#and people are SO hype about it that of course I'm curious!

[kingdomoftyto]

Have you played Ghost Trick? If you like Ace Attorney you might want to check it out

I have not, but I have been sTRONGLY CONSIDERING IT ever since it was first announced for Switch :') I've basically been hopping from one detective fandom to another since like 2013 so why not toss another on the pile?

[angels-fantasy]

Top-Secret Fiction Ch. 1

Date Scored

Katsuki Bakugou x Reader

Description: After meeting the one and only pro hero Dynamight on a dating app, you two begin to see each other. Because of the dangers that come with his hero work, you both promise to be completely honest with each other from the beginning; though you can't help but keep one big secret from him.

You write fan fiction, mostly about him.

Chapter Details: This story is honestly mostly fluff, some crack fic elements lol, lowkey fast pacing but IM IMPATIENT LOL sorry

Word Count: 1.2k

It was a Tuesday night when you were on your computer, logged into HeroFiction.com and typing away at a new fan fiction you promised your readers.

You had been writing fan fiction as a hobby for about three years now and over time quickly began gaining followers. Now, you had almost four thousand readers that loved your work.

At first you wrote for a variety of heroes, until Dynamight started becoming really popular. You didn't see the hype in the beginning. He was so rude and destructive, why would you write about him?

Your mind didn't change for a while until you saw a video of him getting interviewed after taking down a villain. He was as rude as ever of course, but his face was covered in soot and his hero costume was ripped, showing his chest and arms. Watching that video made you realize how hot he actually was.

That was the moment you decided to start writing for him.

He quickly became a favorite among your readers, so you kept writing for him. It seemed as the more you wrote for him, the more you liked him. He was suddenly your favorite pro hero.

Now, you focused every piece of writing on him. It worked out perfectly for you. You and your readers loved it, it was a win-win.

So now as you were thinking of what to write next, your phone buzzed next to your thigh, breaking you out of your thoughts.

You grabbed your phone and looked at your new notification, seeing it was from the dating app you recently downloaded.

Now curious, you opened up the app to see what the notification was. It appeared to be a message from a recent match.

Hey sexy. Meet up 2night 👀?

Face curling up in disgust, you blocked the person and deleted the message. It seemed as if everyone on that app was just looking for a hookup, and not something long term.

Maybe it was foolish for you to think you'd find something serious on the app, but it didn't hurt to try right?

You closed your laptop, making sure to save your work, and began swiping through profiles on the app.

You continued swiping left for who knows how long, until you came across a profile claiming to be Dynamight.

Sitting up in bed quickly, you looked at the profile closely and read through it.

Katsuki Bakugou, 30

Pro hero. No, I'm not hooking up with you. Yes, I'm fucking real.

It was short and not so sweet, but it didn't seem fake. You swiped through his pictures. The first one was of him and other pro heroes dressed in their hero costumes. The second was a picture of him, flexing in the mirror, and the third was a selfie of him and a german shepherd outside.

Maybe you were being way too optimistic, but you really believed that this could be him. If it was, then you hoped that somehow he'd match with you. If it wasn't real, then it wouldn't be an issue, but you would be disappointed.

Feeling brave, you decided to swipe right.

It's a Match!

You never gasped so loud in your life. If it was already a match, then that meant he had to have swiped right on you before right? You bit your nails as your heart raced in excitement, wondering what you should even say to him now that you were matched.

But what if he wasn't even real? You'd just be embarrassing yourself by believing that Dynamight of all people, would be on a dating app and actually matching with you. This could be some horrible person messing with people, trying to humiliate them.

Now discouraged by your own thoughts, you just shook your head and closed the app.

Buzz.

Katsuki Bakugou: Hey

Your eyes widened and your eyebrows raised so high up they could probably touch your hairline.

"Oh my word!" You cried while gripping your phone. You opened the app once again and tapped on the new message, typing your own.

Me: Hello!

Me: I'm sorry but I just have to ask. Are you actually Dynamight?

You chewed on your fingers nervously as you watched the text bubble pop up, a message eventually following it.

Katsuki Bakugou: Yes I'm real. I can prove it to ya if you need me to. Idk how but I will.

You hummed out loud, thinking of what he could do to prove he's real.

Me: Uhh could you send a pic of yourself with a spoon on your nose?

Katsuki Bakugou: That's what you came up with?

Me: That's the only specific thing I could think of!

Katsuki Bakugou: Yeah yeah

Katsuki Bakugou: [image attachment]

Opening the picture, you saw exactly what you asked for. It was Dynamight with a damn spoon on his nose.

You threw your phone across your bedroom and shoved your face in your pillow, screaming in excitement.

"Holy shit." You said in disbelief, "I'm actually talking to Dynamight."

You got up out of bed and picked your phone up off the floor.

Me: Oh my word you're actually real

Me: Thanks for the pic lol sorry you had to do that

Katsuki Bakugou: It's fine. I get why you'd think otherwise so that's why I agreed to it.

Me: Well thanks again

Me: Anyways, can I ask why you're on here? Most people I've come across so far are only looking for one thing. If that's you then no judgement here.

Katsuki Bakugou: Someone I know recommended it to me. And nah that's not me. Being a pro hero and one night stands do not mix well.

Me: Understandable. I'm no pro hero, but I'm on here for something more serious you know? Even just finding friends would be nice.

You cringed at how pathetic you sounded and sent another text.

Me: Sorry, didn't mean to get sappy there lol.

Katsuki Bakugou: You're good. But I feel the same about wanting something more serious. Sucks that almost everyone on here is just a horny bastard.

Damn, who knew Dynamight was so relatable?

Right when you were typing a new message, another one from Dynamight came in.

Katsuki Bakugou: But anyways, when are you free? I wanna take you out.

Katsuki Bakugou: If you want me to, obviously.

You squealed at the message, kicking your feet in excitement. It was kind of surprising that he asked you out so early, but just from what you know about him and his personality, it wasn't out of character. Fast and straight to the point.

You bit your bottom lip as you typed up your response.

Me: Of course, I'd love to! I'm free this weekend.

Katsuki Bakugou: Alright, I'll pick you up Saturday at 5:30 pm.

Me: What do I wear?? Pls tell me where we're going.

Katsuki Bakugou: Can't. It's a surprise. I'll tell you what to wear the day of.

Me: Okay...

Katsuki Bakugou: Don't back out now.

You grinned and held your phone against your chest. You couldn't believe you scored a date with your favorite hero.

Suddenly, your cat jumped up onto your bed and in your lap. You gasped and picked him up, carrying him in front of your face.

"Hey Cheerios." You cooed, "I'm going on a date with Dynamight!"

"Meow"

...

next chapter

authors note

i hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Top Secret Fiction lol. this is my first multi-chapter fic so i'm a little nervous, but i think it's okay so far! pls let me know what you think 😊

also, if you noticed that bakugou seems to be a bit more mellow here, its bc he's older in this fic and i just imagine him as being a bit more calm as an adult.

btw sorry if the fast pace isn't something you like. i'm impatient lol

love ya!

taglist: @doumadono @lovra974 @54fangirl @andysdrafts @dagger-dragger @l4rsun1vrrse @emmab3mma @littlkittenfan @tatiquichi @cloudxluv @seonne @shonen-brainrot @the2ndl

those in pink cannot be tagged for some reason!

[imaginesforeons]

Could you write itadori with reader, who is very insecure about their body

Omg yes!! My first ask, I'm so hyped.

Yuji and a Reader who is insecure about their body

~You have doubts. Yuji doesn't~

CW: Reader is insecure about their body.

Word Count: 664

Yuji is aged up in this, somewhere in his 20s.

Reqs are OPEN! Send me an ask with your ideas. You can see what fandoms I write pinned on my page.

Buy me a coffee?

.-.-.

Bodies were strange. They came in so many different shapes and sizes, endless shades of skin and hair and eyes, creating something so unique that no person looked quite the same. Sometimes… sometimes these traits combined perfectly, creating perfect people.

“Babe?”

From your place in front of the mirror, you jumped, squeaking. Whirling around, you saw Yuji, standing outlined in the doorway.

“Hey, Yuji,” you said, mustering up a smile. You took a step back from the mirror, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

Speaking of perfect people, you thought, eyeing Yuji up and down, your boyfriend was one of the best. Born with a genetic jackpot, Yuji was the most handsome man you had ever laid eyes on. While he was thinner and gangly in his teen years, at least from the pictures he had shown you, his twenties had done him well, filling him out until he was perfectly proportoined. His cheekbones were sharp, face model-worthy, and when he smiled he caught the attention of everyone in the room. There was no other way to describe it; Yuji was stunning, and you… well, you weren’t.

Yuji drew closer, taking in the drawn curtains, the dimmed lights. The mirror. “What’s up?” he asked, eyes tracking over your body.

You grimaced. While you adored Yuji, there was always another emotion hidden deep underneath your love. Something was waiting for the other shoe to drop, because for as long as you had been with him you couldn’t figure out why he’d give the time of day to someone like you. Compared to Yuji, you were subpar.

“I was just-” you tried to come up with an explanation, something that would dull the curious look in his eyes, but your mind fell flat. “I was looking,” you finished lamely.

Yuji only hummed, wrapping his arms around your waist and leaning in to kiss your temple. You slowly turned around til your back was pressed against him and you were facing the mirror again. Yuji hooked his chin over your shoulder, watching both your figures in the mirror.

You were watching too.

With the both of you reflected in the mirror, your previous thoughts were only brought to light. Yuji was beautiful, and next to him you were like the ugly duckling. You folded your arms across your chest, if only to hide a little more of yourself. Maybe Yuji wouldn’t notice.

Right when you were ready to squirm out from his hold, Yuji spoke up.

“Ya know,” he mused. “I think we make a pretty cute couple.”

It took your brain a moment to catch up, but when it did, you blinked. “Really?” you asked, craning your head up to try to catch his eye.

Yuji nodded. “Of course! I mean, you’re definitely better than me when it comes to the looks department, but I think I’m pretty close.”

“Oh.” To your horror, you felt your throat tighten, and tears started to well in your eyes. Before they could fall, you turned and buried your face in Yuji’s chest, but it was too late. Yuji had seen your eyes well up in the mirror.

“Babe?” Yuji sounded panicked. “What’s wrong?”

Sniffling, you nuzzled deeper into his chest. “You really think I’m pretty?”

“Oh, baby,” Yuji said. “Of course I do. I think you’re perfect.”

Your throat caught on a sob, and Yuji shushed you gently. He started to run his hands down your back, over your hips, up your arms. He whispered sweet nothings in your ears, while in-between he pressed kisses on top of your head and brow. He cradled you in his arms, guiding you towards the bed where the two of you layed down together, your head on his chest. He ran a hand carefully up and down your spine, still talking all the while.

You held on to him tightly, fisting your hands into his shirt. “Thank you, Yuji,” you whispered. It was too quiet for anyone but the two of you to hear.

[beauty-and-passion]

So... The Thunder Saga

Or, as we can call it, "Of Intentions and Pride".

By now, Mr. Rivera-Herrans is a guarantee of quality: he makes a song, it will be a bop. He will also psychologically destroy you and hype you up at the same time and give your brain a good scratch - especially if you know the Odyssey already - and the narration is so clear and the characters so flawed... let's just say, you will leave by being completely satisfied.

Fine, the songs might not be musically incredible, but the references, the voices and the lyrics are absolutely perfect. They pick up from all we experienced through Act I and introduce us to an Act that, with those premises, will definitely be characterized by pain. But, like, a lot of pain.

And we all like some sweet sweet angst in our lives, so let's talk about the songs a little more in detail.

__________________

Suffering & Different Beast: We! Got! The! Sirens! In my first post about EPIC, when the Underworld Saga wasn't out yet, I hoped we would have the sirens here and so here they are: the sirens!

I like how Mr. Rivera-Herrans decided to change the events regarding them, compared to the Odyssey. In the original story, Odysseus wanted to hear the sirens' song, so while the crew plugged their ears with beeswax, he was tied to the mast and he actually listened to that song. And yes, it drove him crazy, he begged and ordered to be released, but the crew didn't listen to him, until they were at a safe distance.

So the original Odysseus' encounter with the sirens was characterized by curiosity. He knew they were dangerous and still wanted to listen to them.

But the premises in EPIC are completely different: in the previous song, Odysseus just sang about wanting to become a monster. He won't let anyone stop him from coming back home. This is his main focus - it has always been his focus, since Troy: coming back home to his son and wife. He's not curious about everything, he's not willing to take risks. He's different from his Homeric counterpart.

