#i guess i havent talked about the earlier chapters huh

[grishaversecommunityyy]

The Grishaverse Ship Survey Results

So! After all of that, we finally have the results! What is the general opinion on the ships in the Grishaverse? Well, that’s for you to read below! It’s actually pretty interesting and, while some parts make sense, there were definitely some parts which... surprised me... Anyway, onto the results!

Everything in this post can be split into:

The Grisha Trilogy

Six Of Crows Duology

The Nikolai Series

Shadow and Bone: TV Series

Most Enjoyed Ships

Least Enjoyed Ships

Crack Ships and Shipping Discourse

Notes from the Survey 

(note from mod emily: i tried to bold all of fritz’ comments, but i might have missed a few! be aware there are two of us analysing here :))

The Grisha Trilogy

The first book series we asked about was, of course, the first chronologically: the Grisha Trilogy. The most popular ship, with 83% voters for this series selecting this, was Genya/David (Fritz was glad to hear that; Yes I am). This is likely due to the lack of alternate romantic interests in the series, which seems to be a major issue for Alina’s ships. It also seems to be one genuinely enjoyed by most fans, in contrast to Darkling/Alina and Mal/Alina (each around 30%) and Nikolai/Alina (just under 20%), for which I have definitely seen plenty of debate. The second and third most popular ships for this series were Tamar/Nadia (55%) and Nikolai/Zoya (47%). Interestingly, Genya/Alina (43%) and Zoya/Alina (30%) ranked surprisingly high, especially considering how few of my friends and associates I hear talking about them. Good for them!

Honourable mentions:

Alina/Sun (no doubt inspired by that crack fic I wrote a while back) (Still havent read that out of fear)

Alina alone (a common concept among those surveyed, though most mentioned it later)

Zoya/Genya or Alina/Zoya/Genya

Six Of Crows Duology

This series was a little less divided, I would say. Predictably, Kaz/Inej came out on top with a whopping 96% of voters (:relieved:), with Wylan/Jesper next (90%) and Nina/Matthias just after (83%). None of the others really came close, despite Nina/Inej gathering 35% of the votes and Colm/Aditi at 25% (yeah, I’m not sure why that was so popular on AO3 either, but nobody really has objections so I assume that’s why it amassed so many votes). As Six of Crows is decidedly less divisive about ships and doesn’t have such controversial ships (more on that later), it seems the fandom agrees with canon pairings and the votes are... pretty unanimous.

Honourable Mentions:

Jesper/Wylan/Kuwei

Polycrows (platonic or romantic)

Kaz/Inej/Nina

Whoever didn’t read the instruction about this being for only the book series and put Jesper/Milo. I will never escape. 

The Nikolai Series

This one is a little harder for me because I actually haven’t read this... so over to Fritz for analysis! But first, the stats. At 85%, the most popular ship is Genya/David, followed by Zoya/Nikolai at 77%. Tamar/Nadia and Nina/Hanne draw at 61.5% and Nina/Matthias has 56% voters onboard. There’s no real honourable mentions for this one, sadly. Hello Fritz here! Read the books and very glad to see Genya/David as the top ship as it damn well should. Although still a bit surprising since its more of a side-arc of the two and only ties in with the importance of the story at a specific chapter that I feel like I don’t need to elaborate about, if you read Rule of Wolves. (I believe the popularity of the ship also sky-rocketed due to ROW) Following of course Zoya/Nikolai, the high ranking makes sense, it is the main ship and lets be honest they deserve it <3

I think the only really surprising thing about this is the high votes for Nina/Matthias since [SPOILERS CROOKED KINGDOM] he’s dead so I feel like people should move on from that. Nina/“Hanne” having not as high a ranking as I would’ve thought, but with Matthias still being in the frame I guess we shouldn’t be surprised either.

Shadow and Bone: TV Series

This one is really interesting, with the exclusive show watchers now taking part! We have 89% voting for Kaz/Inej, 76% for David/Genya, 71% for Matthias/Nina, 67% for Ivan/Fedyor (that’s a thing???-->Yeah they had a few somewhat sweet interactions in the background-->nvm i watched it you’re right fritz) and 62% for Mal/Alina. What’s really surprising is how high Malina is compared to Darklina, with Darkling/Alina at 36%. Who knows, maybe Fritz’ analysis can shed some light on this?

Yes yes Fritz to the rescue: First of all we have to see their interactions a little different from what we already knew of them by the end of episode 8. I still think it is a surprising number, since the Darkling in the show isn’t as nasty as he was in the books BUT over all his actions are now seen on TV. We all thought the deer antlers were a necklace amirite? Well no apparently not, the darkling used the worst kind of small science to fit Alinas collarbone to the bone and out comes a gruesome sight: a reason why many people might have started thinking: Wow what a disgusting person he is. And on the Malina “ship”: Mal finally has personality!! jkjk :eyes: Mals and Alinas friendship has been portrayed way better in the show and I believe that the people noticed more chemistry between them especially by the end of season 1. So I’m still a little surprised Darklina has such a low ranking (what with him being all sweet and cuddly in the middle of the show) but it makes sense and the Malina ship as well. Their vibes are just *chefs kiss* and thats coming from someone who didnt even like any of these “ships” <3

Loving the quotation marks for the word ‘ships’, Fritz. Over to the honourable mentions!

Honourable Mentions:

Jesper and Milo (isn’t milo a goat? guys, why?)

Nadia/Marie (huh that didn’t appear anywhere else)

One person had several - Kaz/Inej/Jesper, Dubrov/Mikhael, Dubrov/Mikhael/Mal - and yeah, you can really see the show differences in these mentions right? (whose dubrov...and whose mikhael...)

16% actually voted for Inej/Alina which is wild to me because of book context (they did have chemistry in the show tho :cowboi_smirk:)

Another person with several! We have Nina/Inej, Genya/Alina, Zoya/Alina, Zoya/Genya/Alina. Very sapphic. Good for you.

Kaz/Jesper and Nina/Inej all in one

That’s a lot of honour and mentions but it’s so interesting to me and I think you should see too

Most Enjoyed Ships

The most enjoyed ship was Kaz/Inej. This had unparalleled support, being at 35%. Jesper/Wylan, which was next on the list (23.5%) and Nina/Matthias (18%) were also pretty popular. Most of the others were quite low, though interestingly Mal/Alina only had 1 vote (plus one for the show version). Overall, the SoC ships were a lot more popular in this section, which makes sense - this part is really about your favourite ship, and those were more unanimous in the last sections.

Least Enjoyed Ships

Most people said Darkling/Alina, which got 47% of the NOTP votes. A lot more people disliked Darkling/Alina than liked Kaz/Inej. Make of that what you will, but I take it as a somewhat general agreement among many of you guys. Mal/Alina was also strongly disliked at 22%, but around a half or more of these were clarified to be about the book version of the ship specifically. They really must’ve upgraded in the show! Jesper/Kuwei and any other Darkling ships were also voted by a few, but all of these pale in comparison to the anti-Darklina votes. Shoutout to the person who said Apparat/Anyone. I agree, though it’s not something I thought of before seeing this response. Also one person said they didn’t like the poly ships, which I hope meant just the ones mentioned earlier and not all poly relationships in general... Another shoutout to whoever said Kaz/Heleen, because why did I have to read that. A fun question, all in all!

Crack Ships and Shipping Discourse

I love talking about crack ships, so let’s start with that! This time, I really don’t want to have to count and list because... well, let me show you:

I think that sums up the sheer variety, to be honest. Then again, it would be rude not to mention that the most popular were Jesper/Milo, Darkling/Nikolai and Alina/Sun. (If you’re still confused about that last one, I take full responsibility.)

YES KAZ/KRUGE I SUPPORT!!!

Honourable mention to this:

which was a lot to take in, and:

Now for the discourse. Yep, the part you probably came for. 

Actually... maybe you didn’t? Looking at all of these responses, I see a lot of people genuinely don’t care about ship wars and so on, and often enjoyed the books regardless of the romances involved. Quite a few disapproved of the ongoing (though small) wars between Darklina and Malina, and others had a similar line of thinking, saying we should maybe stop focusing so much on it. You guys are right. I know this is a ship survey, and the conclusions should not include that shipping isn’t as important as we make it (Yes it should), but... that’s where it’s at.

And then again, a lot of you guys expressed disapproval for Darkling/Alina, discussing how it is often one-sided and manipulative and overall unhealthy, so I could be completely off with that last one. Some people mentioned that they ship this but as a slightly different version that the one given to us, recognising the flaws of the canon ship.

Someone said they headcanon Tolya as aroace (OMG YES!!). We need more aroace characters, so thank you for that headcanon :) We also have a few gay ships mentioned here, and one person telling us they love Malina. Yes, you’re right - it’s pretty unpopular, it turns out. Someone else said Alina should’ve been single, and I agree, actually!

One person rickrolled me here. Thankfully, Youtube’s ads saved me. *wipes forehead*

I leave you all with this, in the end:

Notes from the Survey

Statistics Stuff:

The top ships were taken from AO3, so some ships may be more focused on in other books and may not provide accurate statistics for an earlier series.

The main circles this was sent around may have had bias as most people are from the same discord server, which has debated these topics in the past. Hence certain ships may have lower-than-average results. In future, this could be improved upon by sending this to other servers and areas of the fandom.

Personal bias may be present in the analysis, though I have tried to minimise this in the more formal sections.

Observations and Notes from Me:

You guys really don’t like Darklina. Or you love it. Usually one or the other. Wow.

Be glad I didn’t talk about any of the cursed ships in this. The things I have seen... (:cowboi_eyes:)

I thought more people would rickroll me, ngl.

What Surprised You Guys:

Kaz/Inej/Jesper

A few of you guys saw some of those cursed ships, and that surprised you. Well, me too!

Nikolai ships being in the TV Show section at all, what with his character not being in the show (yeah what was up with that huh tztz)

Inej/Alina

The existence of The Severed Moon

Darkling/Nikolai(/Alina)

How fun the quiz was :D

Things You Sent Me:

Bee Movie copypasta

“Nobody expects The Spanish Inquisition!”, except via an AO3 link

A fun fact about enzymes! I liked this one

Fic recs for Feriku and Sarai (esp for Wylan/Jesper shippers)

Another rickroll

Nice compliments :) aww you guys

I asked everyone for some kind of placeholder name and never used it. Sorry! But hey, anonymity, right?

Closing Statements

If you got this far (I feel like ive been sitting here for hours), thanks for reading! This was fun to do and I hope you enjoyed all of this too! The survey is still open for anyone who hasn’t done it but wants to. If I get a huge amount of new responses, I might update this post! But for now, adios!

-mod emily (and mod fritz)

[world-of-aus]

Behind the Screen - (Part 11)

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 3,721

Warnings 18+

Author’s Note: sorry for the day delay it seems like its going to be that week for me, but i will work to be better for next week! I will be prepared i promise lol! I hope you enjoy this chapter, as much as i enjoyed writing it lol! Thank you for reading angels!

Part 10 / SERIES MASTERLIST

“It’s too much,” you moaned grasping a hold of his wrist.

Your thighs quivered under the weight of his fingers dragging up your sensitive skin. Bucky chuckled huskily, nipping at your heated, sweaty skin, his tongue running over the bite.

