forgotten... And dude, something you hardly ever seen in m/f romance! Theo doesn't come PREMATURELY, but he does come before Marcela couple times (well--before her last orgasm... she typically gets a few, yay for discovering multiples) and there's no weirdness or embarrassment. He just takes care of it. I found that realness super hot, personally.

I'm excited to read a new, fresh author in the contemporary romance space. It's a very crowded one right now, and I feel that there's a lot of repetition. Here, I feel like we got such a good combination of romance, character, and heat. It made me feel warm.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[yuikomorii]

DL characters from most to least intelligent?

// Oh, this is going to be interesting!

Disclaimer: This top incorporates intelligence as in brain power, perceptiveness and so on. It also has nothing to do with morals or the DL Tokutens, since those are just for fun and not the most accurate version of the characters, therefore it’s based on routes, serious CD dramas and official short stories.

1. Laito

It's no longer a secret that Laito is extremely intelligent to the point of being terrifying. I've already discussed his big brain in this post, but I'll try to summarize it here. This man can read everyone like a book; he can easily absorb and apply any type of information. He's also the only character who can manipulate everyone, including the AB boys, and even Carla was surprised by his intelligence in Dark Fate. I've said it before and I'll say it again: he could twist every DL main cast character around his finger if he wanted to, too bad he’s not good at reading himself.

2. Carla

Literally the Diaboy who would make the best king. Despite the fact that I can't bring myself to ship him with Yui because the couple is far too disturbing, he is a wise and great ruler. We were able to see that best in LE, he's good at plans, logical, and knowledgeable on a variety of topics that can help him get out of uncomfortable situations.

3. Shu

Shu may have many flaws, but he is undeniably intelligent. He appears apathetic, as if he doesn't care about anything, but he knows far more than you'd think. I believe he is the best candidate for king among the Sakamakis because he is open-minded and can reflect on his thought process.

4. Kino

Probably a very unpopular opinion since people don’t really seem to like Kino and yeah, he seems kind of dumb at times, but I'll give him credit for being a really good antagonist. He beat the Tsukinamis on this one; this guy is really good at devising different evil plans in order to sabotage the Diaboys, which I find really interesting.

5. Reiji, Ruki

The boys who like belittling others, despite being more on the booksmart side. They're very knowledgeable for sure, they both have a lot of information in their heads, and they're also more strategic than their brothers. In a nutshell, their intelligence is beneficial. However, because of their overconfidence, they are prone to reacting incorrectly when things do not go their way, which can lead to serious breakdowns.

6. Azusa

Azusa is most likely the character who speaks the least; he is timid and silent, but isn't it true that quiet people have the loudest minds? He pays close attention to everything that goes on around him, and I firmly believe that he is one of the best characters at seeing through people.

7. Kou

Another unpopular opinion since people like to portray Kou as a dumb guy, but that’s not the case. Sure, he doesn’t care about many things and doesn’t always pay attention to what others are saying but that’s because he simply doesn’t want to. I know Kou acts occasionally childish but he has a very mature point of view. Even if his magical eye allows him to read people’s hearts, he must be very cunning to know how to manipulate everyone based on this without coming across as obvious. Additionally, he has an unpredictable nature.

8. Ayato, Yui

Mr. “I’m impulsive and don’t care about others’ opinions” and Little Miss “I act without thinking and have to face consequences afterwards”. Not counting the fact that Yui has more morals and knows more about human stuff (since she’s human after all), they both have the same number of brain cells. Both canonically have little knowledge, they require help most of the time when doing something, and their plans are literally dead ends, BUT I can't deny they're very perceptive at times. I wrote more about Ayato here; he appears ignorant but notices important details and analyzes the behavior of those around him. The same can be said for Yui, who can also be a good observer.

9. Shin

He has more knowledge than Ayato and Yui and was quite clever in Ruki's DF route, but SORRY his LE route made him appear so stupid in my eyes. All of his problems could have been solved if he had tried to use his brain, but he didn't, which is why his route was so frustrating. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that every character has dumb moments, some more, others less, but come on... he didn’t try to logically solve his problems and only suddenly had the big realization to do so, which was IN HIS VAMPIRE ENDING. I excuse characters who make mistakes or act on a whim, but Shin crossed the line in LE. I can't imagine a Diaboy in his own route as dense as Shin was there; he kept getting himself into more and more trash, which is a shame because he would have been much higher on this list if they didn’t do him so dirty there.