(I think this also explains Jorge's short about not using EPIC as main source while talking about the Odyssey: he was about to change one of Odysseus' main characteristics, of course he wanted people to not mix up the two things)

So, when Odysseus meets the sirens here, he's not curious about them: he just sees them as a means to his end. He plugs his ears too just like his crew and gets to them the information he needs. That's it. No curiosity, no interest. They're just another enemy.

Hence why, he has to slay them. It doesn't matter if they're begging: he made a mistake once, he won't make the same mistake again. As Poseidon taught him: ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves.

Speaking of the sirens, I also love how their "luring song" isn't just a simple song: they literally use Penelope's voice and shape, to trick Odysseus into getting in the water. And that makes it way more impactful: just imagine this man, after promising himself he will come back home to his wife, sees his wife calling for him. The perfect temptation.

I would also like to point out this sentence from Wikipedia regarding the sirens:

"Some post-Homeric authors state that the sirens were fated to die if someone heard their singing and escaped them, and that after Odysseus passed by they therefore flung themselves into the water and perished."

I don't know if Mr. Rivera-Herrans knew about this, but I love the idea that Odysseus was responsible for their death both in the Odyssey and in EPIC. The only difference is that he was indirectly responsible in the original, while in EPIC he's a ruthless beast ready to slay the sirens firsthand.

Speaking of that, I really appreciate how his crew united around this new version of their captain. He's a "man-made monster" and, as someone on Tumblr pointed out (can't find your post anymore, I'm so sorry!), this can both mean "a monster made by a human" and "a monster in human shape" and they both perfectly sum up who Odysseus is now. Still, they accept this and actively support it... at least when the monster's ruthlessness is directed towards others. They will regret that soon.

One last thing; I like to think that the last line "Odysseus" is a reference to King, because that's another song when he will "kill them all" too.

We're off to a dark start and I love it.

__________________

Scylla: her voice is haunting and beautiful and I will never stop falling on my knees weak with love for those incredible singers. Mr. Rivera-Herrans, thank you for always finding great voices.

I also noticed how, from the moment Odysseus decided to become a monster, the monsters/powerful figures started to understand him. We will see this with Zeus too, but we see it way, WAY more with Scylla.

Odysseus barely talks for the entire song. He says three lines only. But he doesn't really have to talk, because Scylla perfectly explains everything that is going on in his mind.

Odysseus says he doesn't have a lot to say? She says he's hiding "a reason for shame", because he already planned the death of his men.

Eurylochus confesses he opened the wind bag? That left Odysseus "feeling betrayed" and "broke the bond of trust the two men made".

Eurylochus is sorry? Still, Odysseus already made up his mind to sacrifice these men and, since now Eurylochus confessed his betrayal, then he can be one of those six. As Scylla says, "There is no price we won't pay" and "We only care for ourselves".

About the last part, I love how cool and dark her voice is, so driven by bloodlust... it's perfect. And it still explains what Odysseus feels, the heaviness, the regret, the sadness: they're still his men, his companion, his brothers. And if all other times their death was unintentional, this time he actively betrayed them.

But still, despite what he feels, he did it. Because "We must do what it takes to survive". And so he did: in order to survive, he sacrificed the expendables.

And yes it's dark and terrible, but it's also perfectly coherent with the character he is now. He knows he has no chance against Scylla and he must pay a price. He knows must survive, to come back home. So, he decides to pay that price and sacrifice six men, to save more - and most importantly, to save himself. Because in the end, it's like Scylla said: everyone wants to survive. Homo homini lupus.

Even darker. Love it.

(One tiny mistake I would like to point out, because it's the second time it happened: "We're lonely demons from hell", what 'hell' are you talking about, Scylla? Maybe the Christian one? Because I can assure you, there's no 'hell' in Greek mythology. But okay, fine, I'll let it pass, because I've seen this same mistake in a lot of works too - especially fantasy stories with a made-up religion, mentioning a 'hell' that doesn't exist)

__________________

Mutiny: as said before, in Scylla (and in Thunder Bringer) we see the monsters/powerful understand Odysseus and see through him. Here, on the other hand, we see how Odysseus' crew doesn't understand him anymore.

Once again, I love it because it makes sense! Odysseus decided to become a monster, so of course now he's more similar to their enemies, than to the other humans. He's driven by one thing only: home. Empathy, kindness, brotherhood, nothing else makes sense anymore, except for home.

It was still okay, when Odysseus directed his ruthlessness towards their enemies. The problem rose as soon as he directed his ruthlessness toward his own companions.

Why? Because of intentionality. When Odysseus' (and Eurylochus') actions led to the death of most of the men, it was never intentional. It was always a mistake. A mistake he paid dearly, but not something he wanted. Hence why, despite blaming and probably having a grudge against him, the crew never rebelled against Odysseus.

This time, it wasn't a mistake. This time, he purposely sacrificed these six men. And he didn't do it to save others, he didn't even try another plan: he did it, because he had to survive. It wasn't even for his own crew: it was for himself.

That's why, despite six being way less than 500+ held more weight for them. An unintentional sacrifice means "I've tried hard to save everyone and failed"... but an intentional sacrifice means "I'm willing to kill everyone, to save myself".

So, we get the sun god's cows. And considering the premise, this episode is even more impactful. It's not just "Odysseus' men are fucking idiots and ate the cows despite knowing they were the sun god's cows". It's a crew of tired, broken people who went through a lot of shit and have lost all hope of coming back home. They're just men.

And so, as men, they make a mistake. They forget how powerful and vengeful gods can be.

But if they forgot, Odysseus did not and the last part perfectly shows his fear, the sense of urgency, the dread. He knows who is coming, everyone knows it and there's no need to tell who is coming, because everyone just knows he will come and that silent threat is enough to make them run away as fast as possible.

Jsut not fast enough.

__________________

Thunder Bringer: the other songs might just be good, but this one SLAPS SO HARD. I love dramatic songs and this one is INCREDIBLE. The singer's voice is deep, rich, powerful. It's truly a thunderous voice and you immediately know who he is.

That's another great choice: no one calls Zeus' name, nor introduces him. All other gods were announced by something/someone or introduced themselves - but Zeus doesn't need to. He's THE king of the gods, he's THE powerful one. He doesn't need others to tell his name, because everyone knows who he is.

And that makes him SO. FUCKING. COOL. Also because, consider what he said. He didn't tell "I'm pissed" or explained why he was there and his motives. He doesn't need to explain his motives. He just said "I'm here and someone will die, make your choice".

This alone emphasizes the sheer power this figure has. He doesn't need to justify his actions to the mortals: the mortals already know what they did. He's just here to deliver. As he said, he's "the judgment call/The one who makes her kingdom fall".

This is great too, because it's what Zeus does in myths too! In most of the myths, the final decision is up to Zeus: he decides who should be punished or rewarded and his choice is final. (Only the Moirai are above him, but they represent fate and fate was an unmovable aspect of life, so they don't count.)

And the whole metaphor Zeus uses to talk about pride is great too. Sure, it's sexual, but I wouldn't expect less from the guy who fucks everything that breathes. Still, the main focus is not on how much he wants to fuck (which is what most of the people who do rewrites focus on), but on his power. And, in this case, on his ability to unmask every pride and every pretense, to show people's true colors.

Just think about it: when he asks Odysseus

If I were to make you choose The lives of your men and crew or your own Why do I think they'd lose?

he's literally revealing his true colors.

As said before, Odysseus has ALWAYS been obsessed with coming back home to his wife and son. He said it during the Troy Saga, he reconfirmed in every saga: he fights for Penelope and Telemachus, because he wants to come back to them. His crew is made of his brothers and companions, sure, but he never said "I will come back home with them". He always said "I will come back home".

What Zeus is doing now is revealing who Odysseus has always been. He's giving him a choice, already knowing what the answer will be, because he wants him to admit who he truly is.

Do you know what that reminds me of? Berserk. I haven't read it in full, but I know the story and if you've read/heard of the Eclipse Arc, you know too and you understand what I mean.

If you don't know (and don't care about the spoiler - otherwise, skip the next two paragraphs), Griffith is the leader of a powerful army and, during the story, he talks about his dream and how he's willing to sacrifice anything to his dream. His companions? He owes them, he says. Why? Because they sacrificed their own dreams, to help him achieve his. They died, to let him follow his dream. So he needs to fulfill his dream, otherwise their deaths would be in vain.

And when everything goes to shit and after he loses everything and gets one final chance to fulfill his dream, but the price would be the death of ALL of his army... he does it. He willingly sacrifices them. Because that's who he has always been. Because that's what he has always done. Because his dream has always been more important than everything else.

Back to Thunder Bringer: I also love how all voices softer and more subdued, in contrast to Zeus' thundering one. It's a wonderful effect, it emphasizes how "huge" he is, compared to mere humans. Odysseus can't escape, no one can. The tears in his voice are full of pain. But he already made his choice back in Troy - he made it even before sailing from Ithaca.

Now, his nature has finally been revealed. and he will deal with the pain it brings.

But hey, he's not the only one to do it. You have to deal with it too, because, as I said, sweet angst is sweet and these songs are bangers. So listen to them, stream them and shower Mr. Rivera-Herrans with love because he deserves it.

And also, don't forget to stream the new versions of the Troy and the Cyclops Saga! They're new, updated, more beautiful, with better sounds and, most importantly, the revenue will go to Mr. Rivera-Herrans' company and not to the old company that never gave him a cent for them. Fuck them and their greed, this man deserves money and credit and to work on more cool stuff.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll do my 30th listen of Thunder Bringer...

[yo-yo-yeonkai]

RUINED - CHOI SOOBIN - CHOI YEONJUN - NSFW

Soobin x fem!reader x Yeonjun

Genre : smut

Warning : dom !Soobin, kinda dom !yeonjun, sub! reader, model AU, oral! Male and female receiving, unprotected + pullout method, praise (good girl), pet names; (baby, sweetheart, pretty), marking, possessiveness, messy, reader gets referred to as ‘thing’, mention of dumbification, mention of dacryphilia, mention of size kink, slut shaming, a bit of plot, not proof read - will at a later date

Word count : 3,790

Summary : Soobin only wanted to know if you belonged to Yeonjun.. and what better way to find out than see if he can successfully seduce you. But- I’m doing so he may have provoked Yeonjun himself.

Authors note: it’s been awhile, so have this short unedited mess. Got an exam tomorrow guys but I did this instead of revising !!

It was your job to steal attention, make people want more, so why did you look more like a stripper than a model? Maybe that was just Soobin's opinion... maybe it was the leg slipping through the high slit in your dress, or the low cut of your dress, or maybe the way it hugged your body. Anyone would want to be you, or with you... apart from Soobin, because to him, you were just bothersome.

As you left the runway his eyes tried to chase after you, but only because you annoyed him, nothing else. He was curious what nonsense you'd be up to back there. Maybe you were trying to strip for his friend back there?

Why in the world was Soobin at a fashion show? Well to support his friend, Yeonjun, who happened to be walking at this event. He never intended on coming across you. He'd only ever heard about you from Yeonjun, and from what he'd said he imagined you to be cute and sweet, but what he was seeing was just a massive ball of annoyance. He was sure it was radiating off you like an aura. He hoped it wouldn't infect him.

When Yeonjun came out he forgot about you for a second, only cheering his friend on, who was modelling like his life depended on it. He heard Beomgyu mutter "LOL, still ugly" and Soobin had to hold back his laughter. Beomgyu was wrong of course, they both knew that Yeonjun was anything but ugly. It was his job to be stunning, and you and Yeonjun had the same job, so why weren't you stunning? Soobin couldn't even focus on Yeonjun walking back, he only wanted to figure you out.

Backstage you and Yeonjun hugged, "Jun, that was so good!!!" A soft compliment flew out of your mouth along with a sweet giggle, gripping his back tightly as you hugged him.

A gentle hand slid to your waist and gripped lightly, pulling you against him ever so slightly "Says you baby, you ate that stage~" he teased, hyping you up just like he always does. You pulled apart and continued to witter on about the show and how fun it was, until Yeonjun's friends were invited backstage. They all greeted Yeonjun quickly and teased him, making you giggle, they all seemed like good friends.

"Guys this is (Y/N)" he introduces you, wrapping his arm back around your waist and pulling you into his side. He was being rather touchy, but it was nothing new for Yeonjun. You slid out of his hold just enough to look at the four boys "Hey, I really hope you liked the show! I'm (Y/N)" you introduced yourself. But even once you were done introducing yourself, and the conversation had drifted back to Yeonjun, the feeling of eyes on you persisted.

It wasn't gentle eyes on you, like the feeling you get when Yeonjun watches you. No, these eyes were digging holes into your body. With nobody else around you assumed it had to be one of Yeonjun's friends, so you looked across the four and noticed the tallest one staring intensely at you. Even once you caught him his gaze didn't falter. Was he not ashamed of ogling you?