“Told you I had plans for you doll,” he grinned.

Your body shiver under his, “didn’t think you’d meant overstimulation,” you murmured in your post orgasmic state.

He was chuckling lowly again then, “oh baby, you think that was overstimulation, that’s nothing close to it,”

“Buck” you groaned attempting to squirm away from those sinful lips, but his arms held you in place.

“Stop moving,” he grunted at the swat of your arms.

“I’m gross and sweaty Buck, I need a shower and sleep,”

He held you tighter his face burying itself into your neck, “shower and sleep when I’m out, right now I just wanna be with my girl,”

Your body stilled heart thumping away in your chest at his words, a sleepy smile pulling at your lips, “your girl huh,” you questioned, “ and where are you going?”

He picked up his head to look at you, “Tony’s send me out for recon, shouldn’t be more than a few days,”

Your brows furrowed, “Buck we just got back, YOU just got back, when did you accept the job?”

“At the debriefing, I’m going in alone though, it’ll be much faster that way,”

Though you didn’t voice it in worry of starting up an argument with him probably hours before he left something about this just didn’t sit right with you.

Wanting to push away the worry in your mind you pressed your lips to his once more. The two of you stayed wrapped up in each other until the early hours of the morning, your body clinging to his, the worry still sitting heavy on your chest.

It lingered though the feeling growing as you walked hand in hand with Bucky to the jet. The others had met with him earlier to see him off, wanting to give you two privacy for when he actually had to depart.

You watched him move around the area, making sure he had everything he needed. You rubbed at your chest hoping to ease some of the pressure that sat there.

Bucky turned in time to catch the motion, his brows furrowed, “you okay doll?”

You looked up from where your eyes had fallen to the ground to see a look of concern on his face, “yeah just thinking,” you murmured, Bucky didn’t believe it for a second. Closing the distance between the two of you he sweeped you into his arms, fingers crossing behind your back.

“What’s on your mind?” he voiced int your hair.

“just worried is all,” you didn’t want to keep him in the dark, but you also didn’t want to say too much and have him upset during flight, it would do him no good for him to go in without his head on straight.

His thumbs rubbed slow circles on your lower back, “I'll be home before you know it, I'll also be just fine sweetheart,”

You sighed leaning into his chest, “I just don’t like that they’re sending you out again, can’t they give us a break,”

He chuckled into your hair, puffs of warm air tousling your locks, “babe the bad guys never take a day's rest so we’re no exception,” he sighed, “I'll be safe, it’s an in and out job, and I'll be doing exactly that, in and out, once I get the chance and I'm sure I’m threw I'll get into contact with you, I won’t be gone longer than a week,”

You nodded your head, fingers curling into his gear a little tighter not wanting to let go just yet, “just come home, that’s all I ask,” you whispered looking up at him.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, “I’ll come home to you, that’s a promise sweetheart,”

Your job was dangerous, the bad guys were ruthless, there was never telling if a job could go sideways, but at least you had each other to fall back too, except this time you were sending one in alone, and while Bucky had promised you he would come home to you there was just no promising that, but you wouldn’t voice your concern.

With a simple nod of your head and a bruising kiss to pressed to his lips you watched him walk away from you.

He’d be alright you thought, he’s going to come back to you at the end of the week, and everything will be as it once was.

You had been able to keep yourself and your mind busy the first few days, constantly reminding yourself that Bucky had till the end of the week. Those reminders had begun after day two, which had been Bucky’s guess of him returning home. Alongside that reminder you also had to tell yourself he was only taking longer to get home because it was a one-man job, and he didn’t have that back-up to make things move along faster. Day three and four, you were being to get restless without Bucky around to bother you, or keep you company, so you spent most of your time between Natasha, Sam and Steve. Day five was spent locked away in your room under the covers of your bed waiting for your phone to light up. Days six and seven were spent trying to remain hopeful but as the seconds, minutes, and hours ticked you by, the hope dwindled being replaced by the heavy worry on your chest.

Day 8 had you pacing, silent tears running down your face, he had been caught.

Steve had called the team down for an emergency meeting and had broken the news to you then.

“what do you mean he’s been caught, caught by who?” you questioned hurriedly, a look of worry taking over your features.

Sam had slid over to you, his arms wrapping around your shoulder, you had watched as Steve released a sigh, hand rubbing over the worry lines on his head.

“we don’t know much more right now other than that,”

Your heart fell from your chest, “are we going in to get him?”  

“these men are dangerous y/n, we can’t just send anybody in, sending Bucky in was already a risk, I can’t risk another member,”

“wait, wait, wait,” you shook your head, trying to gather your thoughts, “you knew this was a dangerous recon even for him and you still sent him in alone?”

“We had no other choice, if we sent more than one person in they would have caught on,”  

You threw your hands in the air almost knocking Sam away, “Steve we’re smarter than that, you could have sent in two, three, hell maybe even the whole team and we would have been smart enough to work through it, instead you made the rash decision to send him in alone,”

Steve knew you were right, “I couldn’t risk the team,” he sighed.

“But you could risk him?” you questioned voice rising with anger.

“He signed himself up” Steve fired back, “he asked me to put him in, he said he wanted to be the one sent on this mission, you really think I would have just sent him in there by himself, I tried talking him out of it, hell even Sam tried as well, but he argued that he could be in and out, that it would be a walk in the park,”

You looked to Sam, “it’s true y/n, we tried talking him out of it, we all wanted to believe this wouldn’t go sideways,”.

You sighed, “so how are we getting him out,”

A knock on your door had you wiping at your tears, you muttered a nasally come in, your door slowly swung open. Steve stood just outside of your door, “you can always back out if you need too, you don’t need to do this,”

Your hands fanned over your face, “just like you said you couldn’t risk sending in another member, this is me saying you won’t have to,” steve sighed, “Steve you said yourself these men know you, they know Natasha and they know Sam, had wanda not been away you could have sent her in, but she’s not I'm your only choice at possibly bringing him home,”

“just because they aren’t aware of you y/n doesn’t mean this will end well, it doesn’t mean you’re going to have a successful mission, it doesn’t-”

“Steve” you growled cutting him off, “you don’t think I know all of this, you don’t think I'm aware of  all the possible dangers that come with our job, I know what I'm going into, and right now I'm our only hope of bringing him home, if-”

“don’t think like that y/n”

“like I said I know what dangers this job can bring, and super soldier or not, you aren’t immortal, when do I leave?”

Steve didn’t want to send you in, just like he didn’t want to send Bucky but he knew you were the only one with a remote chance of getting in and getting the two of you out. In his mind there was just no other way, he just prayed you wouldn’t end up in the same predicament as his best-friend.

Your sendoff was much more different than Bucky’s, no one there to see you off, the member’s torn apart by the hard decision Steve had to make. You couldn’t blame them though, it was better like this, in your experience at least, you just hope unlike Bucky you would be coming home, and with him in tow.

You looked up at the ratty, worn down metal warehouse before looking back down at the location Steve had sent you of Bucky’s last seen ware abouts. Pocketing your device you made sure your holster was secured around your thigh, your knife and gun tucked away neatly. You took quick calculated steps towards the building, staying light on your feet, molding in with the shadows. You stopped abruptly when your device vibrated profusely from within the confines of your pants. Pulling it out you pressed it to your ears ducking, “what is it Steve, are you trying to give me away?” you hissed.

“the men have been taken care of y/n, just get Bucky out and bring him home,”

Your words caught in your throat, “w-what do you mean taken care of, this is the first place I came too, havent even come across any goons.”

Steve laughed on the other end, “we had some help,”

“so Bucky should be the only one I come across?” you questioned unbelieving it could really be this easy.

“from what we’ve gathered, yes, but still be watchful, I know you won’t have another pair of eyes to watch your back but I also know you’ll do just fine,”

A sigh left your lips, “for once I hope you’re right,” you muttered.

“Just get home safe, we’ll be waiting here for you and Barnes,”

“noted Rogers, see you in a minute,” you grinned though he couldn’t see it.

Steve chuckled before a click sounded from the device, you pocketed it, taking in a shuddering breath before your feet pushed you forward. Finding a side door, you pulled it open cringing when it squeaked on its rusty hinges. Leave it to Barnes to get caught and captured in a rundown warehouse, the whole building was screaming for someone to get caught. Rusty doors, a broken infrastructure, hell even the cemented floors had a squeak to them.

You continued to walk further into the darkened building the only guiding light was from the holes in the roof filtering in the moonlight. Not seeing any sign of other’s around you moved around faster, coming from the shadows to speed up your search. You kicked various doors in but found nothing except torn down rooms. The worry was beginning to creep on you, but you shook the feeling off intent on tearing this warehouse top to bottom if that’s what it took to find Bucky.

You were coming across the last door in the building and you worried that just like the others he wouldn’t be here either. Like the other’s before it this one was also locked, lifting your foot up and back you brought it down onto the weak structure, the door shattering under your foot, splinters of wood flying in every direction.

“fuck you’re a sight for sore eyes,”

You sagged in the doorway a breath of relief falling from your lips, “oh thank god you’re alright,” you breathed moving forward on shaky legs.

Bucky was suspended up, handcuffs bound tightly to his wrists, the toe of his boots scuffing the floor occasionally as he dangled.

You looked at the cuffs, his wrist bloody, “Jesus Buck how did you manage to get yourself into a predicament like this,” you questioned as you thought a way to get him down.

“I've been caught for a few days now babe, they only just managed to hold me down long enough to bring me out here and cuff me in this damn room, they had received word that you all were coming in for retrival and decided to move me before you all could get to them a mistake on their end if you ask me”

You shook your head, looking around the room for something to stand on, you weren’t sure how long his wrist could hold his weight up, and frankly you didn’t want to find out, “did they take out all the things for me to possibly stand on, why the hell did they choose such a shitty place to handcuff you too,” you groaned.

Bucky grinned, “would you have preferred they handcuff me to your bed?”

You stopped your search to whip your head around to stare at him, “I should just leave you there for joking about this, you had us all worried,” you muttered.

Buckys grin fell, “m’sorry sweetheart, just trying to make light of a shitty situation, thought it would make you smile.”

“well don’t Buck you-” you sucked in a shaky breath, “you had me worried, you should have never agreed to this mission, you should have never said you would take it,”

He raised a brow, “how did you know?” he questioned.

“Steve told me,” you murmured as you looked at his wrists, a frustrated sigh left your lips. There was nothing for you to climb on to get you to those cuffs, well nothing except for maybe Bucky, but even then the added weight will just have it chewing through his wrist that much quicker.

You moved toward him, “this may hurt,” you muttered as you threw a leg over his waist, your arms going around his neck as you hoisted yourself up, breasts pushed into his face. You hit him with your foot, “buck stop nuzzling my damn breasts, I'm trying to get you off,”

“you’re messing with the wrong thing if you want to do that sweetheart,” he murmured biting at your chest.

A groan fell from your lips, “buck, babe seriously, I need to get you down your right wrist is bleeding and all you can do right now is think with your head downstairs?”  

“can you blame a man, sweetheart, it's been 8 days without you, and the first thing I'm greeted with is your breasts in my face, I can die happily now,” he grinned nipping at your skin again, “ow fuck, okay, I'll stop” he grunted when you sent him another kick to his backside.