10. Subaru, Yuma, Kanato

I feel bad for rating them so low because I really like Subaru and Yuma; Kanato is intriguing too, but the problem is that they almost never get the chance to prove themselves. I understand Subaru's situation because he doesn't have any deep bonds with anyone, after all, he's the only Sakamaki without a brother from the same mother, and he's also quite asocial, so it's not like he'd pay attention to anything that's not his business, but I really don't get why the others didn’t get a big chance to use their brains. Yuma is very useful though, but Kanato's case is a whole other story. I can’t deny that he’s actually sly sometimes but he was Laito's closest brother during childhood; why is Ayato the one to best analyze Laito and not him?? Ayato was literally locked away in his room all day, unlike him, who played with Laito on a daily basis… so much lost potential.

[nemmet]

What are some of your favorite Fred and Daphne moments? Romantic or platonic

AAAH thank you for giving me the opportunity to ramble about them!! always so so appreciated. and for specifying romantic or platonic too!! while a lot of their significant moments together from the 90s onwards have been somewhat romantically charged, i love them even when they're just a goofy pair of friends with no immediate romantic implications.

because (mini fraphne history side tangent), they weren't always intended as love interests! the "fred chooses to search for clues with daphne because he fancies her" reading of the original show technically isn't true — they were just paired off because the writers found them boring and wanted an excuse to get them out of the picture for a few scenes. which makes the fact that they've since grown to become an iconic duo in their own right all the more inspiring!

so without further ado, here are some of my favourite moments of theirs!! 💙💜

(begins under the cut!)

the best birthday present ever — zombie island

if i could count their general existence in this movie as a single moment i would. i am so weak to the fact that even after the gang splits ways, fred and daphne stick together, and fred plays such a crucial supporting role in daphne's dreams/career/life. and their relationship hasn't descended into being just boring coworkers — daphne has been so busy with work that she forgot her own birthday, but fred is sure to make it special by doing no less than getting the whole gang back together. the way he teases her before revealing them, too!!! and the hug she gives him when he explains. i get such cosy, "known each other since forever" vibes from them in this movie, like they're just so comfortable and silly with each other and (sobs into my hands)

my hero — scooby doo and krypto too

the way this movie has already given us so many fraphne moments for the books. the Literal Kiss aside, this scene just made me smile from ear to ear. i'm not always so hot on the jealousy subplots these two often get, but i appreciated how this film had a more light-hearted take on it, and how fred was simply confused rather than upset. additionally, his attempts to impress daph are just so funny and sweet, you get the sense that he's just hamming it up to make her laugh and doesn't care if that's all he ends up doing. of course then he gets so into it that he doesn't register the monster right behind him, and jumps into daphne's arms just like the rest of the gang always do with him. the way he clings to her!! and how she says "oh come on". they are disasters and they need each other in this essay i will.

you're never going to lose me, fred — mystery incorporated

following their relationship in this show sure is a journey... and not always the best one. while i understand that they're teenagers going through a lot, it's sad to so often see their inherent chemistry as a duo lost in miscommunication and arguments. which makes the moments where they connect and come out stronger as a couple all the more rewarding!! this is hands down my favourite scene of theirs — while the conflict that leads up to it is uncomfortable (fred tightly scheduling their activities together), i like how daphne addresses it quickly rather than keeping her feelings hidden and simply expecting fred to pick up on them. by now she understands that fred needs direct communication (autism!!!), and that's ok!! meanwhile, fred has grown too; he actively opens up to daphne about his fears of losing his loved ones, something i don't think he could or would have done at the start of the show. he's come to understand his own emotions and the importance of expressing them. both of them learn from each other, and are able to move forward because of that. it's a wonderful little moment that really showcases the best of them!!

i love you — stage fright

THE fraphne scene. god. where do i begin. the fact that daphne wrote lyrics about her feelings for fred to the music he composed, and was terrified of ever showing them to him. but then she decides to break the condition she established to velma (only confessing to him after the contest), throws caution to the wind, and just,,,,, confesses her love to him live on stage in front of thousands of people!!!! and how fred looks so happy and content playing along to these lyrics that i'm sure he knows are about him, and when it comes to daphne singing "i love you", he says i love you back with ZERO HESITATION!!! like he was waiting to say it too!! because they're mutually pining dumbasses who will cry if they make eye contact in a remotely romantic context!!! god!!!!!!! also the nose boop before daph goes in for the kiss. adorable.