You weren't sure if he was intrigued by you or disgusted, so you smiled sweetly at him and gently waved your hand. You couldn't hear it, but you could tell by the way he moved that he tutted, but he smirked back at you afterwards. Was that his attempt at a smile? Or was he trying to flirt...? Who knows, not you! So, with that, you took the chance to retreat to your dressing room and quickly get ready to leave.

Adorned in your tight, short, black dress, you were now taking the time to lace up your heels, when you heard a knock at the door. It wasn't any old knock, it was Yeonjun's knock, a secret code. You guys had been working together for far too long now... the littlest things became a hobby at work. Like creating a secret knock so you knew it was each other, how sad.

The door opened and in came Yeonjun, strolling towards you casually and kneeling to do your shoes up. "Me and the boys are going to the after-party. You are coming with me sweetheart, is that alright?" He framed the words in such a way it seemed like a question, but it wasn't, he was telling you that you were coming with him. He already knew you were going, so he was practically announcing to you that you'd be his date.

Was that alright?

Sure, why not, it's Yeonjun after all.

"You could be more gentlemanly about it Jun" you mutter, pouting your lips in a strop. He chuckles at the sight of you, he had already been expecting this response, he liked toying with you a bit. He finishes with your heels and takes your hand raising you from your seat "Sweetheart, please may you accompany me to the after-party?" He asks, a smooth flow from one word to the next.

Pink flecks dust your cheeks, a soft giggle falling from your lips as you pull him towards the door, "Of course I will!". And just like that it was settled. Yeonjun was your date for the after-party.

When you reached the car, pulling Yeonjun behind you Soobin gets that feeling again, annoyance. His eyes wander to your intertwined hands, and he grows curious if you belonged to Yeonjun. Only one way to find out right... ask him? Wrong! Soobin was going to try seducing you all evening, and if he fails then you must be dating Yeonjun. If not, then score, Soobin bed an annoyance. It had to be the most accurate way to tell, because who could resist a man like Soobin?

The journey from the car into the building was always your least favourite bit. Paparazzi... they always had questions to ask you, whether it was about your ex, yourself, or a boy you had been seen with. The hot topic currently was questions about your ex and Yeonjun. They are just going to love that you were with Yeonjun.

The second you stepped out of the car, Soobin behind you and Yeonjun in front the cameras are flashing, asking questions and you keep your head down and mutter all sorts of 'fuck off's' under your breath. Yeonjun knows better than to take your hand and pull you through, but Soobin doesn't give a fuck. He slides his arm over your shoulder and pushes through the paparazzi to get you into the building in one piece. He had seen how worked up you were from behind, so he was partly trying to help, but mostly trying to test you and Yeonjun. 

Inside he held you in front of him, one hand resting on your shoulder, the other on your waist. "Are you okay?" He spoke softly and when you looked up at him with those big thankful eyes, he couldn't help but smile at you. "Thank you, Soobin," you told him, small, soft, hand reaching out and patting his chest thankfully. The single touch sent a warmth through Soobin and when you took your hand away, he found himself following it, attempting to bring the feeling back to him.

It could've been a moment if Yeonjun hadn't came through the doors, dragging you away from Soobin and holding your face as he checked you for injury. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" He rushed and you quickly swat his hands away looking over at Soobin for a split second, only to find him watching. "I'm okay Jun, Soobin helped me out" you speak and Yeonjun smiles at you, then glances over at Soobin, raising an eyebrow in question, then walking away with you.

Soobin knew then that you were most likely dating, but he wouldn't back down that easily. You might just be close friends... right?

The night was long, and you found yourself pinging from boy to boy as they snatched you away from each other. It was almost like a sick and twisted game of ping pong. But the last time this happened was when Soobin dragged you to a room in the hotel. "Soobin we can't just go in here. Someone's stuff is in here!" You whisper shout at him. He chuckles at you, pulling you so you'd fall into his chest "Don't be so uptight, pretty, it's my hotel room.".

Your eyes widen and then you're met with questions "Why did you bring me here? I thought you wanted to do something?"

His hands slid to your hip, gripping tightly and his other hand tips your chin up to him "I do want to do something... any guesses?". His tone was teasing, absolutely filthy.

You gulped at his words, the small sound reaching Soobin's ears, making a chuckle slip from his lips. Yeonjun was right, you are adorable. Your big, helpless eyes meet his and you whisper, "Is it me?". And he hums pulling you further against his body, your hands reaching out to find a place on his shoulders.

"So you are a smart little thing after all, and here I was starting to think you were all looks" He chuckles head dipping down to your height, the distance between your lips diminishing until you hear a voice behind you.

"You've got to at least be gentlemanly with her" Yeonjun tuts, hands quickly sliding around you to pull you backwards against him. His hard cock hit right against your ass, making you painfully aware of the situation you were in. "Baby, please let me use your body... I promise I'll make it worth your time" he says, a sultry seductive tinge to his voice making you want to melt against him. Yeonjun was hardly being gentlemanly, but at least he had asked...

Soobin watched the sight, intrigued by how you were willing to give yourself to both of them. Soobin could work with that.

You hummed at Yeonjun's words, grinding your ass against his dick as he slides his hands up your tight dress, reaching the low neckline and gripping onto it. "I need your words, sweetheart, don't tell me you've gone dumb at the mere sound of my voice" he teased once again, head coming to your neck and kissing your sweet skin, before biting.

It urged an answer out of you "Yes, god, yes, use me" you cried, hands holding onto his, which quickly pulled the front of your dress down just enough for your tits to spill out, in a perfect display for Soobin. Yeonjun made sure to look into Soobin's eyes as his hands gripped at your chest, playing with your nipples, moans slipping out of your mouth. Yeonjun reattached his lips to your neck, sucking harsh purple bruises into your supple skin. He'll mark you up all pretty for him, that way Soobin won't have to think twice about who you belonged to.

Soobin was utterly mind-blown by how confident you both seemed, doing this in front of another person. But Soobin didn't hate it, in fact, he found himself loving it. The way your back arched every time Yeonjun sucked a certain spot, or rolled your nipples just right, had Soobin throbbing in his pants. He couldn't wait for you to be looking so fucked out and pretty for his cock. A stray hand ran down to his cock as he palmed himself, growing more and more turned on by the shameless sight.

"I'm gonna fuck you in this tight little dress" Yeonjun groans into your ear, hands pulling up the bottom, so your panties were exposed. Except, it took both of the boys by surprise when you weren't wearing any. Soobin visibly grew harder and couldn't stand it any longer, he had to touch you.

He quickly appeared in front of you "Ooo, such a bad little thing, huh? Wearing no panties and flirting shamelessly with two guys. You got dressed thinking about us fucking you, huh? You want us to fuck you, baby? Fill you up?" He groaned, hand running to your pussy and running his fingers along your slit, wetness meeting his fingers instantly. You moaned at the combination of his words and fingers, but the embarrassment only grew when Soobin spoke again. "Pretty little cunt dripping for us, hmm baby? Come feel her Jun" he told.

Yeonjun's hand reaches around your front and switches out with Soobin's, he ruts his hips against your ass at the feeling of your dripping onto his fingers "I never knew you were such a slut sweetheart... do you want us both, that badly" he teases, shaming you.

You nod quickly, your body working faster than your mind can. "Please, just fuck me" you beg, hand reaching out to palm Soobin's obvious boner. He groans and drags you to the bed. "Yeonjun, lay down, she's going to sit on your face", Soobin groans, quickly taking control of this whole thing, after all you and Yeonjun aren't actually together, Soobin can make demands as much as he wants, he has just as much power as Yeonjun, if not more.

Yeonjun wasn't sure how he felt about Soobin ordering him around, but he knew he wanted you to sit on his face, so he'd listen just this once.

The second Yeonjun was down you crawled towards him, but when you hesitated Soobin grabbed you by the chin, turning you to face him "Be a good girl and do it, baby, he'll make you feel good. And whilst he does that, you can suck my dick, huh?" He tells you, quickly kissing you afterwards. The second the kiss was done you nodded at him, and he let you go.

You hovered over Yeonjun at first, but he quickly wrapped his arms around your thighs and pulled you flush against his face, nose hitting your clit and tongue lapping up all your wetness, loving the taste of you on his tongue.

The second he began fucking you with his tongue your body tightened, trying to raise yourself from his face, but he pulled you back down, not making the same mistake of not gripping your legs this time.

Soobin hummed at the sight of you, tilting your chin with a finger so you'd look up at him "Does he make you feel good baby?". All words were ripped from your vocabulary, and you whined, nodding your head.  Looking down at you, his hands moved to undo his trousers, but your hands quickly took over. Small gentle fingers rushed against his belt, against his button and finally against his underwear as you pulled them down.

Your frantic rush stopped the second you saw the size of him, he was big, far bigger than you'd ever seen. His hand weaves into your hair "What's wrong pretty, think you can't take it?" He chuckles pulling your face closer. Your eyes flutter up to look at him and you gently take his cock in your hand, kitten licking the tip. You looked tiny in front of him like this, moans slipping from your mouth, one hand barely covering half of him, your tongue slowly finding a rhythm as you take him into your mouth. Pretty lips wrapped around his cock and moans vibrated against him as Yeonjun continued to eat you out.

Soobin eases your head further and further until he realises, that if you are going to take all of him, it'll have to be by force. "This may hurt a little bit baby, Put your hand up if you want me to stop" he warns you, quickly thrusting into your mouth, tip hitting the back of your throat causing a choke and sob to rip from your throat. He shouldn't have been so turned on by the sight, but you just looked so pathetic. Tears spilled down your face, but you never raised your hand, you took it like a good girl.

As Yeonjun's tongue slides back into your dripping hole, you feel a tight knot building in your stomach, you knew were going to cum soon. The desperate whine in your voice told Soobin and Yeonjun enough, and their pace didn't stop, they went faster and harder, they were relentless. Your eyes scrunched shut as you came on Yeonjun's face, Soobin shooting his cum into your mouth not long after. You swallow every last drop and roll off Yeonjun. Glancing at him you see his face coated in your juice and your body burns a hot red. "Fuck, sweetheart, you taste so good" he heaved, looking over at your fucked out face as he palms himself. He was completely pussy drunk now, all he wanted, no, needed was you.

You open your legs and beckon him over, knowing words would fail you if you were to even try to speak. "Don't need to tell me twice..." he groans, undoing his trousers and throwing them onto the floor. He finds his place between your legs, pulling his boxers down. His dick hit your clit as he leant over you. "Such a sweet girl, but you look so filthy like this sweetheart." He mutters, wiping his face before he quickly links his lips with yours. It was wet and you could taste yourself on his tongue. As you kiss, he guides his dick to bottom out inside of you, a moan slipping from your lips as he does so. He finds a pace quickly, hand gripping the sheets next to you to hold him up as his other goes back to your tits, loving the way your noise only doubles at the new sensation.

Yeonjun let your lips go and tilted your head towards Soobin, so Yeonjun could get to your neck and mark it once again. The sight of Soobin intently watching as Yeonjun fucked you made your body burn, not only that, but he was already hard again. You watched him take his dick in his hand and play with himself as Yeonjun brutally attacked your body. Your hole was aching at the stretch he gave you, neck throbbing with pleasurable pain at each hickey he darkened or made.

Your hands came up to Yeonjun's back gripping on tightly as he moved slowly in you, pushing back in with a slam before speeding up once again. His rhythm had you sobbing and begging. You're not sure if the words made any sense or if they were nonsense, but you were trying. The knot in your stomach grew once again and when it burst Yeonjun fucked you through it before pulling out and cumming all over your stomach.

When Soobin came back over to take his place you were surprised to find that he flipped you over, so you were on top. You thought Soobin wanted control. Yeah, he did, he was going to slam you down onto his cock. Don't get the wrong idea...

When you began to sink onto his thick cock you realised, he was big, really big, and Soobin saw the fear in your eyes. That's why he pushed you down, his cock bottoming out inside of you, and a scream ripping from your mouth. He loved the fear in your eyes, and all because he was going to destroy your pretty little pussy. It's not his fault he's so big. You are just going to have to take it.

"That's it, baby, take it just like that hmm" he groans, fingers digging further and further into your hips with each thrust, promises of pretty crescent moon marks from the pressure. You just wrapped around him so perfectly that he thought he'd fallen in love right then and there.

With each thrust he could see his dick poking at your stomach, so he grabbed your hand and lead it there. When you gasped at the realisation, he hummed "fucking you so good baby. D'ya feel that? Filling you up hmm, you gonna want my cum too?". His words were confident but the groans in them gave it away, he was already getting close, and you weren't far behind.