“good” you muttered, as you worked on freeing his right wrist, it took you awhile but after searching through yours and Buckys body you finally found something promising to poke through the key whole, it took a few seconds before his bloodied wrist was falling free from the confines of the cuff the hand wrapping itself around you waist. You immediately slid across his body to the other side, “god doll,” he murmured his face pushing into your chest again, “you have no idea how much I missed you,”

“I’m pretty sure I have an idea,” you grunted feeling his hardness, “buck stop moving goddamnit, I'm trying to get you free here,”

A growl was leaving his lips, his left hand whirred under yours a crack sounding through the room as he pulled down the wooden bar he had been cuffed too splitting. You both tumbled to the ground his body falling on top of yours, a pained groan leaving your lips at the impact, “fuck why didn’t you just do that before,” you huffed wincing at the pain that shot up your back.

He doesn’t say a word as he closes the distance between you his lips pressing to your roughly, a moan is leaving his lips at the feel of yours against his. Your fingers tangle in his long locks, bringing him closer tongues dancing with one another. He pushes you into the cement below your back, desperate to feel you, to be close to you.

“missed you so much doll,” he murmurs as he pulls away to run his lips over the rest of you he can reach. Sucking in a breath of air, a moan falls from your lips as Bucky finds his way down to your neck, nipping at the” sensitive skin there. Your hands slide down to his chest, trying to push him up but he won’t budge, “buck,” you moan body arching, “we need to go, we can finish this when we get home, let’s get you home baby,” you groaned as he sucked at the skin of your neck.

He’s not listening as his hands slide down your body fingers working the button of your pants open, hand sliding past your panties, finger seeking out your warmth. “Fuck Bucky please,” you moan as his fingers expertly find your aching bundle. He nips at your chin, fingers circling your clit, your body arching as your body thrums with pleasure.

“need you baby,” he whispers, “don’t want to wait till we get home to have you writhing under me,”

Your pussy is clenching at his words, the words doing things to you, “please,” your moaning again, though your not sure what your asking for.  

“tell me what you want baby,” he sounds wrecked and you’re not even doing anything to him.

His fingers sliding into your heat have all coherent thoughts flying out the window, fuck me you thought.

“you want me to fuck you baby?” he whispers leaning down to nip at you ear.

Shit, you had said that out loud in your pleasurable haze, it’s not like the team was waiting for you outside, and fuck if you hadn’t been hot and horny the entire time he had been gone. Throwing caution to the wind you lean up to press your mouth to his tongue sliding against his, lips moving needily against one another.

You slide your hands between your bodies, fingers searching for the button of his pants. The little space between your bodies has Bucky growling into you lips as he pushes up his hand slapping yours away as he works his own pants down, cock springing free from the confines of his pants. Your tongue runs over your bottom lip.

“like what you see sweetheart,” he grins pumping himself a few times, the tip running over you wet folds.

Another plea falls from your lips as he lines himself up with your entrance sinking in slowly, low groans falling from both of your mouths.

Bucky’s head falls back feeling your pussy clench around his aching member, “fuck that feels so good,” he hisses through gritted teeth. He falls forward forehead pressing against yours, his warm breath fanning across your face. Your eyes are staring deeply into one another, a desperate need growing from within you feeling his cock throb inside of your warmth. Your arms wrap around his shoulders, “fuck me buck, I need you,” your moaning against his lips.

His hips pull back slowly, his cock dragging within you leaving behind a delicious burn, he's just at the tip before he’s slamming back in. The pace he sets is relentless, your body sliding against the cemented floor, low hisses falling from your lips at the burn. His hips are driving into you, hands keeping you in place as he fucks up into you. You cling into him, head buried in his shoulder, moans of his name falling from your lips.

His thrusts are wild, desperate, muscles tense under your fingers that keep you bound to him. You had never had Bucky like this, so desperate, needy, out of control, you’d be lying if you said this didn’t do things for you.

Your close and Bucky can tell, your walls clenching around him tightly as he draws your wound up body closer to release, “you going to cum for me sweetheart, cum all over my cock?” he questions fingers sliding down to circle your aching clit.

A loud moan is falling from your lips at not only his fingers but also his words, fuck if that isn't the hottest thing you’d ever heard fall from his sinful lips.

“Cum for me y/n, come on baby cum for me,” he moans into your ear, licking over the shell of it, that’s all it takes for him to have you falling apart in his arms. Your back arches, chest pressing into his as your orgasm takes over your body. The moans falling from your lips is enough to send him over as well, his warmth filling you up, “fuck y/n!” he groans continuing to fuck you through both your orgasms.

He slumps forward body crushing yours, face nuzzling your neck as he breathes you in, “I really did miss you sweetheart,” he murmurs.

Your fingers find their way into his hair scratching at his scalp, “I missed you too Buck,” you whispered pressing a kiss to his head, “can we agree to never do this again,”

“Won’t promise, but I'll try my hardest,” he replies picking up his weary head to look at you.

Your fingers run over his face, “I’ll take that,” you murmur pressing your lips to his.

Part 12

Behind The Screen Tag-list: @ladifreakingda @georgialeighc13 @racewife2004​ @multy-fandom-lover​ @otvlanga​ @sailorstupidsblog​ @n1ghtsh4d3-67​ @wantingtobekorra​ @gazzan-a​ @clarinette07​ @amanda-the-fangirl​ @im-sure-its-fine​ @sagechanoafterdark​ @heyywestman @runaway-escape​ @ilovesupersoldiers​  @unlistedpond​ @rayofdawnworld​ @badassbaker​ @spookyanairwin​ @fandom-basurero​ @krabby-tentacles​ @sassy-pelican​ @lizlepuffs​ @jaywolf840​ @xoasalxo @buckys-plums3​ @buchanansebba​

[bokutosbestie2]

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!!

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

The room grew silent after I smacked the boy. Kenma pulled my shoulder back as I waited for the boy to respond. " You little b- " He said as he holds his face with one hand. All of a sudden he was running towards me but Kenma grabbed his arm. " Touch her I dare you. " Kenma said seriously As the two boys, we glaring each other down Oikawa and the others came to see what was happening. As I stood there hiding behind Kenma. Akashi, Suga, Kuroo, and Bokuto moved in front of me. " Ok cat boy...what are you gonna do hit me too, " the blonde boy said with a grin. " Atsumu! Stop let it go " a boy who looked like him said. " No OSUMU no one touches me especially their kind. They disgust me with their filthy animals. " Atsumu said Once he finishes speaking Astumu threw a punch at Kenma. Which causes Kenma to let go of his wrist. " Now you have done it. " Kuroo said as he was ready to hit Atsumu. " AH, KENMA ARE YOU OK? " I yelled at him as I saw his check bleeding. " Yea I'm fine," he said in a monotone voice. " BS HE JUST HIT YOU, " Kuroo said Kuroo went up to Atsumu out of frustration " Touch any of us...  you and your little friends will be sorry " Kuroo said as he holds in his anger. " Shut up! You have no right of talking to me that way. " Atsumu said angrily. " ATSUMU STOP IT! " Oikawa punched him. " Damn WHO SIDE ARE YOU ON? " he yelled " This was ALL your DAMN FAULT YOUR THE ONE who INTERFERED WITH THAT THING. " Oikawa yelled. My heart dropped.. " that thing " I suddenly was angry. " Shittykawa GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF! " Iwa said " Oh this just keeps getting better and better.. " Tendou said with a smirk. " Why are you laughing. " I said as the attention was now on me. " You stated this Bs. I saw you whispering something to Atsumu. " I say angrily " Oh Who me? " Tendou said playing dumb. " I don't know what's your problem but cut it out. Actually all of you, this is why we can't get along with one another. " I say yelling at all the monsters. " Bs it's you GUYS, all of you think you're so much better than us. " Atsumu yelled " I'm not wasting my breath on talking to any of you. I hope your happy about ruining every thing. " I said as I stormed out of the ballroom. " Y/N! " Suga said as he chased me down. " Screw this I'm out of here! Come on Guys!" Kuroo said Kenma, Akashi, and Bokuto followed him out the door.

As I walked out tears began to fall. Why I'm I crying? Was I crying the fact Oikawa called me " that thing ".

I was lost in thought until Suga taps on my shoulder. " What's wrong? Why are you crying?! " he said worriedly. At first, I was hesitant to tell him it was because Oikawa called me " that thing", but I decided to tell him. " Well remember when  Oikawa called me " that thing ". I said " YEA THAT WAS A TOTAL JERK MOVE! I THOUGHT YALL WERE DATING? " Suga said in shock. " NO! WE ARENT DATING " " Then WHY are YOU CRYING? If you " Don't like him " you shouldn't be crying. " he said as he raises an eyebrow. " I mean, I do like him but.. IDK IM CONFUSED SUGA! " I say frustrated. Suga sighed. Then all of sudden two tall figures were behind me and Suga. " Um y/n.. " the familiar voice said. " What do you want Oikawa... " I say irritated. " Um, can we have a moment Alone? " Oikawa asked both Suga and Iwa.

" Uh, sure we will just wait outside... " Suga said as Iwa followed him. " I'm sorry I didn't want to call you " that thing ". I just had pretended along with it." Oikawa said sadly. I turned around to look at him, I was still angry. " You know how much that hurt! " I say as tears ran down my face. I stood there with tears until Oikawa comes up to me kneels down on one knee as he reaches for my right hand. He stood there in the marriage proposal style. " I promise you till the day I die I will never call you that again. " I looked into his eyes.. he seemed serious about it. " Ok good. " I say as my nose gets stuffed up from all the crying.

This is Tendous pov earlier when y/n stormed out.

As everyone left the ballroom, I was stuck here with the others. " Good job Atsumu! " Osumu rolled his eyes at him. " You guys are a bunch of idiots. " Oikawa said mad. " Why do you sound so defensive? " Atsumu said " Yea why do you... " I grinned at Oikawa " Isn't this supposed to be a peace treaty sort of party?! " " Oikawa do you really think we will ever get along? " Osamu said laughing. " If you want my actually answer I do.  Now excuse me.. " Oikawa stormed out of the ballroom. "  Let me talk to some sense into him," Iwa said bowing down as he chased after Oikawa. " Hmmm, Atsumu you want to see where Oikawa is going? " I looked at him. " No, I don't care about that jerk. I'm leaving now come on Osamu. " Atsumu also left with Osamu. Everyone was leaving but I didn't.. I had a weird feeling about Oikawa. I leave the room but followed Oikawa's scent. Suddenly I hear talking, so I hid behind a statue. I peeked a little to only see Oikawa hugging the girl who slapped Atsumu. I knew he was hiding something but I didn't think it was going to be this big!! After seeing this sight I leave as quickly and silent. To tell the others of what sight I saw.

Now we are Back to Y/N pov after Oikawa apologized.

" See keep smiling like that " Oikawa touched my cheek as he stood up from being in one knee. " Should we go outside now? They have been out there for a while. " I say worried "Yea let's go see those crazies " Oikawa laughed. We left the palace and we see Suga talking to Iwa.