the engine / the driver — curse of the 13th ghost

this scene is another that has a lot to say about their relationship in a general sense, and it's so special to me!! i'm not crazy about this movie as a whole, but i love the running theme of fred and daphne's differing leadership qualities, and how they balance each other out. fred just wants to keep things the same as they've always been (autism!!!), but that often leads him to coming off as controlling or dismissive when he's in Planning Mode. he doesn't mean it, because he genuinely believes the best in the gang and their individual skills, so it's no wonder that he grows insecure when his place is questioned. but by the end of the film he accepts that daphne is the engine, the glue that fundamentally holds the gang together and keeps them running as a unit — they would be nowhere without her constant energy and willingness to take action. however, daphne reassures him that he'll always have his place as the driver, the man with the plan, the one to put things in motion and support everyone with all his heart along the way. and the tender way they look at each other to cap it all off!!!!!!!

knight in shining armour — sword and the scoob

i saved the (probably) best for last. less serious analysis here and more just me gushing because i spin this moment around my microwave brain on a daily basis. continuing the theme of "fred embraces his role as team cheerleader", he's not even upset when daphne has to fight in his place — he planned this and is wholeheartedly supporting her, to the point where it makes her flustered (she’s HIS knight in shining armour)!! and him giving her his ascot as a good luck charm!!!! nem found dead on the floor. not to mention "sir daphne/sir fred" and how they continue to call each other that. i swoon every time. they are so romantic in their own very silly and very teenager-y way and i love moments where they're just so unapologetic about that!!

i really hope you enjoyed and that this was what you were looking for!! fellow fred & daph fans, please feel free to comment and/or reblog with some of your own favourite moments!! i always love to see them. :D

[fellshish]

Hello!

I already sent this question to another blog, but I think something went wrong and I’m to embarrassed to sent it again in case it went through after all. And because you always reply in such an extensive and well-considered way, I thought I try my luck here. Hope it is okay to pester you with my questions?

Sadly I’m quite an inattentive viewer when it comes to movies and shows. There are many instances when I read other people’s posts, and I’m totally baffled how I missed certain details or even fairly obvious aspects. So the answers to my questions might be very obvious.

It’s about their physical contact and how it is more present in s2 than it was in s1. At least that’s the way I perceived it.

As far as I’m aware physical contact between Crowley & Aziraphale was always a rare occurrence, which changed with s2. Of course there is the kiss!!! But additionally there are many little moments where Aziraphale touches Crowley (e.g. in the pub).

Is it always just Aziraphale who does this/ initiates the contact, apart from the kiss of course?

Were these little touches present in s1 and I just missed it somehow? I know they briefly hold hands when they exchange bodies/ their appearances and there is the moment in the former nunnery. However I can’t recall if there was more. Maybe in one of the flashbacks?

Anyway the s2 touches seem way more intimate, affectionate and caring than any interaction in s1, which makes sense after what they went through in s1. (I really would have liked a flashback that shows a little bit of their probably rather normal (well as normal as a pandemic can be) everyday life between s1 and s2. How these touches became more and more a part of their relationship.)

Hmm okay my thoughts on this are multiple.

So yes, in s1 as far as i can remember we only get a few instances of them touching: the former nunnery, the body swap and a brief blink and you miss it moment on the bus where they hold hands. The moment where crowley pushes aziraphale against the wall is a major one that crowley initiates, and the s2 kiss is supposed to mirror it, but it’s interesting that in both scenes it is a huge burst of emotion, of passion. It shows how repressed crowley is, how much he tries to keep himself in check at all times.

I think we can conclude crowley is much more careful about touching the angel. He keeps it hands off, perhaps he’s more afraid of what hell would do to him if they caught wind of him sharing intimate gestures with an angel. Add in that he does not consider himself worthy of love, and well. Well.

In season 2 things have changed. They are both no longer reporting to heaven or hell; and it’s especially aziraphale that treats crowley as his personal no-kissing-but-yeah-kinda-boyfriend. He keeps pushing the boundaries of what he can have with crowley, we see it when he borrows the car, but also in the touches he initiates. Rubbing his chest in the pub. Taking his hand in the ball episode, dancing with him. To aziraphale this is a very slow, delicate dance they do; perhaps he’s unsure how much crowley will let him get away with. Perhaps he is afraid of the consequences of taking it too far, of Naming it — he, after all, still longs for the approval of heaven, misses the purpose that gave him.