You whine at him, nodding desperately for his cum. As your body gave in and fell against his chest, he took control of you and fucked desperately into you. You bit into his shoulder as the pleasure grew too much. You began whining desperately, teeth sinking into his skin but all that you whined was his name, like a mantra.

It fuelled him, the whine of his name so perfectly from your mouth as he ruined you for any other man. This pussy was his now, not Yeonjun's. You felt too good to belong to another man, he had to have you for himself. You wanted his cum, you called his name, you were going to be his.

"That's it, baby, call my name, beg for me. I'll fill you up, make you mine" he whispered in your ear, a sob meeting his ears in return.

With one last thrust, you both came together, his seed painting your gummy walls white. As you brought your mouth off his shoulder a stream of your drool slipped from your puffy lips. Soobin caught it with his thumb and kissed you quickly. "So pretty" he muttered. He could tell why you were a model, and he could tell why Yeonjun wanted you... You were stunning, despite him previously denying it. But it was too late now. You were Soobin's and nothing could stop him.

Soobin watched as Yeonjun came over and took care of you. Cleaned you up and kissed all of your sore spots. He even watched as Yeonjun fixed your clothes and threw his jacket over you, taking you outside before he quickly came back in without you. "Don't get it twisted Soobin! This was a one-time thing! She's mine, got it?" He spoke and Soobin nodded. The second Yeonjun was out of the door Soobin chuckled, a slick smirk on his face.

Soobin knew that no matter what Yeonjun did, you'd always want him, he could see it on your face. You belonged to Soobin, and he WOULD be coming back to prove that to Yeonjun sooner or later. Have fun whilst you can Yeonjun.

[genericpuff]

Not sure how much good this'll properly do, but turns out Stephanie K. Smith (the LO showrunner) did a Q&A with Girl Wonder Podcast in January. Curious what your thoughts on it given everything that's happened with the comic's conclusion :p

I honestly don't remember if I did touch on that here, but I do remember listening to it when it was first up on Girl Wonder's Patreon and man... they really have no new information to give, the whole thing was just a lot of chit-chat about personal experiences and, of course, more promises that the show is "definitely happening" despite having absolutely nothing to show for it.

Apparently (?) the Q&A that's happening tonight in the official LO Discord will come with new information about the show, but I'm really not holding my breath at this point. Again, at best, even if we're all wrong and assuming the worst that the show isn't happening, they're doing an AWFUL job at keeping people hyped for it. Like you're telling me that Rachel and the TV production team have had ALL these opportunities to talk about the show and give us new information - at NYCC, SDCC, the interview between the showrunner and Girl Wonder, the interview clips that have been released over the last week on IG, etc. - and haven't taken advantage of those opportunities... but a heavily-moderated Discord Q&A is gonna finally drop the details that people have been waiting for for five years?

I mean shit, speaking of assuming the worst, who wants to bet she's doing it in a Discord Q&A because she knows she either has bad news or she's NOT ALLOWED TO TALK ABOUT WHAT SHE'S GONNA SAY so she's doing it in the Discord to keep it more on the "down low"? Assuming she even talks about the show at all? People are definitely gonna be asking about it, even her own fans are losing hope in it at this point and that's not good.

That's my bad faith assumption. My good faith assumption is just that they're doing a really awful job at hyping people up. I don't understand why Rachel keeps saying she's "not allowed to say anything", that makes no sense from a PR standpoint. Even Marvel used the PR strat of using actors like Tom Holland to "accidentally" reveal hints and 'spoilers' for their upcoming films because it gets people talking. "I'm not allowed to say anything" this late in the game, to me, just reads as "We have nothing to show for the last 5 years but we don't want people to panic / leave."

But who knows, maybe the Discord Q&A will turn out to be some kind of actual productive reveal of the show? Again, not holding my breath, but at this point it would be a real game changer to have the show get revealed for real that would even make me shut the fuck up LOL

[hopelessfool]

CHAPTER 1: showtime

MASTERLIST

"I'm curious, have you had a chance to watch the show, yet?"

A collective sigh filled the room. This season, everyone and their mothers had tuned in to see the love is blind cast and the amount of chaos they had caused on screen. There was at least a handful of other people in this room to blame for that, yet the complete and utter attention of the viewers was fixated on you.

"Yes", a girl snickered, "we've ALL seen the Y/N L/N show by now."

As you could feel a few pairs of eyes pierce through you; hear the bitter chuckles of friends and foes alike, he grabbed your hand. And everything was okay. Everything was worth it.

As long as it meant you would sit next to him on this very couch, matching rings, matching heartbeat, you would do it again.

And you wouldn't apologize to any of these fuckers.

This is going to be fun, they said.

It will get your mind off the breakup, they said.

You need to get laid, they said.

While you couldn't particularly spot a lie in any of these sentences, you were still overwhelmed by what your friends had signed you up for. On short notice, they had picked you up, sat you on a plane with a ridiculous amount of luggage and wished you good luck.

A tv-show. One which pretends to be classy and all about real love and still manages to only cast conventionally attractive people. One in which you would have to get married to "win". Coming here, you definitely didn't plan on taking any of this too seriously. Just because you needed or rather deserved a distraction from your previous love leaving the picture, didn't mean that you wanted to jump into a marriage. Particularly not with the other Z-list-celebrities-to-be.

At least half of them had to do this for fame, you thought. And the ones that were looking for real love, well... You remembered the countless promises of "forever" and decided that the ones looking for that might be stupid.

Really stupid - from the first impressions you were gathering from the other female contestants, you could already tell whose hopes would be let down soon. Because love is not blind, at least not in the way they wanted it to be. At some point, you believed, you just unwillingly close your eyes. To faults, absence, mistreatment. Even to the lack of love.

But people are constantly aware of the surface-level aspects that they are not attracted to. Sooner or later, even when you're not able to see your dates, looks, hobbies, and even your financial situation could kick you out of the show.

So you got dressed up along with the other girls, mentally hyping yourself up for the cameras to start rolling. Though you didn't plan on saying "Yes" at the altar to anyone, you might as well get your hands on a paid vacation. That just meant passing the first phase of the show - and convincing some guy to propose to you.

You heard a jittery sounding voice through your door. "We're doing interviews now, hurry up!"

Naomi, you recognized, was one of the genuinely excited participants who fully believed in the experiment. She was here to find what you've already lost. And as much as stupidity irked you, she unfortunately didn't seem dumb. She came across as hopeful. Under other circumstances you might have respected that.

The blinking red light signaled that you were already being filmed, although the interviewer hadn't even entered the room yet. So you tried not to fidget and mustered up all your strength to not sit there bent like a shrimp. Your mind started to wake up for the first time since arriving at the studio. People around the world would see you. The least you could do was to not make a fool of yourself. Not right away, at least.

With a swift opening of the door, a man in a beige suit strutted in. With his expensive glasses and watch and the way he held himself, you could picture him as a history professor. A broker. But not as an interviewer at love is blind. You tried not to seem surprised by his elegance. Or was it arrogance? Of course he would feel above this kind of job, would he not?

He nodded his head in greeting and placed himself on the chair across from you. "Nanami Kento", the blonde man introduced himself. "I will be your personal interviewer during the love is blind experiment. I'm also obliged to tell you that you can come to me for advice at any time." You watched in confusion as his hand reached out to cover what seemed to be the...microphone? "But this is not possible without any cameras involved, so I would suggest you don't."

You could only come up with a few blinks and a nod. He looked annoyed to be here. Although you were grateful for the heads up, you couldn't tell if he actually wanted to help you or hoped that you wouldn't take up too much of his time.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Nanami. I'm Y/N L/N and-"

"Kento is fine", he sighed, "and I already know all about you." Fanning himself with what looked like your file, he added: "I'm excellent at my job, Y/N. Don't believe I haven't taken my time getting to know you."

That was the point at which you felt see-through under the gaze of Kento for the first time. Heart pounding so loud you could suddenly hear it in your ears, you sharply sucked air into your lungs. You now had to rely on your foundation to hide the warmth that had formed on your cheeks. Did he really have to phrase it like that?

"I'm here to find out everything about you that can't be put onto paper. Things that the viewers care about, things that make them root for you."

"I'll try to live up to the expactations."

A deep, hoarse noise escaped his lips - your words somehow managed to make him chuckle. The slight lifiting of the corners of his mouth made him look more approachable immediately. Absurdly handsome, actually. His face was chiseled in a way that only gods had the tools for. Despite that, you couldn't spot a ring on his finger. Unmarried and overqualified for his job. Now you wanted to know everything about him that couldn't be put onto paper.

"I'm going to start with the questions now, is that alright?"

"Ask away, Kento." You would try to win them over. The viewers, the dates. You figured that answering Kento's - for sure - well thought through questions, might get you an idea on how to win the affections of the male participants.

You were determined. You deserved some fun, a beach vacation. And you deserved the dumbstruck look on your exes face when he sees you getting cozy with other men on tv. After how he left, you weren't above being petty like that.

"Well, I can't ask you why you've signed up for love is blind. Your friends sent in the application for you, which makes you an unusual participant. How do you feel about being put into a experiment like this on short notice?" Kento had a curious look plastered on his face. You didn't expect him to actually be interested in what you had to say. As a professional he was probably able to feign certain emotions to get you to open up to him. But his stern brown eyes looked honest.

"To be honest, without a little push from my friends, I would've never thought about coming here. When they told me that I had been cast for this show, I was overwhelmed, confused, excited. But my first instinct was to ask them if they're insane."

"But you still decided to come. Why?" Moving forward in his seat, he leaned his face onto his hand, eyes on you the whole time. "Could this have something to do with your past relationship?"

Sore wound. But you wouldn't let that rattle you in the slightest. You wanted to match the professionalism your opposite offered you and not offend him with your tears or your rage. They belong to someone else. They belong in the past.

"I understand why this connection would be made. The relationship ended only a few months ago. But rather than looking for a rebound - or a husband, for that matter, I'm here to let the experience convince me."

That was unexpected. Suddenly, Kento wished he hadn't disregarded his own offer of lending you an ear whenever you needed something. For the first time at his interviewer job, someone answered one of his questions to his satisfaction. Made him want to know more.

"So, you don't believe that love is blind?"

"I'm here to find out. That's what the show is about, isn't it?"

And when you smiled at him and into the camera, he found himself looking forward to the following interviews. You were a natural.

"Are you ready to fall in love?", the hosts had asked at the end of the introduction to the show. The sentence and the following cheers from the other women rang in your ears while making your way to your first cubicle. Inside, on the other side of the wall, there would be a man waiting to get to know you.

After meeting Kento, you weren't sure how some guy should impress you as much as he did in a shorter amount of time. You would have to sit through 15 minutes with each of them and hoped that at least one of them was bearable enough to at least fake date. Eyes on the prize!, you told yourself. The prize in question being free breakfast mimosas on a hot beach.

With the first guy, you just didn't vibe, which was fine. But after five more dates of being asked specifics about your look and sex life within five minutes, you felt like screaming into a pillow and taking the next plane home.

"Do you think I could carry you on my back?", was just a watered down version of saying "You're not fat, are you?" to which you so badly wanted to reply with "Do you even lift, bro?" - You chose to be civilian and just left the room, though.

The next room you had to enter was just left by Naomi. With flushed cheeks, she ran up to you, grabbed you by the shoulders and clutched on tight.

"Y/N!", she swooned, "Y/N, oh my god. All the girls already claim to have dibs on that guy."

With furrowed brows you looked at her, having the urge to say: "I mean, the bar's not that high. Have you met the threesome-guy yet, he's disgusti-"

"No, he's really dreamy, Y/N!", she puffed, "Im so jealous that you get to have time with him, the 15 minutes were way too short."

"Oh, you're talking about Toru?" Suddenly multiple women stood next to you and Naomi with their hands on their hips. The tall blonde at the front, Jolyne, had a teasing smirk on her lips. "I doubt he's interested in you two boring country-cows. Also, I already have dibs on him. Do you know nothing about girls code?"

"Excuse me?", you spat. "I haven't even talked to him, yet. Get your hysteria out of my face, please and thank you."

You shoved them aside and continued your walk to the next cubicle, which gained you multiple offended hisses. Somehow, Jolyne's rage made having that guy to yourself sound really delicous. Fired up, you walked through the door and planted yourself on the couch.

On the other side of the wall, you could hear some faint rustling, which told you that the other person was there as well. You couldn't help but be curious. What kind of guy was able to make all of the women fall for him - or his tv personality - in just 15 minutes?