" OH, THEIR BACK! " Suga smirked " Yea we are! " I stick my tongue out at Suga. " SHITTYKAWA you TOOK AGES " Iwa yelled at Oikawa. " IWA-Chan YOU DONT NEED TO BE MEAN! " he pouts. " OH Y/N!! YOU HAVENT MET IWA-Chan properly!! " Oikawa said happily. " Ah, you must be the famous Y/N! " Iwa smiled at me. " Ah well nice to meet you again! Sorry for bumping into you in the ballroom. " I say smiling. " Ah, no need to worry it was an accident... My name is Iwaizumi Hajime but you can call me Iwa too! " he said with a big smile. Oh wow, he such a gentleman. " I guess you have met Suga but Oikawa you haven't met Suga!! " I say looking back at Oikawa. "Ah-So this is the boy y/n keeps talking about. "Suga laughed " Well Oikawa my name is Koshi Sugawara, but call me Suga," he said as he greeted Oikawa. " WELL PERFECT NICE MEETING YOU!! " Oikawa yelled. " So are you still down to come with me tonight! " Oikawa lifted his eyebrows. " Suga we will take good care of her we will make sure no one knows she is Angel! " Oikawa begged at Suga. " I trust you guys, it's up to Y/N! " Suga said looking at me. " Hey if your fine with me going then I'm going! " I tell Suga. " Don't worry Suga! We will bring back into one piece " Iwa said laughing. " Ok, then you guys should get going! I'm going to try to find Kuroo and the others to see if they're ok! They should be tho their strong Angels. " Suga said

" Ok, then Bye now!! I'll be back soon!! " I waved at Suga. The two boys also waved bye to Suga, We left the palace before we knew it we were walking to the river of gold.

" IWA-CHAN HOW DO YOU LIKE y/n SO FAR! " Oikawa said as he grabbed my arm.

" SHEEZ Oikawa you almost made me TRIP! " I yell at him.

" I like her already! She doesn't treat you like how the other girls on the other side treat you. " Iwa said laughing.

" OH, I WANNA HEAR THIS?! HOW ARE THE OTHER GIRLS?! "

" HE HAS A BUNCH OF CRAZY FANGIRLS BECAUSE HE IS THE PRINCE.  THEY ALL PRAISE HIM ITS SO FUNNY!! " Iwa chuckled as he spoke

" HAHA OIKAWA FANGIRLS?! " I also say laughing.

" AH, YOU GUYS ARE MEAN?! " Oikawa said

" YEAH WHATEVER SHITTYKAWA! "

" WHY ARE YOU SO VULGAR! "

As I saw these two bicker I couldn't help but smile. They were such good friends with one another.

" Ok, We are HERE AT THE BRIDGE~ "

" OIKAWA STOP YELLING YOU ARE GOING TO CATCH SOMEONES ATTENTION! " Iwa said as he whispered.

" Hey before we cross put your cloak on so they don't see your wings.. " Iwaizumi said

" Ok let me put it on. "

I put on the cloak... I was ready to go to see the other side.

" ALRIGHT, GUYS I'M READY!! " I say with excitement.

All three of us cross the bridge then we head towards the path to the other side.

As we pass through the forest I see a palace from afar. " Oh wow, that looks so pretty?! " I say with excitement.

"That's where I and IWA live... " Oikawa said proudly.

" Hey keep your Cloak on, We can't let anyone see you on this side, or else we are going to be in big trouble! " IWA said as he put the hoodie on my head.

" Oh ok! " I nod my head at Iwa.

" Ok, you guys wait here!! IMMA GET MATTSU AND MAKI " Oikawa said as he left us in the garden. It was just me and Iwaizumi.. There was a silence for a while until Iwaizumi broke it. " I'm surprised," he said. " Why are you surprised? " I said confused. " I haven't seen Oikawa trust someone else besides me in a long time," he said laughing " Oh? I- THAT'S A GOOD THING RIGHT? " Why a long time? I don't want to ask much. " Yes, it is! He was right you are special. The way you stood up for yourself at the party. Pretty impressive Princess! " He smirked at me. His smirked caught me off guard. " SHEEZ it was nothing, I was just standing up for What I believe! AND IF THEY DONT LIKE IT they can suck it up. " I say " Well don't worry I have the same beliefs as you but you saw how stubborn some of them were. Which is why it's so hard to change.. "  he said worriedly. " Well, first I'm glad you have the same beliefs as me. The second change is hard for many, it make take a while but we shouldn't stop trying because others don't like it. One day that change will grow on those who don't like it right now. Nothing lasts forever! Always remember that! " I smiled at Iwa, he seemed pretty shocked for some reason.

All of a sudden he started laughing.

" Oikawa is such a lucky guy. " he smiled at me.

Huh?!

Chapter 7

[alicemitch09writes]

i realised i havent talked abt the recent chapters (mostly the last two so if it’s not too much trouble, lemme just react to it right now since im just very 😐😒😕🥴⁉️🤡⁉️😬😬😬⁉️⁉️⁉️🤡🤡⁉️⁉️⁉️ at atsumu right now)

though i am greatly moved about tsumu’s (character) development and his prowl to make it up, i am just so,,,,,,,, SO irked about it (not you, though. never at you or the way you wrote it. this is purely my thoughts on like the story? the characters yknow.... they do make my emotions act up so)

perhaps it’s my personal feelings about him not even acknowledging his mistakes and already doing things to try and “make it up” to us. the thing i hate the most in this world is not knowing where i stood with people. there was just so many miscommunications and things left unsaid between tsumu and the reader. and despite osamu’s rant (SERIOUSLY can piss hair listen!! he’s NEVER SAID sorry, and THAT is where the problem LIES you big dummy!!!) like he’s really... doing the most for someone who’s emotionally scarred reader. like i don’t even hate him and i think it’s great that he’s at least trying but.. that complete 180 is bringing me to my knees in frustration, resentment, and anger. because what, what in the world can his actions do now for the reader except confuse the shit out of them? and please, more than anything, in this case, the reader does deserve an apology and various explanations for every shitty things he’s said and did.

i don’t care. it was mentioned in the story how he’s always done this type of “apology” and reader lets him but in this scenario, i really just cannot stand it. like, HUH? now?? it’s so emotionally draining to never know where you stood with people. it’s in reader’s reaction too every time piss hair opens his big ass mouth. every rooted insecurity and weariness came because of his stupidity. and suddenly it’s different now?? it makes me feel played, disregarded and humiliated to read it. it feels like my feelings do not matter to piss hair at all. i don’t even know if im explaining this correctly or what but. yea,,,, piss hair is not very cool right now. there’s just a huge disconnect between his thoughts of acknowledging his fuck up and going on a roundabout way to try and “fix it”.

also, him being emotionally hurt? him being all, “i wish that was me”? him being all “i want that with you too” GET THAT, asshole! that’s DESERVED. :) cos guess what, THAT could’ve been you too, WE could’ve been that close too, but YOU were the one who put that divide on us that I have been feeling since the very start while you blissfully lived your everyday life. and while i DO understand, i DO get. this is just something i can’t accept. tip toeing and feeling like you’re walking on thin ice,,,, it’s exhausting. it’s so, so emotionally exhausting and overwhelming. and such a heavy burden in my chest. for this, i cannot forgive atsumu if he doesn’t address it, ever. 😬 oop— anyways! no more piss hair slander! but i do believe in osamu supremacy! also as a manager in reader’s pov, i am totally playing favourites with suna <3

okie that’s it i got way too carried away 😭 your writing is truly spectacular AS ALWAYS ‼️‼️ keep messing with everyone’s emotions and also your answers regarding the ending scares me JUST A TINY BIT OKAY?! just A BIT! but i will wait patiently. and if there’s anything i know from your past works, it STILL should be an ending wherein it satisfies and gives justice to the story and your claims of angst with a happy ending. so keep giving me an emotional rollercoaster... really, i don’t think ive had enough from this. really 🤡 HHHHHHH i hope your day went well! and as for the remaining hours of your day, i hope nothing goes wrong <3 - 🎨

i hope your day went well! and as for the remaining hours of your day, i hope nothing goes wrong <3 

well, my sister went out to mcdonald’s earlier and asked me what i wanted. so i told her fries and coffee float. she left at 04:30, it’s now 06:36, and i have a melted but still good coffee float....sooooo, guess who might not get her sleep today? :D

haha oh well

your anger towards the foot is completely valid (albeit, a bit scary haha). teenagers really rally so much on their emotions that it tends to just cause so much misery in the long run. i guess it know makes sense why YA novels focus on this age group (the dialogue tho wtf).

i do hope you all will like the ending! it’s a route i’ve never tried before. well, actually that’s a lie, i did use it before but ended up making a new one just cause. 

if you have an inkling, SHHHHHH!!!

[strigiiformes]

Uuuh can i get 10, 16 and 21?

10. what frustrates you the most as a writer

well before i hit refresh and LOST EVERYTHING ID TYPED FOR THIS ASK it was stuff like characters being funnier than you. and not knowing how to end things. and forgetting what happens in canon

BUT NOW IT’S HOW MUCH I HATE IT WHEN YOU REFRESH AND LOSE EVERYTHING BECAUSE YOURE BIG STUPID AND TYPE DIRECTLY INTO TUMBLR LIKE A LOSER. IVE LOST ENTIRE FICS THAT WAY. AND I JUST LOST ALL THE STUFF FOR THIS KJBGMKSJBGUHEWGYLOUY >:CCCCC

baby rage i hate it here. anyways

16. any ideas you wanted to write but never did

deep inhale. i had them all typed out. i had them all typed out. oh my gosh. take two.

anyways WILD LAUGHTER BOY DO I HAVE PLENTY OF THOSE. this is an open invitation to come poke me about any of these. bullet pointed because why not

missing scenes from 3.1 before they free quirin (varian and raps just. talking i guess?) and then varian adn quirin talking afterwards. mostly ditched this because important conversations are hard. ew talking

one in nltl where cass actually does get varian with the sword. i LOVE this idea im gonna write it i swear i will - i made an attempt very early on and it stalled and i didnt like it but im more confident in the fandom now. so . expect this sometime? in the future? it’s just shameless hurting and comforting. thats it thats the fic

that one really long idea where varian and eugene go on the run - it was a lot of fun to talk about with u but idk about writing it ,,, long ideas scare me pfft

oh YEAH that idea i had about varian in jail and arianna visiting him. that was before i watched s2 or s3 so pretty sure that would be AU. there was sickfic in there somewhere. it was glorious. f for that idea

varian and eugene talking about fears? or something? in 3.9. dont remember what i wanted to do with this one frankly

eugene in 3.1 right before he frees raps and varian from the cell. this one wouldve been basically just his thoughts about like. varian’s redemption

ruddiger but more flavoured like if he were an emotional support animal. wouldve been short scenes tied together. probably going to write this? at some point? get back with me later id need to do a little research

5 times raps carried varian and 1 he carries her. mix of funny/fluffy and super whumpy probably. idk i havent thought more about it than literally that sentence

not much i can talk about s&m planning here but i WILL say im going to write a sickfic for it set in a downtime much later on in the story. it’s going to be amazing and i cant wait to sit down and actually write it. is it really an AU with me if there’s not a sickfic in it at some point. the answer is no. no it isnt

if i knew how to write long multichapter fics i would do the prison barge varian idea i had in a HEARTBEAT. id move that episode earlier in the season and give him redemption and we’d get both varian in s2 AND all the fun redemption based stuff later like nltl. galaxy brain. if only, huh

varian wrangling deaged raps/eugene/cass/lance if only because it would be hilarious. and probably really cute

he succeeds in actually wiping everyones memories. probably 2-3 chapters. angst for a bit at the beginning then just. h/c probably. too bad i dont like multichapters - basically most of my inhibitions are 1) im scared of it so i dont write it 2) lazy

also considering writing short selfcontained scenes from some of the AUs ive spitballed. the modern ghost one. icarus. mermaid. newsies. whatever else we talked about bro i . it’s all hazy KJFHKJ. considered drawing for these too. idk man i just *holds them* love them

and then of course always thinking about those fics that have no actual plot and are just an excuse to shove all my favorite whump tropes into a thing. those are . my bread and butter. kicks that around i guess. watch me ignore all my actual ideas for more of this kind of h/c stuff LOL

21. favorite writing advice to share

PROBABLY write whatever you want. write like no one’s watching. if you catch yourself worrying about a detail ask yourself if its actually worth worrying about, laugh at urself, cast it aside like the lameo thing it is, and move on. chances are its not worth it LOL. chances are nobody will notice anyways. life is too short for that B)

[bourbonboredom]

A Reason To Believe Chapter 6

Being an undercover officer is a perilous job and Flip Zimmerman knows this far too well. He keeps his romantic life limited to one-night stands, never letting anyone get too close. That all starts to change when he meets a vivacious Jewish woman named Elle just as he’s about to take on a seriously dangerous  undercover job; infiltrating the KKK. Elle and his undercover work make him question things he’d never thought to before and challenge him to see the world, and himself, in a whole new light.