In one of the flashbacks they touch as well: aziraphale supports crowley when he is drunk on laudanum in the cemetary. This is, aziraphale must be hoping, an exception to their rule of not touching. Then crowley gets dragged down to hell.

In the book they share more casual touches. As a narrative choice i find this interesting: for television, it holds much more tension if their touches increase only step by step. Those moments of touch hold much more meaning if they are rare, and what a shock to the system and their unspoken rules when crowley then finally kisses aziraphale! It’s the jane austen of it all, the mountains of longing are stored in the small gestures. The twitching hand. The stolen glance. Oh, it’s all too much!!! 6,000 years of being touch starved IMAGINE

[prettylittledollswork]

Pact Marks<3

summery: where the demon brothers pact marks are n how they would kiss it/why they would kiss it ig?? idk how to explain this help. i did this based off of their animals btw also i kept it simple

genre: fluff

tw: not proof read, i wrote this within a hour and right before bed + i posted it a day after so SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE!! i would write indivual fanfics for this but i'm literally so sleepy rn

i didn't expect so many people wanting this?? also english isnt my first language, please be nice!! on some, i used their animals as ref cause i couldnt genuiely think of anything

Extra info - the pact mark swould be faint to the naked eye but to the owner of the pact marks, oh boy.. They see it clearer than day.

Lucifer - As the eldest and the avatar of delight, I feel like his pact mark would sit on the very top, the highest mark on your frame. Maybe a touch pattern of a peacock's feather on your forehead or a diamond shape much like his nested on your forehead. He would leave quick but warm kiss on it before you go to school or while your sleeping. Lucifer loves kissing you here because demons are tall, way taller than an average human. He doesn't have to bend over a lot and can just kiss you quickly and lovingly.

,

Mammon - For Mammon, there are multiple viable locations. The again of your hand or on your spine. The back of your hand would be a raven feather, it's darkish. But, on sunny days, it'd shine like gold. On your backbone, it would withal be a raven feather however the little strands of the feather are composed of sharp claws in case you appearance proximately. Mammon would kiss the back of your hand and hold it regularly as it just offers him a warm feeling while he's contacting his pact mark. He would kiss your spine to make you flustered, as an instance when you're showering together or your changing. The cool contact of his lips sends shivers down your spine.

Leviathan - His would be on your neck, a serpent. Like a choker but within the shape of a snake. It wraps around your neck consummately, the head nesting at the middle of your neck and the tail either exactly ceasing at its mouth or the top overlapping the tail. Leviathan adores it when you let him burrow his head in your neck and pepper short kisses as you spoon him.

Satan - Satans pact mark is 100% on your coller bones. You can not convince me in any other case. if you asked him, "whats your favored a part of me?" He'd say coller bones. His pact mark is long and simple nearly like whilst your looking at someone read a book and you see squiggly traces on that book. however, his pact mark has some vines coming out then and there. each hazard he gets, he's going to kiss your collarbones. He loves your coller bones for no apparent reason. (He's just weird like that btw)

Asmodeus - Either a womb tattoo or a tramp stamp. He would path kisses from the womb to your lips or kiss your the tramp stamp similar to Mammon, to tease you. Asmodeus will put his hand ontop of his percent mark to experience the warm temperature of it. With the mark to your womb, he'd lay his head there as you read a book or play some games on your DDD.

Beelzebub - I feel like it'd be near your lips or at the tip of your tongue. Additionally maybe to your arm. A tree connecting a number of your tastebuds with the branches to spreading out to either side, it is now not tiny however not honestly massive either. it's at the tip of your tongue, he loves kissing you and sucking your tongue. On your arm it's a tree too but larger than the one on your tongue and it has a little fly next to it.

Belphegor - i'm sorry but i have no idea about him LMAO i think his would be on your cheek or your chest. Where he can lazily kiss in his sleep or before his sleep.