What would he tell you? What had he told them? Did he talk about how handsome he was and everyone just bought it? Did he make up some story about saving cats from trees, or about rescuing children from a housefire?

What kind of guy could literally have anyone?

"Hey there, I'm Satoru."

No, that couldn't possibly be - that had to be a fucking joke.

"Gojo?!"

"...Who?"

©hopelessfool 2024

[itz-pandora]

Guys watch this before clicking read more

I have so many thoughts

THE PARALLEL BETWEEN MARIA'S WOUND AND THE DESTROYED MOON?!!! OH MY GOD!!!! OH MY. MY GOD. That's the entire reason I started writing my thoughts down because that's way past important. Where's that post about the symbolism and correlation between Maria's name and the moon because that's all I can think about

AND I LOVE how they're choosing to portray Maria recently, excited and eager for everything, even though it hurts her. Also how fascinated she is with earth makes me happy. I love the idea she'll just endlessly ramble to Shadow about Earth. Also her VA does a good job at letting you know how out of breath she is and how she's still all upbeat even tho she's literally about to pass out

Also ?!!! I AM GOING A BIT CRAZY AT SHADOWS PORTRAYAL!! I'm so hyped to see how he's interpreted in Generations. He seems so confused, and like each time period he's in impacts his personality heavily, like he's still with them on the ARK. He wants to save everyone even though he knows he can't and I'm SCRATCHING AT THE WALLS because of it. I think the way that they'll try to portray him going into the past is with him being only half-aware of everything, OR, HE'S TRYING TO LIVE A LIE TO MAKE HIMSELF FEEL BETTER. Ohmygod the second one makes me feel ill because he just wants to be happy, he wants to keep his little family together and safe, but he knows that the fate is inevitable, just wondering if he could've stopped it. It's haunting to him. The feeling of not being in control is present throughout the entire episode, where he's constantly dragged through each event, each one being more exhausting than the last. Everything is happening to him, he's not the driving force, and that's the sad part, he had an entire game about defining his identity, and still, he's always been a puppet to someone else, bent to their will.

I'M SO CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE PLANNING WITH GERALD BECAUSE ITS DEFINITELY SOMETHING. SHADOW WHAT DID HE DO TO YOU??? Shadow had to PHYSICALLY CLASP HIS HEAD BECAUSE OF THIS. I NEED TO KNOW.

Dude is this supposed to be Shadow's second traumatic flashback regarding the ARK, since in the hero story of SHTH, there's an entire level about the ARK where he plays with Maria as his sidekick, and it was triggered by hearing the sirens of the ARK (which I LOVE btw. Of COURSE he'd associate the noise with events since it's been drilled into his psyche before the amnesia)

I LOVE how scared he is at the end. He's sooooo panicked. I love how they give him the sparks when he's overwhelmed, it makes me feel so happy.

Who is HE?! It can't be Shadow before his memory loss, that guy did NOT SURVIVE. Also idk if they're going to return to the "pre and post amnesia Shadow are different people" thing they implied, because I think it'd be best to have it be like his memories are fragmented, and it's all about remembering, and THEN WE GET A NEW INTERPRETATION OF SHADOW?? Pls? Like not new but somewhere in between SA2 and after that, but with more little brother energy because MARIA IS HERE!!!!

GUYS WHAT ARE THOSE FLOWERS AT THE END AND WHAT DO THEY MEAN. PLEASE TELL ME SINCE THEY PROBABLY HAVE SYMBOLISM

This is so disorganized sorry I'm not normal at all

And ofc Eggman's piss was still on the moon. We love continuity

[ryker-writes]

TWST characters as ✨best friends✨ (Pomefiore Edition)

What would it be like being friends with them? Come and find out! I offer my thoughts on what they would be like so I'm sorry if some of the characters are a little Ooc. Some characters I don't know as well but I'll certainly try! More dorms coming soon!

Vil:

fist of all, congratulations

it's not everyday your best friend is a celebrity

if he has your permission, he will post a photo or two of you on his magicam with both of you looking ✨stunning✨

his fans love you and are also jealous of you

if you don't want him to post you he absolutely won't

he respects your privacy

but fans will be curious when he mentions his best friend

Vil won't say anything about you without your permission

you get all the best beauty products from him

it's his own brand and everything

you're not taking care of yourself? unacceptable

he will make you take care of yourself

will use his unique magic to help you take care of yourself

someone's bothering you? how ugly of them

he'll tell you not to worry about it and take you to do something else

he has Rook handle those people

if you like to wear makeup he will ask to do yours for you sometime

if not that's okay he still thinks you look great anyway

Rook:

chances are he knows a lot about you already before you became best friends

he will compliment your beauty and skills a lot

if you disagree with him on that he will be very upset

it will only make him go into more detail about it

he is a great person to talk about your insecurities with

he just knows how to make it better so you can see yourself in the same beautiful way he sees you✨

he is always there when you need him

like literally there the same second

he has some sort of sixth sense for when you or Vil need him

someone is bothering you? say no more

he will take care of it just carry on with your day

you have to be able to appreciate Vil's beauty

fangirl with him

Epel:

hype buddies

I think I've said this before but Epel is perfect for hyping you up for anything you're doing

even if he doesn't understand he will hype you up

in return hype him up when he fights with Vil

you get free apple products from his family's farm

if someone's bothering you he will try to fight them immediately

if you have a problem and need him he will run across campus as fast as he can to find you

doesn't matter what he's doing

if he hears you being insecure about something he will strongly reassure you that it's not true

you get the accent and everything

same thing if he finds out you're not taking care of yourself

he will start checking in on you to make sure you're eating, drinking water, and getting enough sleep

he invites you to his spell drive matches

and of course, hype him up for the game!

[stagnation-if]

Just found this and I'm already SO looking forward to it!! A question of purely intellectual curiosity: how much of an a-hole arrogant Greek-god-style deity can the MC get? Somehow Seth is really giving me vibes of those vaguely psychopathic, no I mean morally ambiguous G/god(s) that are the norms in ancient mythology, and I've always been a fan of "we bring out the worst in each other" messed-up relationship dynamics ... in fiction only of course!!

Also, sorry in advance if this is spoilery or you don't feel like answering, in which case feel free to ignore! Just curious: what would be your personal "favorite" MC type for each of the ROs? (Not necessarily most healthy or the one you most approved of, just "favorite" in the sense that you personally find interesting/like to write.) For example, I'm all for opposite attraction, so I'd probably play a mortal-despising MC when romancing Dawn, a cinnamon roll MC when romancing Vex, and a laid-back and humorous, wow-technology-is-so-fun-I-want-to-die-in-VR-who-cares-about-revenge-YOLO!! MC when romancing Bruno ... if any of these options are possible, of course haha. But I'm really curious about what combination you personally enjoy writing!

Again, so hyped for the game!! Really looking forward to where you'll take this story!!

Thank you for your kind message🫂💕

How much of an a-hole arrogant Greek-god-style deity can the MC get?

MC can be so stereotypically dickish honestly😭 I love those options so much, it makes for an interesting + very angsty route hehe

Somehow Seth is really giving me vibes of those vaguely psychopathic, no I mean morally ambiguous G/god(s) that are the norms in ancient mythology, and I've always been a fan of "we bring out the worst in each other" messed-up relationship dynamics

Exactly! He's really assumed and embraced what it means to be a God. If I ever write his povs (I've a few plans) you'll get to see what I mean! I think his inner monologue is very interesting.

what would be your personal "favorite" MC type for each of the ROs?

THIS! Okay I agree with the opposite-attraction sentiment lgwkkgsk I'll try to give a bit more variety for people who aren't into it as much^^

Dawn- she's mean but it's very easy for her to pity MC and feel bad for them. I'd really feed into the rivals dynamic and try to get into her bad side kgskkf just proving Dawn that Deities are entitled.

Bruno- MC who really feeds into the worshipping dynamic. This man is on his knees and willing to kiss the ground MC walks^^

A- I like the past friends over the lovers dynamic personally. Just MC agonizing over the fact that they're reuniting with who looks like their friend, but oh no now they're having feelings for them😔

Vex- Vex is very protective so I think soft MCs would mesh really well with them.

Eris- fake dating fake dating! Also a MC who distrusts VR and shows Eris how real dreams are. I think grumpy MCs with a secret soft side would mesh well with her, especially knowing how flirty she is (and how she has a secret soft side too^^).

Seth- I like really upbeat, energetic MCs with him. Just:

[devildogdemon]

Bracing myself for committing potential Everlark sacrilege here. Still, I’m curious: Does anyone else ever dabble in the What If/headcanon that Peeta made up his original crush on Katniss? That in the beginning, it really was all just part of his and Haymitch's plan to hype Katniss up, and help boost her favor as the super rare chance for a District 12 Victor? But in the course of the first games, and particularly while committing to the star-crossed lovers act in the cave, he ended up actually falling in love with her?

This was actually my original interpretation the first time I read the first book. That all the rest of the backstory is still true: Mr. Mellark pointing Katniss out, Katniss singing the Valley song, etc. But it was just how Peeta remembered her, not the beginning of years-long pining.

Quick disclaimer: I'm not trying to argue for this headcanon's legitimacy. In fact, I now know it's not true. While writing this post, I remembered that Peeta told Katniss during the Victory Tour he was jealous of Gale before he officially met her. So by his own words, Peeta's crush predates the first Hunger Games.

Still, reading the first book on its own, it’s a headcanon I always come back to, and I think works in its own way sometimes.

For one thing, it’s a bit beyond my suspension of disbelief that Peeta was reaped alongside the girl he was silently obsessed with for 11 years. It feels way more like convenience to me than destiny or anything like that. Not to mention, this is supposedly a crush that began and persisted long before Peeta hit puberty.

But it’s not just the realistic aspect that draws me to this hc. It's also because I love how much it contributes to the 'accidental soulmates' aspect on Everlark. The idea that these two were not meant to fall in love. That if their lives went the way they thought or planned, they never would have spoken. They would have rarely crossed paths, if at all. They would have married different people, if anyone when it came to Katniss, but Gale would be the sole candidate if she did. And they would have lived out their days and died as strangers. But through a series of completely unforeseen, bizarre circumstances in this cruel world that brought them together in the most horrific of ways, from it emerged a real bond between them. Even if it started as a charade for sponsors, it morphed into a real bond of love and care that was genuine, and beautiful, and selfless, and real.

My take is essentially that Peeta took his mother's final words to him about Katniss as bitingly true, not that that made them any less hurtful. And from that point forward, he figured if he was going to do something worthwhile before his inescapable death, it would be to help his District. And the way to do that would be to help the girl who could do that better than he ever could.

Sure, there are things like him keeping hold on Katniss' hand during the chariot ride, and teasingly prodding her for a kiss while she's treating him. But...ok, I hesitate to project onto a boy who was and is leagues above me in every way (feel free to flame me for this). But as a former 16-year old boy myself, who was roughly that age when first reading the story, I kinda figured he just wanted to experience a taste of romance before his inevitable death? Like the PG version of "I don't want to die a virgin."

Anywho, gonna whistle past that embarassing hot take lol. But I think this hc gels well too with all his actions Katniss finds questionable: telling her everyone was watching her during the chariot ride, the crush revelation, teaming up with the careers to throw them off her trail, and fighting Cato. He's doing it all for her to win, even at the expense of himself. Not because he has feelings for her (yet), but because he believes in her.

But it's at the point when Katniss finds him in the mud bank, and she does everything in her power from then on to keep him alive, that maybe his feelings for her take a turn for the real. She shouldn't be trying to keep him alive. It’s of no benefit to her whatsoever. But she refuses to let him die. She will not even discuss it. It makes zero sense to him. No one's ever valued his life this much, even his own family. Why is this girl he barely knows, who never noticed him before, suddenly sparing no expense to keep him alive? To the point of risking her own life for him?

This comes to a head when he tries to rebuke her for going to the feast:

"No! Just don't, Katniss! Don't die for me. You won't be doing me any favors. All right? "Maybe I did it for myself, Peeta, did you ever think of that? Maybe you aren't the only one who...who worries about..what it would be like if..." "If what, Katniss?" "That's exactly the kind of topic Haymitch told me to steer clear of." "Then I'll just have to fill in the blanks myself."

On that last line, I took that as Peeta seeing for the first time that Katniss actually does care about him. More than anyone ever has. That she wants him to live, just as much as she wants them to win. And that's when he truly falls for her. Sadly, he makes the mistake of presuming she feels the same way. That's the only blank he filled in incorrectly.

But did he, though? Because what follows that last line is the first kiss between them that makes Katniss feel "stirring in her chest" and "wanting another." This whole conversation made her want to shut the world out, because "whatever I'm feeling, it's no one's business but mine."