A Flip x OC Fic

Word Count: 4,339

Warnings:  brief N$FW moment, brief mention of violence

When I'm with you

It doesn't matter where we are

Or what we're doing

I'm with you, that's all that matters

(x)

Flip was surprised when he ran his tongue over his lip and it brushed his mustache. He was trying to get a stray crumb but instead was met with the taste of pussy. Elle's pussy. Guess he missed a spot when washing his face that morning. He fought back a grunt as the tartness melted on his tongue, a reminder of his night. And the night before that. And the night before that.

After he'd spent that first night over in Elle's apartment, he was there almost every night for the next few weeks. The only time he elected to stay at his own place was when his undercover case had him up at weird hours. He'd go back to his lonely apartment, sad to sleep in an empty bed. He used to purposefully wake up before his date, prying himself from their bed and leaving before they even noticed.

He was a big guy and would prefer to have the bed to himself. But the way Elle's body curled up next to his just felt right. He'd wake up to the smell of her hair and the feeling of silky skin under his hand. If anything, it made it harder to leave in the morning. But he could control himself, he assured himself. They both had jobs to do, no sleeping in allowed.

He'd be fine at work most of the day, paperwork kept his mind busy. But little things brought his thoughts back to Elle. He'd catch a whiff of her perfume on his collar, or a stray piece of hair on his shirt, or her cum in his mustache.

He'd fought he urge to call her the first week and a half or so. He'd see her later in the day, there was no point of stopping what he was doing to call over to the hospital. It wasn't until his job kept him from seeing her for three days did he finally swallow his pride and call.

Jimmy had caught him at his desk. Flip thought everyone had gone to lunch, and used it as an excuse to 'call the hospital' to 'get more info on Kukowski's medical status'.

"You're smilin' an awful lot to be asking about a perp's condition," His partners eyebrows were raised as he clutched his coffee mug.

"It's confidential, if you'll excuse me for a minute," He put his hand over the phone so Elle couldn't hear, though the giggling in the background made him think she still could.

"You're talking to that cute nurse aren't you?" Jimmy's smile took up his whole face.

Flip furrowed his brow.

"Thank you for the update ma'am, have a nice day," He put on his authoritative voice, making Elle laugh harder on the other end.

"Alright officer, you too. I'll see you at the diner tonight," She responded before the line disconnected.

He hung up the phone and stood up to get more coffee from the break room.

"Get all the information you needed detective Zimmerman?" His partner called behind him, voice full of smug glee.

He was just met with a middle finger as Flip left the room.

——

"I wanna take you out," He mumbled against her breast.

Post-coitus, Flip had taken to resting his head on her chest. It gave her easy access to run her fingers through his hair, and let him use her breasts as pillows as he came down from his high.

"Like a date? We were just at the diner yesterday," She reminded him.

"No, like a real date. We can go to this nice Italian place on my side of town. They have candles on the tables and they dim the lights and stuff,"

"I mean if you want to. I don't think I've been on a real date in like a year," She mused, fingers scraping along his scalp in a soothing motion. He was practically purring under her touch.

“I’d say it’s just about time then,”

“When was the last time you went on a date? A real one, not picking up a girl at a bar,” She turned her head so she could look at him.

Her curls, which had been fanned across the pillow moments before, were gathered in to a braid and thrown over her shoulder. He was playing with the end of it, dragging the hair across her skin and watching her try not to act ticklish.

“I don’t know, maybe a couple of years ago?”

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t like the question, but why aren’t you married?”

His head rose from her chest as he propped himself up with his elbows. He looked at her, analyzing her face as he thought about how to answer.

“I am married. You’re my mistress, didn’t you know?”

“Phillip,” She rolled her eyes. “I’m serious. You’re a great guy, respectful, good in bed, you got a good job, I can’t figure out how you haven’t been snatched up,”

“I’m married to my job is the short answer. Being on the force is hard. I work long hours, I can’t always be there, and I have to keep a lot of secrets,” He bit at his lip as he thought of what he wanted to say next.

There were some things he wasn’t quite ready to share with her, mainly that he was an undercover officer and not just a regular guy on the force. If they were truly keeping things casual, he wanted to keep her away from the more dangerous aspects of his job. If they kept this going and got more serious, he pledged to himself to have an honest conversation about his position, and what it could mean for their relationship.

“I had a long time girlfriend when I joined the force. Linda. We started dating right before I was accepted at the academy. She helped me through it, staying up studying with me, going to my graduation. My mom kept asking me when I was going to propose. I thought I wanted to, maybe in the next year or so. But police work kept getting harder. I’d be working long nights, had to cancel a few dates. Linda was okay with it at first, but it kept happening. I’d try to make it up to her, but I was new to the team and a lot of the grunt work would fall on me. Eventually she broke up with me, said she couldn’t take it anymore. She never knew where I was or if I was safe or whether she was going to see me that night. I understood, tried to tell her it would get better, but I knew I couldn't make her happy anymore,”

“So I kept on with work, tried dating a few other girls after that but it was the same problem. They wanted me home for dinner every night and being a detective just doesn’t allow for that. Flings have just been easier,”

He didn’t realize he’d looked away from her while speaking, vulnerability bubbling up in his chest as he spoke. He looked back at her to see she’d been watching him the whole time. Her brow was slightly furrowed and her eyes tinged with sadness.

“I’m sorry that happened,” She started. “You deserve someone who understands,”

“You have pretty well,” He offered.

“My job is just similar is all. Long shifts, late nights. It’s a pain in the ass to work around, you just gotta find the right person. I thought I had, back in Indiana. I was seeing this guy, Abe. He worked at the university nearby and never complained about my job. He was the first guy who didn’t immediately try to get me to quit and become a housewife. He seemed to get that my job was important to me, that I really love what I do,”

“But?” Flip asked. Elle sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

“But once I got the opportunity to come work here in Colorado things started to change. Abe even talked about moving with me at one point, him getting a job at a state college down here. But the closer the moving date got, the more keen to stay in Indiana he was. It was just talk to him, a fantasy. He never really intended on moving, and never thought i’d actually want to go. When he realized what I really wanted, he begged me to stay with him. He gave me his grandmother’s wedding ring and asked me to marry him,”

“He didn’t really know you all that well then, huh?”

“No, I guess not,” Elle let out a dry laugh. “If I wanted to marry him, I would have by then. I think he thought it was romantic, a sweeping declaration of love. It really just cemented my decision to leave. I gave him the ring back and told him I was sorry. I took a Greyhound to here a week later,”

“I guess we’re both married to out jobs then,” Flip set his head back down on her chest.

“I do have to wear white everyday,” She noted, stifling a laugh. He chuckled at her joke along with her.

“We don’t have to worry about labels or anything right now. We’re just two busy adults having a good time with one another. No weddings or family heirlooms involved,” He assured her, his hand reaching up to play with the pendant sitting near the hollow of her throat.

“You’re the only guy I’m seeing right now,” He could feel the vibrations from her voice as she spoke. “I’m okay with this being more casual, but I thought you should know,”

“You’re the only girl I’m seeing right now,” He left out the part where even if there were others, he’d drop them in an instant to be with her. He knew he should take it slow, for both their sake, but he couldn't help but feel this was a little more emotionally invested than just having a good time together.

“Wow, we’re really bad at this,” She teased.  “So, as two casual-but-currently-monogamous professionals, when is the best time for us to go on a date?,”

“Maybe Saturday night after you get off work? I can pick you up,” He knew he'd be meeting ‘the organization’ at Felix's house earlier that day. It would be his first meeting with the whole bunch, but he didn't expect it to last into the night.

“Only if we go dutch with the check,” She pointed at him.

"Of course," his palm rubbed against her bare breast catching her nipple. “Now do you think we can fit one more round in before midnight?”

She gasped under his touch, giving him a sly smirk before pulling him into round three for the night.

-------

If Flip knew he was going to spend his Saturday being forced to take a lie detector test at gunpoint, listen to his partner throw a rock through the window of a klansman's house, and then have to chase after said klansman to make sure his partner wasn't shot, he would have chosen a different night for his date with Elle.

But here he was, heart rate still trying to even itself as he drove home hours later. He would've been fine if Ron didn't throw a rock through the window of Felix's house. He would’ve talked his way out somehow. What was he even thinking? A black man instigating an attack while the house was crawling with armed white supremacists? He'd spoken to him about it at the station after he left Felix's, it didn't go great.

Ron was more focused on trying to make Flip impassioned about the cause. Trying to get him to feel the same way as he did, even though that wasn't him. He didn't let personal stuff get in the way of his work, he couldn't if he wanted to do a good job.

“Doesn’t that hatred you’ve been hearing the Klan say doesn’t that piss you off?” Ron had asked him in the dimly lit records room before they headed out for the weekend.

“Of course it does,” He’d responded. It was an easy question to answer, but it felt much more complicated under the surface.

“Then why you acting like you ain’t got skin in the game, brother?”

The Rookie’s words were frustrating. He didn’t understand what it was like for Flip growing up. His family pushing away their religion and their culture to fit in, until they were left with nothing but a name and some disregarded family heirlooms hidden away in the closet. Him never feeling like he really fit in with his Christian classmates, but also unable to relate to any Jewish people he met. He was always stuck in some middle ground, somewhere between what his parents wanted him to be and what they tried to keep from him.

Of course he had skin in the game, when the Klan talked about hating Jews, they were talking about his family. They were talking about Eliana. They were talking about him. Ron wasn’t considering how maybe it was so easy for him to slip into the roll of ‘White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, cherry pie, hot dog, white boy’ because it was all he ever knew. It’s not like he’s parading around with these racists and heading on home to Shabbat after, he knew nothing about the culture the Klan hated him for being apart of.