[altschmerzes]

Do you happen to have any recs for published books with good whump? I'm looking for more books for my reading list

cannot more highly recommend the greenwing & dart series. i got them from the author victoria goddard's website and they are whumpy as the day is long and also an unmitigated delight to boot. the protagonists are lovely, and their dynamic is so special to me as like. a friendship that is given the kind of emphasis and time and focus and aching care that is almost exclusively reserved for romances in books that aren't aimed at middle grades and it just. ugh. i love them so much. there's six and i have ravenously devoured the first five, just recently started the sixth. they are in first person, and i know that puts people off sometimes, but i have loved them dearly even though i am not usually fond of first person narration.

additionally, there's an arthuriana book called by force alone that's pretty whumpy! it was a tough read for me especially at the start bc it explicitly bills itself as a Dark And GrittyTM retelling which means there's a lot of random like. fuckin and stabbin in the background of everything and the characters are by and large just kind of abjectly horrible but it was also a fantastic read and i enjoyed it immensely. things get ROUGH at some points (compliment).

and the locked tomb series, buh. oh my gd. yeah. those characters go THROUUUUUUGH it and i loved it so much for that (and many other reasons). love love love. all of these have some content warnings attached but this one Extremely has some content warnings attached, if you or anyone else would like to hit me up. the writing style isn't for everyone, but i personally really loved it and found it to be some of the best writing i've ever read. the kind of writing that reminds me why i started writing. and the whump. ho boy. physical, emotional, Everything. boy howdy.

if anyone else has book recs with good whump in them, please sound off in the comments!

[olderthannetfic]

https://olderthannetfic.tumblr.com/post/749056466661572608/tbh-i-feel-like-if-people-shit-on-you-for-how-you#notes

Honestly, most of you, not all, just confirmed my thoughts tbh.

Writing more characters in general is a good tip as a writing exercise. Another good tip could have been "do some research" or "ask people" if it's possible. But saying "just add more" doesn't actually change a character being written poorly. Or alternatively the readers just reading everything in bad faith. Or people's own biases or preferences, and those not being met.

No. One character should not become the great representation of everyone of that group. Marginalized or not, that just sounds like someone being a real bad reader, or the writer fucking up majorly and writing in such a way that this idea is pushed. If you read a book and you believe and decide that that one character is supposed to represent an entire demographic, then that's a you problem. You're the one deciding to read on individual as a representation of an entire demographic, and that really is a you as a reader problem. Additionally: If you as a reader put that responsibility on a character of a marginalized background to be a beacon of representation and you constantly perpetuate the idea that marginalized characters always have to be perfect, but never do that to those "not marginalized" then that's also kinda icky and something you need to handle with yourself. You're not actually helping by keeping up a toxic standard. This wasn't about "Oh you have twooooo marginalized characters of the same group? You must value quantity over quality." It's about telling people "Add a bunch of characters of the same marginalized group just to show that you can: /prove that you're not writing a stereotype. /for bad faith readers /not make bad faith readers view them as the "one for all" representation. And so many many other reasons." Instead of actually tackling the issue of the already existing character the problems that may or may not exist within the writing of that character. Just because you have more characters from one demographic doesn't actually make them any less tokens. You can have two, five, ten marginalized characters of the same demographic and they can still all feel like tokens even if they're all "different". Just like having just one character doesn't make them a token either. Tokens aren't just determined by their quantity being "the only one" it's also the writing of the character, and how they're treated within the story. "Here's a gay character who's entire character trait is being the gay one." Token. "Here're are two gay characters who's entire character trait is being the gay ones, but two types of gay." Still token. "Here's a gay character who's gay, but also has traits inspired by his hobbies, family, friends, etc. Blah blah And who is treated like a character in the story." Not a token.

"Just add more" is garbage writing advice because it doesn't go anywhere. It actually sounds more like a preference than actual advice. It's like those art tutorials "How to draw and owl: Step 1: Draw two circles. Step 2: Draw the rest of the owl." It doesn't do anything. It's the writing tip equivalent of that.

Adding something doesn't change inherent issues either in your own writing, or address the issues of the reader being a bad faith reader or having internalized biases. Some reader's can be absolute hyenas, mad that something doesn't fit their expectations of something. Just add different types doesn't acknowledge how the story is written, or how the characters are presented, or even how important or prominent different traits are to a character. It doesn't address issues with presentation, or if adding or changing characters actually works in the story. Adding more doesn't mean that it has to be bad, but if you're just flatly telling someone "add more" when their issue is about the writing of a specific character, it's not going to improve anything because it's not a baseline to start from when the issue is a completely different one.

"Just add more." if the problem is shit writing, then adding more shit writing isn't going to fix anything. Here a better tip would be: Do research. Let someone else read your work. If the problem is bad faith writers then you can't do anything, because bad faith readers actually don't care about how good or bad something is, they're just mad it isn't exactly what they want.

--

The reason so much advice is bad is that flat, token-filled writing is often the result of inexperience. Research won't help, at least not right away. The only cure is practice.