So maybe their feelings for each other kinda awoke at the same time? And deep, deep down, the two of them could sense that shift in emotion toward each other. Where performance became reality. For Peeta, much stronger. But for Katniss, she's not quite there yet.

Now yes, I'm aware Katniss gets Peeta to tell the story of his crush AFTER this happens. But as Katniss points out prior to this, he's the silver-tongued one. Not to mention an established good liar. So keeping with the idea this was when he first noticed her, maybe he blends the facts here a little, and decides to make this the point of where his crush began? He probably had it in the vault anyway since the interview.

Finally, I thought this better explained Peeta's anger at the end, when the mask is finally lifted for him. Because logically, why would he think what started as an established act would become real for Katniss? As Katniss says, they were strangers who'd never spoken before all this. Is it because he still thinks she can't lie? Well she proved him wrong there, if only for a moment. I thought the more likely reason he thought Katniss' feelings for him became real, is because that's exactly what happened to him. As I mentioned before, his presumption wasn't entirely off, and Katniss' words that "not all of it" was for the Games are true enough. But it doesn't make the revelation any less crushing for him.

I really do wonder sometimes what kind of story this would have made for if Suzanne took this approach in the sequels. I know now it's an incorrect headcanon, but I'm curious if anyone else ever shared it while reading the first book, and wonders the same.

If you read all my silly ramblings about a now-debunked headcanon, I am both eternally grateful and eternally sorry. Feel free to share, concur, roast, or do whatever in response. Thank you and may this ship be ever on your dashboard :)

[batsplat]

“So funny how again in early 2008 there’s an argument to me made that Valentino was the LEAST annoyed with him of the four” ooh what was the Casey / Jorge beef of 08?? I didn’t think those two had any!! Actually would you be willing to go thru all the Jorge beefs of that year briefly? Ik you’ve done him & Dovi and him & Vale a lot more in depth but I’m curious about Casey and Dani…ik some of the Dani stuff but I don’t really get the WHY of it hahaha

okay I've started and gotten stuck on writing a post about casey and jorge's relationship way too often by this point BUT if we're just localising it to early 2008 that's WAY more doable. jorge lorenzo early 2008 drama corner coming right up

Some people think he's - not a show off, but he's a little bit arrogant. Actually he's a really nice guy, isn't he, he needs that bit of arrogance because - when you're on the edge as he is, that's what makes him the champion, the way he is.

^Qatar 2008 commentary excerpt

just as a quick summary of the time span we're talking about. casey is the defending champion, looks scary good pre-season testing, but ducati gets a bit lost after the opening round and he has some pretty messy races. valentino has made the very very high-profile controversial decision to walk away from the tyre manufacturer that had bagged him all his premier class titles and move to casey's bridgestones, which is what necessitates the wall in the yamaha garage. if this goes wrong, if he just loses to his rivals purely on merit, it might actually be over for him. dani was the bloke who was supposed to have casey's 2007 season on the lighter 800cc bikes everyone believed would favour him, and now has something to prove. jorge and dovi are both rookies in the class, having fought it out for two years in the 250cc class. jorge won both titles, albeit on clearly superior machinery to dovi's

here's the opening few rounds (though most of this will be just about the first four):

jorge secures the first three pole positions of the season and wins his first race in estoril. after three rounds, him and dani are exactly tied in the standings - not just in points, but also in countback since they've both had a p1, a p2, and a p3. valentino had a meh first race at qatar after leading at one point, AND is overtaken on the final lap by dovi... but gradually makes progress with the tyres - and by shanghai, everything's clicked. by contrast, jorge's fortunes take a nosedive in shanghai, with a truly massive highside during practise. he rallies and manages to take a fourth in shanghai and a second in le mans (this is the podium where he's on crutches and valentino ends up sitting on his lap for the podium photo)... but after that things go from bad to worse as he has a series of painful, demoralising and confidence-sapping crashes, including one that forces him to withdraw entirely from his home race at catalunya. by this point, he is firmly out of the title hunt - and catalunya is also the race where the season swings back in casey's favour, with the post-race test doing wonders for the ducati. which is where the build-up to laguna starts in earnest

so! with all that context in mind! here's some photos from pre-season at jerez:

I'm sure the photographers just missed the extensive discussions valentino was having with jorge sitting next to him

right then. let's take them in order. jorge/valentino had quite a bit of attached hype to it, where people looked at jorge, looked at valentino, rubbed their hands and went 'surely this isn't going to go well'. (this would've been me.) this energy, right:

This was all done, of course, because Yamaha were fearing, and MotoGP fans were looking forward to, a potential clash between Lorenzo and his team mate, the equally flamboyant Valentino Rossi. But so far, all has been peace and light in the Yamaha garage, a situation possibly helped by the huge wall splitting the garage in two.

(just to give you a sense of how keen everyone was to get things kicked off between those two, the commentators are talking about valentino edging ahead of jorge on the sighting lap of qatar 2008 to take his grid slot first as "just a bit of psychology". like people were ready for these two to go to war)

and there's plenty of evidence that suggests valentino took an immediate disliking to jorge that went beyond just seeing him as internal competition. it's quite likely valentino tried to keep him out of the factory yamaha team, though probably less nefarious plotting and more 'asking yamaha to please not do it'. once he lost that particular war, however, valentino's approach was mostly just not to engage with jorge at all. no stress, no drama, limit both his levels of personal irritation and jorge's opportunities to learn from him. early 2008 valentino also had very 'we move in silence' energy, he's really just working away at getting to grips with the tyres and generating little drama of his own accord. doesn't panic at the adjustment period to the bridgestones or about how his rookie teammate seems to have the better of him in the early rounds... it's obvious by his reaction to winning the race at shanghai how much this meant to him, but he's mostly been shutting up and getting on with it. and while jorge was going on his little drama tour, he was actually at pains not to be publicly starting shit with valentino:

Lorenzo was much kinder to the man he was expected to be at war with. “I see the press and hear what people say, and they have already decided to bury him,” said Lorenzo. “He finished 5th on tires which, apparently, weren’t going very well in the conditions. I think he will be fighting for the win at Jerez, and will be winning races soon enough. I don’t believe that he has dropped his game.”

though obviously valentino won't have been particularly thrilled by jorge getting a win before he did - and I suspect jorge did secretly think he might already have the better of his legendary teammate... way more on that teammate dynamic here, including context for the dynamic headed into 2008

^Post-Estoril 2008

tbh the vibe you get from watching 2008 is that valentino wasn't really thinking about jorge all that much, even during the first few races of the season. if anything, his delight at jerez and estoril kinda makes you feel like he was still primarily preoccupied with casey's results. as long as he felt like he was making progress on the tyres and casey wasn't building up an unassailable points lead, everything else could work itself out

Some say there's bad blood between them, they both say they get on fine together - I've seen them chatting in press conferences all right, but I think there is a little bit of needle between the two of them.

^Qatar 2008 commentary excerpt

moving on. jorge/dovi didn't have anything specific early 2008, but I just sort of assume dovi had this constant low level of annoyance towards jorge - especially immediately off the back of two title fights. he beats out valentino in this list by having had more actual encounters with jorge and more time to build up genuine antipathy. reading between the lines for their dynamic that year... well, they were competing to be the best rookie in the class - and you could argue that contest was way closer than it had any right to be, given the disparity in machinery. jorge the chosen boy on a factory yamaha, dovi scrapping it out on a satellite honda (interestingly, the disparity is described here as lesser than what they had in 250cc). also, fun fact: jorge's first race crash in motogp comes when he's fighting dovi at mugello. dovi had a front row seat, wonder if he enjoyed that

on to casey/jorge. so, I'm going to present these tidbits in a sensible chronological fashion, but I just want to say that I came across them in a completely different order. very different experience. I read casey's autobiography early enough in my motogp journey that I just sort of took him at his word with way too much of what he was saying. so my initial reaction to the early 2008 jorge stuff was going 'lol jorge what a prat' and going about my business. anyways. just thought I'd mention that!

anyhow, obviously these two had already had a few run-ins in the lower categories, including that assen 2004 incident where jorge kinda runs casey off track during the last lap that casey did not take kindly to. AND perhaps the first record we've got of valentino acknowledging casey and jorge's existence!! really fond of that clip idk, something about his 'those crazy kids' energy obviously is a bit ironic with benefit of hindsight

moving on to 2008. here's casey on jorge's chances of making an immediate impact, around a week before qatar:

Ducati’s Casey Stoner, who won 10 races in a dominant 2007 season, said: “We’ll have to see what happens with Jorge. “He has proven himself very fast in 250s by being double world champion. He is obviously a very fast rider and he is learning very quickly with the Yamaha. “But I think it is also very, very difficult to beat what Dani did in his first race in MotoGP. “To finish second in your first race is truly amazing, so I think it is very difficult.”

nothing egregious, I think we can all agree. though the direct comparison with dani probably won't have been particularly welcome. but just keep this in mind when you read the next few bits!

and here, from the qatar 2008 commentary:

And Stoner actually talked about Lorenzo, didn't he, in the pre-event conference - saying, I'm not sure Lorenzo will be able to challenge for the title. He may change his opinion about that after seeing the race here today, but he felt the challenge was more from Rossi and Dani Pedrosa.

ended up being correct, but did he HAVE to say it... aged poorly for the first month or so, you'd have to say. knowing jorge, I don't feel like it's a stretch to say he was motivaed to prove casey wrong lol

as we've already established from this clip, unlike dani and jorge they were at least on speaking terms at jerez

^Jerez 2008 pre-event press conference

casey has a messy pair of races at jerez and estoril, which brings us to shanghai - where, as said at the top, jorge and dani were joint championship leaders. let's bring in a press conference clip!

The season started in Qatar. [...] points - anyway, the riders that do not have good results, they say it starts now. The riders that started good... say that, what I am saying, so... For sure for Casey, starts now.

oh no. jorge. oh you've really done it now. off-hand remark right at the end... bit of hesitation but he just can't help himself. you CANNOT say something like that about casey. he will literally never forget this

and luckily, we know that casey would never forget this - because this incident makes it all the way to his autobiography! here we go:

Despite my first impressions of Jorge in the 125ccs I got on pretty well with him during our days together in the 250cc class but after winning the World Championship in that category twice he seemed to me to have become arrogant beyond belief. I remember after Estoril he said something to Livio like, 'What happened to Stoner? A problem with the head?' He seemed to think he'd broken me in that race and that I was weak minded. He thought his success was the reason for my poor results and clearly had no idea about the problems we had with the camera, not to mention the bike. A couple of weeks later we were in the pre-event conference in Shanghai and Jorge made a smart remark like, 'Maybe the championship starts now for Stoner.' I couldn't believe it and I'd never known such arrogance before. But what Jorge didn't realise at the time was that his confidence, generated by his impressively fast adjustment to riding a MotoGP bike, was a big reason he was so quick in those early races. Confidence is an incredibly powerful tool in elite level sport but it can also be very dangerous, especially in motorcycle racing. He hadn't learnt that yet, but he would.

okay. so. obviously jorge had managed to accidentally stumble across the number one way to get under casey's skin - by implying he was mentally weak. pretty much the worst thing you can say about casey, like yeah you've found the thing he's most sensitive about. congrats. and the shanghai remark was probably not a good idea. but if you watch that clip... I mean. it's a dumb throwaway line isn't it. this is a dumb twenty year old being a bit of a brat. high on his own success in his first few races in the premier class. now just picture casey sitting next to him, thinking that he'd NEVER KNOWN SUCH ARROGANCE BEFORE. casey, he's a rookie, you're the defending champion. and you said he probably wasn't going to be able to compete with you!! HE probably thinks YOU started it

^Shanghai 2008 pre-event press conference

and as it happens, casey doesn't stop there. because this story is what prompts a couple more paragraphs on casey's feelings on the subject of confidence in motorcycle racing, essentially using jorge's rookie season as a case study of sorts into how it can all go wrong. here's how it continues:

When a rider starts to build confidence they push the limits of the bike further and further until they find speed they thought they never had, speed that other riders find it impossible to live with. It is a fine line though. The problem is that as the level of confidence continues to increase so does the level of risk and before a rider knows it he is past the limit. Sooner or later reality bites and in motorcycle racing it bites hard. This is why I am careful to be a realist. If I know I have the tool to get the job done then I can be confident, but I am careful never to ride on confidence alone. Unfortunately for Jorge, just 48 hours after he made those remarks in China it became clear he was in over his head, literally, and he suffered one of the biggest crashes I have ever seen. In the split second he hit the ground and fractured both of his ankles he also shattered the one thing that had taken him to the top of the championship. Once his confidence was gone he had nothing left to fall back on and he couldn't have copped any more of a beating than he did that season. He had crash after crash, bringing him back to earth so hard that he seemed to become scared of the bike. For a while his results were pretty ordinary, considering the equipment he was on.