“Rookie, that’s my fucking business,” He gritted out, making direct eye contact with Ron. He didn’t want to talk about this anymore, especially not with his partner.

“It’s our business,” Ron responded.

Fuck that. He left him standing there in the back of the room as he lit a cigarette. It’d help calm him down.

Flip took a deep breath in an attempt to clear out all feelings from his work. He decided to focus on the night ahead. A date with Elle. A real date with Elle. He'd picked out his clothes earlier that day, his nerves getting the better of him. The black slacks and white polyester shirt were lying on his bed with a pair of dress shoes on the floor.

He slipped out of his work clothes and took a quick shower before re-dressing, his large hands buttoning the shirt with a practiced ease. He took a look in the mirror, smoothing down his damp hair into his usual center part before adjusting his cuffs.

All he could think when he looked at his reflection was of Felix pointing the gun to his head. It wasn't the first time it had happened. He'll, he'd been to war before he was on the force. And he'd been an undercover officer for the last three years, he'd had his fair share of close calls. But this was different. That gun wasn't to his head because of something completely out of his control; his heritage. Something he didn't even see as a big part of him.

What would have happened if they somehow found out who he really was? Would he have been shot over something so trivial? Was it trivial if someone wanted to kill him over it? He wasn't even a practicing Jew. But would that have mattered?

He laced up the dress shoes and shrugged on his sherpa jacket before leaving his quiet apartment to pick up his date. He tried hard to push his work out of his mind, turning up the radio to let a Chicago song take up the overworked parts of his brain.

Time passes much too quickly 

When we're together laughing

I wish I could sing it to you, oh no

I wish I could sing it to you

He pulled up to Elle's right as she was walking out the front door. She beamed as she saw his car pull up. He put it in park and was about to climb out to open the door for her when she yelled over for him to stay inside.

Perplexed, he sat in the drivers seat as she got in the car and settled in the passengers side.

"You don't need to get out of the car just to get back in, I can open a dumb door by myself," She explained, giving him a peck on the cheek after.

"If you insist," He caught her face before she turned away, pulling her into a longer kiss on the lips.

She hummed with content as his lips pressed against hers, an emotion he felt himself. The world disappeared for a second, his problems evaporating when he could smell her perfume permeating the air around them.

They broke apart and it took him a moment to drift back to reality. With one hand on the wheel and one hand resting with hers in the median, he drove off toward their destination.

Giuseppe's Italian Restaurant was a tiny whole-in-the-wall joint, with decor that hadn't been updated since they opened in 1940. But they had some of the best reviews in the city.

Flip let Elle get out of the car on her own, taking a good look at her outfit for the night. Her hair was down, her dark curls contrasting against her fair skin. Her necklace rested against her clavicle as always. She was wearing a floral dress, made of a flowing material. The neckline was tight and plunged, showing a fair amount of skin, but the skirt came to mid-calf and was gathered. It wasn't something he'd ever picture her wearing but she looked fantastic.

"A dress?" He placed his hand on her lower back as they walked toward the entrance. "Weren't you just protesting by wearing pants to work?"

"I'm not at work, am I? I can clean up nice from time to time," She wore a sly smile as they were escorted to their table.

Wine was ordered with dinner, the plates of food so big that they had to move the candle to the side of the small table. Everything was going great, the two of them talking in hushed tones and laughing in not-so hushed ones. They picked off each other's plates, earning the occasional side-eye from some of the more refined diners. Elle would raise an eyebrow at them and they'd turn their attention back to their own table.

He was about to take another bite of pasta when he saw a man walk by the window who looked awfully familiar. Blonde hair, slight build, gaunt face, Felix-like. Flips blood suddenly ran cold. His eyes trained on the front window as the man walked by, trying to get a better look at him.

The man walked by, not bothering to look inside the restaurant. After a few seconds of studying his face, Flip determined it wasn't Felix. He breathed a sigh of relief, trying to yet again push the image of a gun to his head out of his mind.

"Flip?" He heard his voice called.

He turned his head back to the table to see Elle staring at him, brow furrowed. She'd rested her hand on top of his, something he hadn't even felt her do.

"You drifted for a moment there, are you feeling okay?" She asked.

“Yeah, just thought I saw someone from work, sorry about that,"

"Do you want to leave? We can eat the rest of this later if you'd like,"

"No, no, let's finish our date. I'm fine, really," He squeezed her hand, hoping to reassure her.

She gave him a look before continuing to eat. They filled the next couple of minutes with small talk, his mind still half at work as he thought about what happened at Felix's.

"Tell me more about your family," He found himself saying.

"Uh, what do you want to know?" She asked, looking at him with uncertainty.

"Why did they come to America? You said it was before the way right? Why America?"

"It's the land of opportunity. Coming from 1930s Germany, where they weren't even considered to be citizens, America was a paradise,"

"How were they not citizens?"

"Jews weren't citizens under the Nuremberg laws. Even if they'd lived in the country for generations, like my family. Before the war even started, dozens of restrictions were put on Jews to prevent them from contributing. We had to identify our businesses, we had to be in a registry, we couldn't marry outside our race-"

Flip's brain clicked. Jews were considered a race, not always just a religion. He knew this, but something in the way Elle spoke of it brought back memories of events he hadn’t really considered before. The way "Jew" was said by kids in grade school on the playground. The way it was said in a hushed tone by his mother's Bridge Club when she's host them at their house after carefully hiding all family relics. The way it was spat like venom by members of the Klan, said like it was the lowest thing a person could be.

"What were the Nuremberg laws?" He asked.

"What are they teaching out here?" She half-muttered, looking concerned. "They were laws to systematically enforce discrimination against Jews. The holocaust didn't happen overnight, the government worked for years to get Germany to see us as inferior. These laws prevented us from working and socializing outside our communities. Many fled, like my mother and father. They left in 1937, and had to give up most of their wealth in order to be allowed to emigrate. The rest of the family stayed behind, and were eventually taken to the camps,"

She grimaced as she spoke, rubbing her pendant between her fingers.

"My mother's brother was the only survivor we know of our family. He came to the US to live with us after he was liberated. I'd never met him before the war but mama says he wasn't the same when he came to live with us. He rarely talked about his time in the camps, and held a lot of survivors guilt. He watched everyone around him die, I can't imagine what he had to do to survive,"

She had looked down while talking, and looked back up at Flip when she finished, seeming startled.

"Sorry, this is really heavy conversation for a date,"

"No, I was the one who asked. I guess there are a lot of things they don't teach about the holocaust in school,"

"It's a shonda, how can people be expected to learn from it if they don't even know about it?" She slapped her hand on the table, drawing another look from a nearby table.

"They teach enough for it to never happen again," He said

"I hope you're right," She sounded unconvinced. "But either way, my family came here with next to nothing. At least they got here, a lot of people who tried to come to America as refugees were turned away at the border. They had to go back to Europe, where many died during the war. My parents were fortunate to have friends here to help get them on their feet,"

"I don't really know where my family came from. My grandparents on my fathers side came from Russia, but my mother never talked about her family. She said they'd passed away when I was a baby. We didn't really talk much in my family if you can't tell," He tried to make light of the situation.

"Maybe you could find some records at your parent's house. Or you could talk to your grandparents, if they're still alive,"

"They're not, but my parents inherited a bunch of their stuff, so I could ask," He said, thinking to himself about how that might go. They should be more open to talking about family stuff. He was an adult for fucks sake.

He considered how different his life was from Elle's. An assimilated military family in middle America versus an immigrant family from the biggest melting pot city in the world. Vastly different lives that somehow became connected. He caresses her hand with his thumb as he took it all in. The two of them sitting in this tiny restaurant in the candle light, talking about their lives openly.

"I like you, Eliana, a lot," He confessed, unable to find the words to fully express his feelings.

"I like you too, Phillip,” She stopped the movement of his thumb so she could hold his hand. "And this date is nice, but I can think of some place I'd rather be,"

"Oh?"

She leaned across the table, lowering her voice for his ears only.

"In my bed, with you on top of me, fucking me into the mattress until dawn,"

He was grateful his hair covered his ears because they for sure just turned red. He felt his cock stir in his pants, his hips shifting to try to adjust.

"Were in public, you know that right?" He smirked, lacing his fingers with hers.

"I can't help it if I want you in me 24/7," She pouted, letting her big brown eyes work him over.

"Is that so?" He leaned forward, letting his lips press against her ear as he spoke.

"If you want my fat cock in you, you're gonna have to listen closely Trouble. We're going to get out of here, get in my car and drive home. You're gonna be a good girl, I can't be getting pulled over by a coworker because you can't keep your hands to yourself,"

Her breath hitched as he continued.

"When we get back to your place, I suggest you take that dress off before I tear it off you. And then you'll get what you want, do you understand me?"

"Ten-four, detective," She whispered.

A few seconds later he felt her bare foot ghost over his lap. She must have taken off her heel while he was talking, and was now rubbing him through the fabric. The little minx. He raised an eyebrow at her, holding her foot steady with his hand. He was suddenly thankful the tablecloths were long.

"You said I couldn't touch you in the car, were not quite there yet, are we?" Her eyes glinted and her mouth twisted into a devilish smile.

"Check please!" He choked out.

_______

NOTES

There aren’t a ton of notes for this chapter, its more of just dissecting Flip’s feelings and struggle with understanding his identity. Where Elle grew up very sure in her cultural/religious identity, Flip didn’t really “grow up Jewish” as he mentioned in the movie. I think he’d definitely struggle with his identity, especially when confronted with so much hate regarding it. 

Here’s a basic idea of what Elle’s dress might look like (center dress)

I mentioned the Nuremberg Laws in chapter 4, but if you want to hear about the atrocities of the holocaust listen to the Mengele episodes from Last Podcast On The Left. It’s a three-part series and a little hard to stomach at times. I have a pretty strong stomach when it comes to true crime but this one got me a few times where I had to take a break (definite TW).

A shonda is yiddish for a disgrace/scandal. Its great vocab for overdramatic people such as I.

Thanks for reading!

[mairzymarzipan]

Night of the Full Moon Character Reviews: The Big Bosses(Minus Werewolf)

Hello again

I know I said I’d be talking about the Hunter, Old Mage, Fallen Priest and so on today, but I realized that those characters were actually more interesting in the context of other characters, so I put them off for later.  I decided instead to talk about the main bosses of the game, as it so happens, are the closest people to Red Riding Hood.  Because this game wants to be an ironicy soap opera/anime that way.

When I say Big Bosses, I mean that you always fight one of these characters at the end of the game.  Unless you’re like me and you start all over at the end because you’re bored and tired of all four of them playwise.

Werewolf

Wait, no, never mind.  This is another one of those characters who’s more interesting in the context of different, non-Red Riding Hood Characters.  We’re saving this boi for later.  But, you shouldn’t too surprised, if you read the title.  Instead, I’ll just use this space to talk about a mechanic.

Throughout the game, you can get ‘courage’ and ‘reputation’ points by talking to characters.  Very very generally speaking, you get courage points by doing brave things, and you get reputation points for doing nice things.  You also can get courage points when a character talks shit about the werewolf, and reputation points when a character talks shit about the witch.  So naturally, if you have more courage in the end, you get to fight the wolf, and if you have more reputation, you get to fight the witch.  I guess what they’re going for is only a meanie would fight this doggo?  And the witch is who any empathetic person would hate???