... okay. I get that they're competitors, and I get that you probably get quite desensitised to crashes if you're a motogp rider. but. uh. this does read... just a wee bit satisfied that jorge had been brought 'back to earth' by way of a series of very very nasty crashes. "clear he was in over his head, LITERALLY" is such a wild way to describe a horrendous highside. you do get just a tinge of schadenfreude about the whole thing, right. slight vibe that casey thought karmic justice had come for jorge after he'd been so arrogant towards casey

should be noted that in the next autobiography passage, casey is quite nice about jorge and essentially said he'd learned from his mistakes and become more pleasant later - plus that casey felt they were both misunderstood in different ways. given all that, though, it is interesting and fun that casey in no way backs down from his initial impression of jorge's behaviour (or if this is him backing down, it's still pretty harsh). you agree he gets misunderstood, you know he was a bit of a mess back then, but you're STILL talking about him like this! never known such arrogance before uh huh

there's also one specific story I'm choosing to leave out here beyond a brief mention - because it is pretty nasty and I'm not sure it entirely passes my own standard of evidence for a story like that. the sparknotes version is that a commentator said casey told him jorge was faking the extent of his shanghai injuries in rather forthright a manner. not out of the realm of possibility given we know casey was pissed at jorge that weekend, we know casey spoke to that commentator that weekend, and we know casey can be a bit weird about his competitors' injuries. but yeah, idk, it's so completely anecdotal that I'm not going to properly include it

and here, just to round things off, is what casey said about jorge before the le mans round:

Stoner, who raced Lorenzo previously in the 125 class, said: “I’ve been racing against the rookies for years, I know they are fast. “There is a lot testing compared to the past so when you arrive at the first race you’ve already done half a season so if they are not comfortable with the bikes by then there is something wrong. Jorge has done a good job so far but I expected this.”

did you expect this?? DID YOU EXPECT THIS?? going from saying 'yeah idk jorge probably won't be able to do what dani did' to saying 'well if he WASN'T fast already then there'd be something WRONG with him' is just classic stuff. never change, casey

on jorge's end, my sense is that he really wasn't thinking all that much about casey pre circa 2010. this is just a vibe, but I kinda feel like jorge's tell for when he doesn't really know what to make of someone is when he doesn't really talk about them all that much... including in that biography of his - where casey features comically little, given how he is like. the defending champion during jorge's rookie season. dovi gets mentioned a reasonable amount given he's kinda unavoidable, but both him and casey massively lose out when compared to dani and valentino. those latter two have Designated Roles in the jorge lorenzo story, whereas jorge just... doesn't know what to do with dovi and casey

an impression I feel is backed up by how jorge frames his viewing experience of the 2008 catalunya race in the biography

 Having watched the race from my room I would like to congratulate Dani Pedrosa for a great race. He rode the best from the start and had a perfect race. I also thought it was a nice touch that Dani showed his support for the anti-guardrail campaign. I had also planned to support the initiative because it is a great cause. Valentino also deserves congratulations for such a great fight back. I’m keen to fight for victory with both of them and if I manage to beat them one day, ‘mano a mano’, I will feel very proud. The pair of them are as different as they are difficult to beat.

who. who was valentino fighting for that second place. who was he fighting for basically the entire race in a repeat of their dramatic duel the previous year. who was the third person on that podium, jorge. who was the defending champion when you were watching that race. jorge. WHO WAS IT

that being said, we do get one short bit in jorge's biography about his early impressions of casey. and it's just too good not to include here:

'The first time I saw Stoner was in the CEV, back in 2000,' recalls Jorge. 'We looked down the entry list and spotted this really young Australian, riding a Honda. Since there were two groups we were able to take a look at him from the control tower at Albacete. He was really fast but at the same time he looked out of control. He was running wide but he kept on the throttle, giving it full gas, the bike swerving all over the place. He is aggressive, very brave and extremely talented, and he rides without fear of crashing. Having said that I think he could get a little more out of what he is doing if he was a bit more lively - if he was more in touch with the fans. He's like Doohan in that respect, but he's happy that way and each to his own, I guess.'

young jorge looking at young casey and going ?? why isn't he working to build his CHARACTER to appeal to the FANS ?? is just so beautifully in-character for both of them

anyway, yeah, that was their early 2008 vibe. jorge being kinda confused by casey but also wanting to prove himself against the defending champion - not as much as he did against dani and valentino, but he was way warier of starting shit with valentino and would never ever have said something like the shanghai thing about him. and casey with plenty of resentment in his heart, maybe chafing at jorge's golden boy status and how everyone was falling over themselves to praise jorge, consistently reserved in his own assessment of jorge - first downplaying his chances and then suggesting jorge had basically been doing the bare minimum. it's pretty likely that jorge would not remember that shanghai press remark if you asked him about it today, but there is absolutely zero chance casey doesn't. and for all that their later relationship considerably warmed later on, in part due to a shared antipathy towards valentino, that's not the kind of thing casey ever quite forgets

MOVING ON to the big guns. now, look, we're not going to get into a full history of the dani/jorge rivalry, it'd take way too long. here is another jorge biography excerpt about the early bitchiness in 2005, you've got stuff in this post about how the rivalry fit into the context of the puig/amatriain rivalry, dani also featured heavily in the motegi 2005 controversy, plus there's that time in early 2006 when mr zero world championships said "I am better than pedrosa and time will judge if I am right or not" and "maybe my rivals are a little scared of me". again, this isn't a full chronology, but they already obviously disliked each other headed into 2008

it's this dynamic of two young athletes vying for the love of their nation... with dani reserved and businesslike and very much influenced by his mentor puig (see also the puig description in this post), coming up against jorge in all his loud-mouthed brashness who is gagging for attention from anyone willing to provide it. the worst thing dani could do was ignore jorge, which is what he was always inclined to do... and jorge unsurprisingly never reacted well

In fact, the constant comparisons with Pedrosa had occasionally got to him. 'Why does Dani Pedrosa, with his boy next door image, get such good press yet I don't?' he'd asked Miguel Angel Violan. 'He used to hate that,' remembers Violan. Juanito Llansa has his own views on the matter. 'Jorge and Dani Pedrosa are completely different. They are poles apart. Dani is cold, impassive, while Jorge is vivacious, sometimes too extroverted. The thing is that Pedrosa started winning before Jorge did and we [Spain] had been going through something of a drought in terms of titles, so people had started watching motorcycle racing again because of Pedrosa. Naturally, the fans had taken to Dani more. When Jorge emerged on the scene, and started winning too, people had got used to Dani's character and thought that Jorge was too cocky. But that's just the way he is! The fans already had their hero, but then somebody totally different came along. Now the fans had to be shared out between the two.'

^Excerpt from Riveras Tobia's 'Jorge Lorenzo: My Story So Far'

'boy next door image' hm

which is how we get to early 2008, where jorge starts off his premier class career by securing pole position. and then follows that up by beating (an injured) dani to second place in the race. at which point dani commits the grievous insult of not shaking jorge's hand (x)

So it came as no surprise that Lorenzo fanned the flames of old divisions this week, complaining bitterly to the Spanish daily AS.com that Pedrosa refused to congratulate him on the podium at Qatar. “I have no interest in causing controversy,” the Spaniard told AS.com, without a hint of irony, “but if I see something that’s wrong, I say it publicly, without hesitation. I don’t like the fact that he didn’t congratulate me, but each man must do what he thinks is right. If I’d been in his place, I would have congratulated a rider who had managed to finish in 2nd place in his first race. But then, I’m not Dani Pedrosa.”

'without a hint of irony' lol get him again

and here from the biography:

ER: Jorge, you were on the podium with Dani Pedrosa. Did you say anything to each other? Did you shake hands? JL: In Qatar everybody who saw me on the track - mechanics, riders and race officials - congratulated me on my performance. But Dani Pedrosa didn't. He didn't say a word to me, didn't look my way, didn't congratulate me. He didn't even wave or hold his hand out at the end of the race. ER: And do you think he was supposed to be congratulating you and not the other way round? JL: When somebody finishes their first MotoGP race on the podium, the least he can expect is a wave. I'm not talking about friendship, just a simple raised hand. It's a question of good manners. Everybody is responsible for what they say and do. If I was him I'd have been congratulating a rookie who finished second. Dani Pedrosa disappointed me.

dani DISAPPOINTED jorge :((

which is how you get to jerez 2008, second race of the season, and ofc the presser from which this clip stems

^Jerez 2008 pre-event press conference

by which point the qatar handshake thing had obviously become a big controversy. here, again from the biography:

A mere handshake had become a matter of national debate. Everybody had an opinion on the subject — and since Lorenzo was the only one prepared to speak publicly about it, with Pedrosa opting to state his case silently, Jorge bore the brunt of the pressure. Even members of his own team were telling, him to take the sting out of the situation as soon as possible, 'it always seemed that it had to be him who took the first step,' says Javi Ullate. 'I also made the mistake of thinking that it was down to him to sort it out. It was another unnecessary problem. It was a ridiculous situation, that wasn't getting anybody anywhere. I asked myself, if rivals can't greet each other, then how is it that Pedrosa can greet other riders? He is civil with Rossi and Stoner, but not with Lorenzo. 

all this over a HANDSHAKE mind u

jorge once again secured pole position at jerez - but this time dani took the win well ahead of jorge, whose expected race pace had failed to materialise. jorge ended up finishing third behind valentino

which was obviously followed by the infamous moment where the spanish king forces the two of them to shake hands:

really fond of dani looking at his hand like it doesn't belong to him while jorge sucks at his lollipop

the pair of them have obviously discussed this moment in a great amount of detail since, which we're not going to cover in full. but just to give something closer to the time, here's more from jorge's biography:

'Yeah I'd do it again because I believe that it gives off a bad image when two riders from the same country, representing millions of people, can't get on. Trying to shake hands with Pedrosa isn't a bad thing. It is a good thing, for the sport and for the country. At the time I thought it was pretty unpleasant that he didn't want to shake my hand but it's not the biggest worry in my life. I would like our relationship to be cordial because we're both putting our lives at risk on the track, we're battling fairing to fairing and yes, it is good that there's a rivalry on the track, but off it we should be presenting a picture of the good sportsmen that we are. '

he goes on like this at length. SO committed to the image of it all, to being honourable, respectful competitors... he wants blood in his rivalry but also DIGNITY, man-to-man taking each other on in the heat of battle... again, a dozen films playing in his head, all of which are of extremely little interest to his irritable rivals

anyhow, it's a podium with fun awkward vibes. you've got dani and valentino palling around:

and jorge and dani existing in each other's vicinity:

just continually refusing to acknowledge in each other's presence

which gives us what I find a tragically ignored funny dani moment where he like?? visibly seems uncomfortable with the idea that he's only got jorge close to him before the podium photo, looks over to valentino (currently engaged in extensive shenanigans with the nearest camera), beckons him over, eyes fully glued on him as he makes it to the top step of the podium, leaves precisely fuck all space for jorge, at which point jorge physically pushes dani to the side a bit so that he can stand on the podium without in any way standing close to dani

I'm sorry but this is comical. why does nobody ever talk about this. what are they doing

and lastly we get to estoril, the final race before jorge goes on his injury spree. as stated up front, it's jorge's first win, leaving him tied with dani at the top of the standings. there's not any real CONTROVERSY here beyond the continuation of the general wretched vibes. this time it's dani who looks like he's been force fed half a dozen lemons while jorge is enjoying life to the fullest

and valentino remains proudly committed to Just Vibing

but this race had to get a mention primarily for the follow-up to the jerez podium photo. where valentino is once again the last to stop faffing about, which unfortunately leaves him in a bit of an awkward position when he realises jorge and dani are standing like. a metre apart. and just ends up having to get very close to jorge to make it work. which gives us a very evenly placed podium photo

the beauties of third-wheeling a feud. finally valentino too gets to experience having to navigate two people who loathe each other

anyway! that's your lot. one little baby rookie who has many of his rivals wanting to strangle him after four race weekends. 'flamboyant' 'arrogant' whatever you want to call him... but. y'know. I am obviously a little bit of a jorge lorenzo defender for this time period, and not just because I feel very strongly that he needed a responsible adult in his life and maybe also a hug. dani could have shaken his hand!! casey could have been a bit more chill!! valentino could have spoken more than two words to him!! but that's the fun of it... jorge was annoying, so were his rivals, what a great constellation of irritating blokes. just this little brat rocking up to the premier class and immediately making an impact by pissing off everyone around him. really spiced up the early 2008 season too, gave everyone something to talk about before valentino got back into the plotting and scheming business. we thank jorge for his service

[the-cpu-system]

May I ask that you share your Bennister propaganda. I'm curious on what the hype is about ;0?

OK SO.

In the actual story there's really only 2 people that actually seem to care for Benny, right? Ellen and Gorrister. While Ellen is talked about more with interacting with Benny, Gorrister still does like a pretty decent amount !! Like he literally tells him a story thas so cute

Like of course Gorrister is apathetic and doesn't exactly seem thrilled to repeat AM's story but he still does, and with minimal complaining- and it's said this is a thing that happens several times, and I feel like that's just really cute tbh . Cus anyone of the group could tell the story but still Gorrister does each time. So like. Gorrister tells Benny stories. That's rlly sweet .

There's always that scene right before everyone else's death that doesn't exactly lend anything to my pro Bennister propaganda but like . It exists and I feel like I gotta mention it so. That happens but shh. Jus means they're a lil complicated/silly

They have these nice contrasts and similarities as well that I think are nice as a dynamic. Benny and Gorrister are both made as parodies of their former selves . Benny in the game was a war general, while Gorrister was anti-war, which also honestly can lend to something with Gorrister expressing that wish of joining the military so maybe he could've died like the rest and Benny (in some way) comforting him .

Leaning more into inferences and headcanons now, Benny was of very high regard before AM messed him up. Like, he was hot and really smart and had a lot going for him. If he had any bit of himself left (which it seems like there's at least a sliver of his original self in there with the fact he can have favorite stories, which are kind of a sign that your brain can still sort things out) I feel like he'd be absolutely humiliated about what he's become. I mean it is talked about briefly in his psychodrama. But Ellen probably just makes him uncomfortable. Like, there's no doubt he appreciates her, yeah. But I mean one he's forced to sleep with a woman, which probably has uncomfortability that seeps over into everyday life, and her help and friendship is a lot more humiliating and comes off as pity. I mean like a man of such high regard being spoken like he's a kid ?? Guh

But then there's Gorrister . He's someone who obviously does care for Benny some bit, despite the apathy. But, the apathy lend to a.more casual way of interacting with Benny and treating him normally bc he literally does not fucking care

I just think . They are very neat . :3. They have an interesting dynamic- and honestly it doesn't irk me like how Ted x Ellen does or kinda AM x Ted . Like aside from the whole.. cannibalism part.. they're generally unproblematic together and yea

Anyways Bennister :3

[charles-leclerc-official]

Hi, I am curious what you think about Leclerc vs Sainz. I feel like a lot of Charles fans underrate Carlos (imo he's an upper midfield driver, very solid) but also many Carlos fans treat him like the second coming of Christ, it's insufferable.

Do you think he's pretty close to Charles in terms of ability? I mean he isn't terrible, but Charles is better in the metrics, like one lap pace, race pace, tyre management, race starts, W2W/overtaking (did I miss anything else). I think some of it also comes down to the issues in Charles' garage but I don't know to what extent, I don't have the numbers. I would love to see corrected data from anyone if it's possible, but idk.

I feel like the gap should be bigger. But maybe ironically I am one of those people who underrate Carlos. He is a strong driver but I don't see him in the WDC conversations whereas Charles often is.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong but Charles has outperformed and maximized the SF-24 more than Carlos has. Suzuka, Spa, come to mind. I don't recall Carlos doing anything particularly extraordinary with the car this season (again please correct me if I am wrong!!) but he has been very solid.

I do know for sure that in terms of raw talent, Charles is better than Carlos. Higher peaks too.

I mean, I think that the numbers and data really speak for themselves. By any measure Charles is the better driver, but that doesn't mean that Carlos isn't a solid driver who pulls consistent results. Two things can be true and I think that usually gets overlooked. The comparison fallacy a lot of people try to paint when comparing any drivers is that if one driver is better then it means the guy they are comparing him to is bad, when those are not the only options. You can have two good drivers on a team and one be better than the other, it happens a lot.

As far as fans go, I don't really like to attack anyone for hyping their driver. Of course fans are going to say their driver is the best, we all do it, so I don't think that's unique or anything to read too deeply into.

Your assessment it pretty accurate as far as performance goes. Charles pushes things to the next level and demonstrates his skill weekly. I agree, Carlos has been solid, nothing extraordinary, but solid.

I think Carlos' best performance this year as far as driving goes was probably Austria. He stayed close enough to the front even with the SF-24 struggling to be able to podium when Max and Lando went out. Australia was probably his best qualifying lap (possibly tied with Monaco tbh)

Pretty close is subjective. I don't think they are in the same category, I think Charles is the better driver in just about every category and the data does support this. Correcting the data for all their DNFs and car trouble would be an undertaking. I believe someone did that for them through 2023, but we have more data now so.

And the gap between teammates shouldn't be too big. If it is then there is a problem. Either with the talent the team has hired or the car. They are in the same car so the gap isn't going to be massive if they are both driving well, even if one is better. Ideal results are 1-2s or as close as we can get to that.

I think one reason people get lost in the gap to the teammate "debates" is they just take the result stats and the H2H graphics, when digging into the actual track performance and data reveals a more detailed look at a drivers actual performance. Results only tell you so much. And of course there are just a lot of things that are outside a driver's control.

[twin-chains]

Thoughts on the Zelda news

HOLY SHIT

I'm surprised we're getting a new mainline game so soon. I genuinely expected a port of older existing games at best if anything. (We did get Four Swords which I'm really happy about). I was worried TOTK would ruin future Zelda games for me but the prospect of playable zelda saved it (which almost feels purposeful so good on you Nintendo)

Speaking of TOTK, thank the stars they're not trying to squeeze a third game out of the BOTW map. TOTK is amazing and a third one would just be tired out

I like that it's in the Link's Awakening remake toy style. It'd feel wrong for Nintendo to make a new realistic 3D open world type game that we have to wait 6 years for like TOTK (still waiting on the TP port tho!). However, a shift to a more cute cartoony look makes more sense without regurgitating the same toon Link designs from the Wind Waker and Four Swords trilogies. Plus LA is so charming!

I'm hyped for playable Zelda! I know there's been Wand of Gamelon (and Spirit Tracks as a command-able companion) but this is so exciting since it's a more new mainline release. This truly is Zelda's Awakening (for taking a more active protagonist role in her own franchise). And hopefully this'll open the door for more playable Zelda? (but I'm getting ahead of myself). It truly is the legend of Zelda!

This might be controversial but I think it's a good decision for Zelda to not wield a sword and shield. Cause that would defeat the purpose of having a new protagonist in my mind; if you just swap Link for Zelda but don't change anything else than what's the point? What distinguishes the hero's Courage from Wisdom? She can fight but has the wisdom to take a more magic-based combat approach with the tri-rod or wand (of Gamelon haha). Though it'd still be pretty sweet if EOW Zelda pulled out some Sheik moves or a cool shot with a bow to be honest.

I really appreciate the union between the older top-down style (hopefully more linear!) and the newer mechanics that allows for multiple creative solutions for the same puzzles. Of course, Nintendo's trying to lean towards the openness and creativity of individualizing one's gameplay experience from TOTK by incorporating the echo mechanic but it really works to give it to Zelda! I will find a way to complete the game solely with the potted plant echo or something stupid.

The triforce is back, baby! The little fairy Tri reminds me of Rosalina's star pet thing from Mario Galaxy. I can't believe the essence of the triforce incarnate is Zelda's cute travelling companion. Does this make her one of the most powerful heroes? (aside from the earliest ones where Link wields the entire triforce). Also it's probably for the sake of the echo mechanic but I'm curious why Tri seems to have 4 little triangles instead of 3? Lore implications?

Speaking of lore implications, WHERE in the timeline will this go??? I've seen a lot of people suspect it's in the downfall timeline, maybe after Link's Awakening or ALTTP because it's the same Hyrule map so I'm willing to agree for now. Even if I'm getting OOT vibes for whatever reason. Though if Ganon isn't creating the purple cracks in space, there has to be a cool new villain for Zelda to face off against that messed with the triforce in some way for Tri to become the way they are. For lack of knowledge, my silly little theory is the multiverse is collapsing and Cia comes back or something idk (I may be biased tho because the cracks are visibly inspiring the rifts in space-time I'm planning for TC).

All in all, I'm so happy!

[gcantread]

July 2024 reads

[loved liked ok nope dnf bookclub*]

^borrowing this format from @ofliterarynature—hope that's ok!

The Blue Castle • The Metamorphosis • A Reaper at the Gates • And Then There Were None • I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons • To Be Taught, If Fortunate • The Mysterious Affair at Styles • Till We Have Faces • This Ravenous Fate • Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch • Dragonhaven • [title withheld; SMP] • The Name of the Wind • Better Left Buried • The Body in the Library • Rose Daughter

My biggest reading month so far in terms of quantity, though only third-biggest in terms of "pages" (which I think is a bad metric anyhow—you can typeset them so differently! I wish every book told me its word count.) I read a lot of books in order to see if they're worth reading in @bellasbookclub for the 2024-2025 season, plus I was doing the BBC summer reading challenge! I also devoured my way through several ARCs coming out in August.

The Blue Castle ★★★★★ - I reread this once or twice per year at this point. This time around I read it to @flowerslut and we had a blast! Still the ultimate comfort read.

The Metamorphosis ★★★☆☆ - Also with Shannon (we listened to the audiobook on the way to and from San Diego!) Figured it was high time I actually read this if I was gonna go around calling things "kafkaesque." Somehow exactly what I expected.

And Then There Were None ★★★★☆ - Pre-screened for book club! So I don't wanna say too much other than "I liked it."

I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons ★★★☆☆ - Disappointing. Plot was a bit all over the place and it was difficult to sympathize with the main characters. A shame, because I like the premise!

To Be Taught, If Fortunate ★★★★☆ - Read for the BBC 2024 Summer Reading Challenge. Fun and reflective! This was my first time reading Becky Chambers, and I liked the writing style and themes.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles ★★★1/2☆ - Another book club pre-screen. A solid mystery.

Till We Have Faces ★★★★☆ - Yet another book club pre-screen. My best friend's favorite book and now I can totally see why.

This Ravenous Fate ★★★☆☆ - An ARC I got signed by the author after seeing her speak on a panel about YA and romance. Unfortunately a huge letdown, possibly because I had such high hopes for the premise of "queer Black 1920s vampire x human." Alas, it had some cool vampire lore but was overall a convoluted mess and not nearly 1920s-enough!

Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch ★★★★☆ - Another ARC I got from the same event and liked much better. Cool Jennifer's Body-esque premise, snappy voice, and a fun protagonist in the murdered and vengeful Annie. Perfect Halloween vibes!

Dragonhaven ★★★★☆ - Also pre-screened for book club so I shouldn't talk too much about it but I can't help myself (@ book club LOOK AWAY) I wasn't expecting much from this book because I've heard Robin McKinley fans voice their disappointment in it, but it turns out I'm the exact niche target audience for this. National Park politics and conservation science struggles and zookeeping?? I'm seated. I can see why others didn't like the pacing, but I was nodding along like "Yes, the difficulty of procuring grad students to come study dragons, of course. Do go on"

[title withheld; SMP] - I didn't realize this was an SMP book until I was halfway through it. Oops. A shame they still don't have their act together, because I'd love to talk about this one.

The Name of the Wind ★★★★★ - A title I've heard raved about a million times by a zillion people, so naturally I picked it as one of my BBC 2024 summer reading challenge books to see if it lived up to the hype. IMO it does! Fun, poetic writing style, cool framing device, and interesting worldbuilding and magic system. Curious to read the sequel.

Better Left Buried ★★★☆☆ - Another ARC. Cute queer YA murder mystery that I honestly don't have much to say about other than "it was cute."

The Body in the Library ★★★1/2☆ - And another book club pre-screen book. My first Miss Marple! Mostly elevated by having an interesting ending twist and class themes.

Rose Daughter ★★★☆☆ - And to no one's surprise, my final book of the month was also pre-screening for Bella's Book Club. Very pretty writing and it was fun to read while wearing a bit of rose oil (smell-o-vision!) but I didn't loooove the pacing and overall prefer Robin McKinley's other Beauty and the Beast retelling, Beauty.

DNF

A Reaper at the Gates (50%) - I sprinted through book 1 and walked sedately through book 2 of the Ember in the Ashes series, but this one (book 3) was taking me forever to read (and is almost 700 pages), and I was impatient to move on and read other stuff. Reaper at the Gates was decently interesting and I still care about the characters, but the timing just wasn't right. Will probably pick this series back up later.

July superlatives