I feel like the latter is not the case, but more on that later.

Witch

“Only your Hope family can lift the dark magic curse.  This is what the priest is most afraid of.  That’s why monsters run wild on full moon nights. First they made your grandmother disappear and then they drew you into the forest...but they never anticipated that you would make it this far.”

By the way, you’re part of a prophecy.  Only someone in your family can lift the curse on the forest.  jsyk

Yeah so, as you see, the Witch’s description does not really tell us much about the witch herself.  This description also pretty unique in that none of the other character descriptions go into the second person like this.  The description also kind of hints that Red dies in the timeline where she fights the witch, so that’s depressing.

Nah, to figure out what the witch is about, you have to delve into the fragments around her. 

So, you actually do encounter the witch earlier in the game.  In the third or sometimes second chapter, she will recruit to find some magic apples she lost.  She makes a mention about suspecting a queen of stealing them.  The apples, I guess, are just lying around on the forest floor, and you bite into each of them bc you’re a dumb lkid.  Each apple changes your stats by a few points and the witch does not at all seem upset that you hand her a bunch of bitten fruit at the end.  In fact, she offers you the choice of two random buffs, so that’s fun.

You’re likely to hear about her way before that, though, depending on who you talk to.  Generally anyone who’s been cursed feels like it’s the witch’s fault.  

But if you choose to fight her(or you might not get a choice in the matter) she accuses you of stealing said apples.  She’ll also talk to you throughout the battle until you defeat her- a trait that only the big bosses and a few of the newer ones have.  Her lines...make her sound pretty unhinged.  She’s speaks of disbelief that you would do such a horrible thing, and threatens you with with her magic, and talks about how misunderstood she is.

When you defeat her, she’s got a really interesting line, tho.

“No!  I don’t want to fight you!  I can’t!”

Huh.

Before I move on, let me talk about this other witch character.

Yep.  That sure is the art style this game is going with.

So this is one of the shopkeepers.  There are four different shops you can find along the way, only two of which have characters you can see in them.  This character is known as the Witch Apothecary...but you can only see that on the outside of her store.  Otherwise she’s just called “Witch”.

The thing is, along the way, characters will talk about the Witch and, they don’t specify that it’s not the one with the white hair.  They just talk about The Witch like she’s the only witch that matters.  So is this woman not really a witch?  A witch wannabe?  Nah, we already have one of those characters.  Could it me that the shopkeepers don’t actually exist in the story of the game?  That would bum me out, bc there’s this lesbian owl I want to be real.

But...I think they’re the same person using shapeshifting.  Or if you want a really wild theory, maybe there are time travel hijinks and she’s the Magic Apprentice grown up.  But I’m going to go ahead with the former.

Anyhoo.  I like the witch.  I’m gonna give her 🍎🍎🍎🍎 four apples

Priest

“They mistakenly thought that on the full moon night they could help the monsters quietly eliminate Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother.  Once the Hope family was wiped out, the legend of lifting the curse on the Dark Forest would disappear completely.  However, they didn’t expect they would have to go personally and pay such a high price to fight their enemy. When the priest fell, the cursed monsters reverted to their human forms and the Dark Forest was no longer covered by snow all year round, but the church’s blind greed still remains.”

Again, not much is said about the priest himself.  The most interesting thing here is that he apparently is the keystone holding the curse together.  Interesting, because he seems to be letting the witch do all the work for him.  Usually in these stories, you have to kill the person who casts the spell to break the spell, not just their friend.  Is it because he, himself, is a stone?  That is to say, he turns into a statue sometimes.

Why the heck is he having her turn all his enemies into cartoon monsters instead of killing them, anyway?  Don’t tell it’s to make the game family friendly, bc in one of these timelines a child kills another child.  

Honestly, the priest/church just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.  His big plan is selling everybody from his town as slaves.  Gross.  And the way he accomplishes this is by...making it snow all the time, and turning people into vampires and fire bears?  What?

He is.  A delight to fight.  I’m being sarcastic.  He’s a religious edgelord who likes to go on about how humans are sinners and everyone deserves to be punished.  Also she cheats by turning into stone.  Eh.  

It feels like someone just spun a wheel for of evil traits and just stuck them together haphazardly.  His evil plan is...human trafficking!  His personality is...self righteous!  His means is...tf!  His super power is...turning into a statue!  

He’s the biggest of bads but also not that thought out.  He’s super important to the over-arching plot and yet I have no idea why this guy does what he does.  I’m gonna give him 🗽🗽 two statues.

Mystery Men

idek why this person is called “Mystery Men”.  I’m guessing it’s supposed to be mystery man?  Or mysterious person or something?  I know I haven’t talked about the art much but, I do appreciate how much their face looks like a dog snout and her hood looks like dog ears.  It’s a neat touch.

This description was actually changed.  The new text is longer and more awkwardly worded.  I don’t like it!  And I don’t get why it happened.

But, yeah.  The very last enemy of the game- who you can only reach by playing through at least four times and defeating all three others- is your Grandmother!  Le gasp!

So what exactly went wrong with her?  Oh, nothing, she just has a big wolf growing out of her back(told you the concept was backed up by canon)

Is this her daemon or patronus or something?  I have no idea.  I’ve been calling her a werewolf sometimes, tho, bc she’s better at being a werewolf than the titular werewolf.  Which is to say she can revive instead of just healing.  Her buffs and deck change throughout the fight.  She’s a long battle, fun, except for her ear piercing voice.  She sounds a bit possessed.

I’ll give her 👁️👁️👁️ three big eyes.  She’s a fun battle, but I always mute it.  Also not real big on how the text got changed for the worse.  But she does add some good details to the story.

In Conclusion... 

Grandma’s text tells us a few things.  

1. Not only is the Hope family connected to this prophecy, but family members actually have the power to control the curse.  That leads me to believe that the person who got the curse started was a Hope themself.  

2. The church came along long after the curse was in full swing.  So the priest is not responsible for it.  Whether he’s a Hope himself is not relevant.

We also know these things:

1. The witch is still the one casting all the tf spells, which is part of the curse.

2. There are two timelines were Red has a natural gift for magic

3. In the Little Witch timeline, the Witch is teaching Red magic.  On top of that she’s v patient, which is surprising, for some reason.

4. The Witch seems a little out of touch with reality.  She sends you to find apples, and then yells at you for stealing them.  Almost like she thinks you’re another person.

5. The witch verbally expresses her desire not to fight you when she realizes who you are.

I have to conclude that the Witch is a Hope.  A Hope who’s close enough to have a fondness for Little Red Riding Hood, and is invested in her well being/education.  And yanno, is turns her enemies into pig people because she can.  

She helps you on your quest by giving you one of her own.  But earlier on, she takes on the form of the other witch offer you potions and the like.  She even gives you the first one in each chapter for free.

“My potions can change your appearance!”

Of course she can’t get too close to you.  She can’t reveal that she’s helping you.  Hence putting on a new face when she’s a ‘good’ witch.  One wonders if she’s trying to hide her identity from you, or the people she’s allied with.

Hey can we look at her description again?

Red doesn’t get addressed in the second person in any of the other descriptions.  There is a character who talks about his life in the first person, and we’ll get to him.  But this is odd to me.

What if Red isn’t being addressed here?  What if it’s someone else?  What if it’s the Witch?

What if the Witch was captured and ensnared in the priest’s plot?  What if he messed with her memory?  So then who is she?  Red’s sister?  It seems like she’s been working with the church a lot longer than Grandma’s been missing.  Also Grandma went into the woods on her own accord.  You could say that the grief the church caused her *made* her go out, but it seems weak.

So maybe a Hope in another generation, who lost her grandmother to- either the church or monsters?  Was it this other Grandmother who *started* the curse?

Dude, what if she’s your Mom?

What if instead of killing her the priest did...something...scared her enough to get her to work for him.  And messed with her memory so she couldn’t conceive a way out?  And sort of had her transfer the power of the curse to him so that people had to kill him to break it?

What if he had the Church Doctor scoop her brain out and put it in another lady’s head?  Who knows.

I’m not certain about the witch being your mom.  I think I would like that to be the case because it’s fun, but I’m not quite convinced yet.  I AM certain, tho, that the Witch is a Hope, and she cares about you.  She’s not just this cackling meanie turning people into flowers.  She’s...complicated.  And she needs help just as much as all the trapped monsters.

[moonnfairie]

Proximity

Real Life!AU - Chapter 6

Author: softmochijm

Pairing: Reader x Jungkook (Main), Reader x Yoongi

Word Count: 2,179

A/N: Hello lovelies! So I removed “Enemies to Lovers!AU” because in the course of this story, I didn’t really see it fit. Regardless, this series continues!! I do apologize that it’s been a while, but I’ve been gone traveling and just recently had inspiration to continue. I hope you enjoy~

Your life seemed to have flashed before your eyes at the sound of the angry man’s call...

but your shoulders fell in relief as you turned around to see a waddling drunk Taehyung approaching, Jimin trying, but failing, to keep up from behind him.

“So you’re just going to leave me hanging on my own birthday, huh?” he asks while slurring his words, and you just look to Jungkook and laugh.

“Aw Tae, I’m sorry we just... got carried away, I guess” you say as you approach Taehyung for a hug, and he falls into your arms, mostly to keep himself from falling over completely.

“N-nah it’s f-fine... I’m wasted anyways... please take me home Y/N.”

You all laugh together as you link arms to head to the streets to call an uber.

You discovered that Yoongi and Jin ended up leaving too, thanks to Yoongi’s text:

Fr: Yoongi♡  Sorry havent rlyl spent tonight tohgeth r wrent hom e with jin ill see you so on

You just laugh and close your phone as you approach the front of Tae’s house, Jimin grabbing the keys from Tae’s pocket to let you all in.

As you all seat yourselves around the lounge, you realize that this is the first time in months that the four of you have been here all together. Of course, Jimin seems to intoxicated to notice while Taehyung is completely passed out, but you can feel Jungkook’s eyes bearing weights onto your soul, every now and then flashing him a small smile then looking back to scroll on your phone.

There is an awkward silence among you all, until Jimin decides to finally address the elephant in the room.

“So you guys made up, right?”

With wide eyes, you and Jungkook look at each other briefly, then look back at Jimin without saying a word.

“Jesus, why are you looking at me like that? I may be drunk but I’m still completely aware of what’s going on here... I think.”

You take a deep breath and sigh, and as you’re about to open your mouth, Jungkook interrupts “I kissed Y/N.”

“What?!” both you and Jimin yelp, causing Tae to stir in his sleep, and Jimin starts to chuckle.

“You couldn’t hold yourself back, huh Kookie” he says all too casually, like he knew it was going to happen. You snap at them in response.

“Did you guys plan this or??”

Jungkook immediately shakes his head in protest. “NO no, I just... they know how I feel. About you, about everything, so...”

His voice trails off, but that’s enough of an explanation for you to dart up and head for the door.

“W-Where are you going Y/N??” Jungkook worriedly asks. as he darts over to you to grab your wrist, and you turn to face him slowly. Just earlier you were this close to his face, gazing into each other’s eyes before he kissed you. You shiver at the thought.

“Jungkook I...” you wiggle your wrist out of his grasp. “Thank you? I guess, for being honest. I just really, really, need some time to process this all, okay?”

He simply nods, and you walk towards the door, greeting the boys goodnight before shutting it behind you.

The next morning you find yourself hissing at the sunlight that shines through the windows straight onto your face at the counter. You completely forgot you had switched with your coworker for an opening shift, your head pounding as you slowly but surely tried to set everything up. Thankfully it was a busy day, allowing you to just work and not really think about the events that happened last night.

You develop a groove, asking for a customer’s order, thanking them with a smile, creating drink by drink and even dancing along to the music while you worked, and handing it back to them at their table when you were done. For the most part, you seemed to be getting over your hangover and finding yourself relatively happy.

Until she walks in.

“Good morning, Y/N! Busy day to be working huh? You look pretty tired too.”

Damnit. You really thought you saw the last of her.

“Morning, Andrea. The usual?”

“Please and thank you.”

Huh, she has manners today.

Before you turn around to make her drink, she calls out to you, and you slowly turn around and tilt your head to the side to listen.

“Y/N, uh... Can we talk when you’re off?” You turn to the clock to see that you have just over an hour left, and roll your eyes. You had plans to see Yoongi, but not for a couple of hours. So you give in.

“Uh, sure. I’m off in an hour. You’re welcome to wait here, or whatever.”

When the clock chimes, you notice Andrea stand from her table while you walk to the back to gather your things.

You both end up walking to the open park in front of your plaza, sitting on a bench a little bit apart to keep your distance. Andrea, clearly ignoring your efforts, scoots over to you in attempts to get closer, literally and figuratively. Failing, at both.

“Has Kookie said anything about me lately, Y/N?”

You almost gag. “You still call him Kookie...?”

“I can’t help it” she says with a pout. “I miss calling him that...”

You turn to look at her, pain in her expression, and you wonder if she genuinely has a heart to feel these emotions.

“Uh, no, he hasn’t really mentioned you. I don’t know if he wants to, especially after...” You trail off, wondering if you’ve exposed yourself for knowing what she did. But she doesn’t seem the least bit affected, as she continues to talk.

“Ugh, okay, so he, like, did tell you. I don’t know, Y/N. It just got, boring? After a while. He didn’t seem to be so interested in me. I figured he didn’t really care to fix it either so I kind of, like, did my own thing...”

“Andrea, did you just want to explain yourself to me, or...”

She’s quiet for a while, just looking forward to a couple of kids playing soccer back and forth. Then she looks back at you, with a soft sad expression.

“I think I was a distraction. Not to be, like, the victim here. I know I’m not, but...”

“Please Andrea just spit it out!” you raise your voice and she widens her eyes.

“Okay okay, geez, I’m pretty sure he liked you the whole entire time. I know for a fact it became even more obvious when you started hanging out with Yoongi, which, damn girl he’s cute, you got so lucky!”

You don’t answer to her last remark, still eyeing her down sternly.

“But anyways, yeah... I asked to talk to you so I could tell you that this boy really, really, has a thing for you. And knowing how you guys were before, well I... wanted to say that you should really go for it, or something. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on something... good.”

You’re rather shocked, really, that Andrea would ever think to say something like this to you. Throughout your whole relationship with her, she’d want things to go her way and never really came around to doing anything for you. And as weird and chopped up as her words were today, you appreciated the thought and effort. So you nod and smile, thanking her kindly before standing up to head home.

Yoongi had texted you to wear something nice tonight, and you were puzzled. Every time you hung out, there wasn’t really any reason to considering you just went somewhere nice to enjoy the view and talk, or just have really casual dates. Regardless, you shrug your shoulders and pull out the first nice dress you see that matches your favorite heels and you proceed to get ready.

Jin interrupts you, though, as you hear his loud knocks pound on your door. Before you could even grant him permission to come in, he barges through and sits on your bed.

“I literally could have been naked you know.”

“Ew, thank god you weren’t.”

You grab your brush to throw it at him but he dodges it completely, and you turn back to your mirror to finish applying your makeup.

“What are you guys doing tonight?” He asked with an intense curiosity, sparking your own, considering you don’t even know yourself.

“Honestly? I don’t know. Ask him or something.”

He pauses, looking over to you again and smiling.

“You must really be melting his heart, Y/N.”

You furrow your brows, almost messing up filling them altogether, and turn to face him.

“W-what do you mean?”

He laughs a little, then exits the room without a word, and you call out to him “Could you at least close the damn door?!”

Before you could overthink it, you rush to get ready, seeing as it’s almost time for him to pick you up. You’ve seemed to have gotten used to the routine by now, pampering yourself before rushing down the stairs to see him leaning on his car to greet you. Tonight, however, as you walked outside, you see him dressed to the nines: a crisp, white button down, fitted slacks, what seems to be fancy dress shoes, and his dark hair tousled ever so slightly but falling perfectly. He looked absolutely amazing, causing you to breathe just a little harder as you approached him.

He grabs you by your waist to pull you close, lips barely touching as he looks down to you. “You look stunning tonight, Y/N.” You blush under his gaze, and before you could plant a kiss on his lips, he lets go and opens the door for you.

“You are a tease, Min Yoongi.”

“Only for you, beautiful.”

You want to ask him what the hell is going on, but you’re already getting on the natural high that Yoongi gives you, so you just sit and enjoy the ride.

After almost half an hour of driving down the familiar road, you pull into the lot of the lake area. Intrigued by a distant glow, you hop out of the door as you see Yoongi head to the back of his car to grab a picnic basket, your heart melting at the sight. He flashes your favorite gummy smile to you and you manage to finally place a peck on his cheek, slightly blushing in response.

As you walk towards the glow, you see a table set with a checkered table cloth and candles lining the edges of the table, the soft glow of string lights shining above you as well, the moon still low on the water. You feel as if your heart is going to burst with happiness.

Yoongi guides you over and places the basket down, pulling champagne and homemade pasta and bread and setting up everything in front of you. Every time he set a mat or utensils in front of you, he’d place a kiss on your cheek, leaving you to giggle after each one. When he was done, he sat across you and popped the bottle, the both of you cheering to a wonderful night and talking the night away.

Soon, the moon found it’s way high in the sky above you two, and he guides you to the same spot you both sat at when you last talked. You were a little wobbly with thanks to the champagne, but you were too happy to care. With more conversation, he told you that it’d had been officially a month since you were both last here. At this, you smiled, slightly tinged with the memory that you were still relatively confused between the two boys you favored, but decided to shrug it off as he continued to talk about that night.

“And, well, here we are tonight. Y/N. Looking beautiful as ever.”

“Yoongi, you’re just too kind, really. Thank you, for everything.” You smile at him through slightly glossy eyes, being someone who accepts gestures like these wholeheartedly.

He just looks at you with the warmest smile, and you feel like nothing could ruin this moment.

Sure, well, you still have to worry about Jungkook’s confession. And sure, well, you have to think about how it’s been a whole month and it seems as though you’re still in the same exact position as you were last time with Yoongi. But, hey, that’s just life, right? You make choices, you follow through, you make mistakes, and it’s all about trial and error... right?

You clear your throat as you remember that you planned on telling him about the kiss you shared with Jungkook, but how it meant nothing. Or... you think it means nothing. And it shouldn’t harm anyone anyway. So you open your mouth to speak, but Yoongi beats you to the punch.

“So, Y/N... I know this seems, sudden, maybe? But I feel as if it’s time...”

Oh no.

“I was wondering if”

Oh god no.

“You’d let me be your boyfriend?”

[inosukeslefttoe]

we had to analyze this picture and english and i just wanted to talk about how freaking cool it is (disclaimer: im very dumb and unoriginal and dont know what im talking about but i just wanted to write it down since i think its neat)

so we all know that dali is mainly a surrealist artist right (this piece is called nature morte vivant which translates to living still life, or still life fast moving and its by salvador dali). and i think this is a super cool way to do surrealism since he took a simple idea and built up on it in so many different ways. first he took all these items from a still life like fruits and glasses on a table and decided to show them in this extremely animated and almost violent movement which is a complete contrast to the whole idea of a still life... this is a super cool paradox in my opinion. another thing he did was it looks like he made some sort of cell/germ thing off to the right which is another form of life but extremely small... except hes made it like the largest singlular object in this piece... another cool paradox!! and another bent interpretation of still life!! I also noticed how the apple seems to have two shadows, with one being above it which sort of looks like a distorted version of the same orignal platter that the apple is on, but its all spiraled and extra shadowy looking. (ill talk more about spirals later). I think that the big black piece in the background shows yknow, a typical still life backdrop, but it could double as sort of a bending of reality and what life really is since it shows the cell and the twisted apple and it looks like its even showing maybe a comet or something too ?? which imo is also a form of life bc yknow aliens and water on comets,, that whole theory that i dont wanna elaborate on... but yeah that black bit represents the simplest part of a still life but it also shows the deepest complications of the definition of life and presents the most obvious distortions and paradoxes

okay now im gonna talk about all the neat shapes and patterns in the piece. theres strangely a lot of geometric looking patterns throughout this piece that idk i guess you wouldnt really see in a normal stil life since i feel like those focus on gentleness and softness rather than these strict sharp patterns. the most noticable one is on the right side of the table (i have NO clue what this could mean lmao) and another is the ground and ocean as it moves towards the foreground and sort of looks like its shattering. The whole ocean actually has sort of a geometric pattern which is SO SEXY and definitley intentional bc like,,, you can clearly see that this man can paint water... but instead of the ocean having its typical lively and free and wild vibe that it has,, its very uniformed and almost looks,, not real yknow?? theres also some random pattern on the black background and idk what it means but im just pointing out the shapes here.

okay so NOW im mentioning the spirals !! i didnt catch this at first but the first website i pulled up was like “s p i r a l s “ so i read more about it and noticed some more of them:) i thought this was almost kind of eery bc im currently reading Uzumaki by Junju Ito ,, and if you havent heard of that its this horror manga piece about like? this town where theres a spiral phenomenon or smthn and (im only a few chapters in) the spiral pattern is seen as the basic unit of life but also as something consuming that can turn ppl into a monster once they get consumed ?? if that makes sense?? idk look up the manga for a better description lmao. but n e ways,, i was like “huh? who worships a spiral pattern like that?? thats wild bro what a crazy work of fiction amiright”... but apparently our homie dali believed that the spirals were like,,, lifes leading/superior form or smthn like that and he got really into them around the time he was painting this piece. he was super hyped when he found out that the DNA double helix is... a spiral and was like “see homies i told yall the spiral is the basic form of life... we are all... simply spiral” and i was like holy shit hes fucking right... but thats why theres a lot of spiral patterns in this still life !! bc again : LIFE !! and different interpretations of it !! you can see the spiral most obviously (to me anyways) in that distorted version of the apples platter which i guess is showing like “hey look this object looks like an apple on a plate but NO it is just SPIRAL”. you can see it again in the cell thing which i think might be dna or smthn bc it has sort of a spiraling look. the pillar on the fence is also in a spiral shape. the ocean pattern i mentioned earlier also looks sort of spiraly but i cant tell for sure !!

okay so i think thats all i have for now but i might add something later if i think of anything else... i know no ones gonna read this but its nice to get my thoughts written out somewhere yknow !! even if theyre dumb and dont make sense lmao :)