#if any of you are reading this are getting the vibe of slow building insanity off of this it's because I wrote most of it late and night ->

[berryispunk]

The Way You See Me

This is part 1/2. Part 2 readable here

pairing: Frankie Morales x f! reader

tags: dual POV, slow burn, some banter, all the emotions, fluff, open communication saves us, heavy on mental health struggles, best friends to lovers, mutual pining, yearning, best friend! Frankie, soft! Frankie, idiots in love, kissing, tension

summary: Two people pretending it’s nothing. A missed kiss, a camping trip, one tent, and way too many lingering glances. They keep telling themselves it’s safer as friends—but gravity doesn’t care.

word count: 7,2 k

notes: I am absolutely insane so I’m working on part 2 to this already, oops—

read on ao3

It had been pouring all day — not outside, but in your head. A storm of tsunami intensity, relentless and unforgiving. You were drowning in it, the waves dragging you under, and you were just so tired of swimming against the current. So you stayed home, even though you had plans with friends. They called, they texted, but you didn’t have the energy to answer. You barely moved from your bed, only getting up for the bathroom or to grab a snack.

Outside, the sky was turning dark, but it was nothing compared to the heaviness inside you. You were running on autopilot, going through the motions without any real direction — just clinging to whatever driftwood you could find to stay afloat. You thought about reaching out, letting someone in, even just a little. But how do you explain a storm that never stops brewing? Besides, you were convinced the people in your life would be better off without you.

You were nearing the end of your twenties and what did you have to show for it? Nothing worth bragging about. You were barely scraping by while your peers seemed to be thriving — making five-year plans, building futures. And you? You got up each day and waited to see what the vibes were. You felt behind, like you were watching life from the sidelines, a passenger in your own story when you were supposed to be behind the wheel.

It was frustrating — deeply, bitterly frustrating. You dreaded conversations about careers and future plans, knowing you could barely hold yourself together. Bringing someone else into that chaos felt reckless. So you stayed alone. Even though, in the quietest moments — the ones where your mind screamed the loudest — you wished more than anything for a shoulder to lean on.

The only person who knew some of your struggles -but never the full picture-was your best friend, Frankie. He carried his own weight, too. The aftermath of serving had left marks on him, not always visible, but always present. You’d met him through mutual friends, and at first, you weren’t convinced. He was too quiet, always hovering on the edges of the group, more observer than participant. But it didn’t take long to realize something about Frankie: he noticed everything. He read people like well-worn pages, never intrusive, just… aware.

So you were caught off guard the first time he actually spoke to you. The two of you had drifted a little away from the crowd during one of those loud, chaotic get-togethers. Frankie leaned in slightly, voice low and a little amused as he said, “You also have no clue what they’re talking about, do you?”

You turned to him slowly, eyeing him from head to toe, raising a brow. “Excuse me?” you replied, bristling a little at the audacity.

He just grinned, not in a mocking way — more like someone who had already figured you out and wasn’t in a rush to prove it.

From there, the rest was history. He somehow—sneakily, effortlessly—got your number and texted you one night out of nowhere. You’d never admit it, not even to yourself at the time, but it mattered. More than it should have. Something about it felt like being seen in a way you hadn’t realized you’d been aching for. And even though you played it cool, casually texting back like it was no big deal, a small part of you exhaled for the first time in a while.

[Unknown Number] [10:03 PM]You looked like you were mentally disassociating at that party. Thought I’d check in.

[You] [10:06 PM] Who is this and how did you get my number?? 

[Unknown Number] [10:07 PM] Relax, not a stalker. Frankie. From the other night.Got it from Lia. Don’t yell at her, I was very charming about it.

[You] [10:09 PM] Wow, stealthy.So you make a habit of texting girls who ignore you at parties?

[Frankie] [10:10 PM] Only the ones who look like they’d rather be swallowed by the floor than make small talk.You seemed like you could use an escape hatch. Figured this might count.

[You] [10:12 PM] That’s bold for someone who barely said two words.

[Frankie] [10:13 PM] Two words were all it took, apparently.You raise a good eyebrow, by the way. Very intimidating.

[You] [10:14 PM] I’ve been told it’s my most developed muscle.So what, you check in on all the emotionally avoidant people you meet?

[Frankie] [10:16 PM] Only the ones who pretend they’re not lonely.You were easier to read than you think.

[You] [10:17 PM]…Okay wow. That’s not allowed this early in the conversation.Try being mysterious again. I was enjoying that.

[Frankie] [10:18 PM] You’re right. Let me guess your star sign instead.

[You] [10:19 PM] If you say Gemini I’m blocking you.

[Frankie] [10:20 PM] Nah, you’re too tired of everyone’s shit to be a Gemini.Scorpio, maybe. Or a Capricorn with trust issues.

[You] [10:21 PM] Okay. Who are you??

[Frankie] [10:22 PM] Just a guy who thought you looked like you needed someone to talk to.No pressure. Just… here, if you want.

[You] [10:25 PM] …Thanks. I might take you up on that.

[Frankie] [10:26 PM] I’m good at puzzles. And bad at shutting up once I start.So… you’ve been warned.

A few days later — 11:47 PM

[Frankie] Be honest. Did you ghost me or are you just being mysterious again?

[You] I was waiting to see if you'd double text. Gotta keep the power dynamic healthy.

[Frankie] Leo. 100%. Knew I was close with the trust issues, though.

[You] HOW ??? I never even told you.

[Frankie] You have main character energy. Also I googled “eyebrow raise of death + zodiac” and Leo came up.

[You] Fair.Still. Feels invasive. I should sue.

[Frankie] Go ahead. I’ll represent myself. I’m charming under pressure.

A week later — 2:14 AM

[You]Can’t sleep. Brain won’t shut up.

Your phone buzzed almost immediately.

[Frankie] Same.What’s keeping you up?

[You] Everything and nothing. You ever feel like you’re treading water in a pool no one remembers you’re in?

[Frankie] Every day.But hey, I see you. Even when you try to disappear.

[Frankie] That was probably too much.I can send a meme about ducks in pants to balance it out.

[You] No, that was actually…That was good.But send the duck meme anyway.

Later that week — 6:39 PM

[Frankie] What’s your comfort food when the world sucks?

[You] Depends. Spicy noodles if I’m mad. French fries if I’m sad.Why?

[Frankie] Be there in 20. Don’t dress up. Or do. You’d win best dressed regardless.

An hour later, you were on your couch, laughing through a mouthful of fries while he sat on the floor, back against the coffee table, telling you a story about his first tattoo and how he almost passed out. His eyes flicked up every now and then—checking you over like he was making sure you were still breathing easier. And you were.

Later that night — 1:11 AM [Frankie] Tonight was good. You seemed lighter.

[You] I was. It’s weird, you just… make space. And I don’t know how you do that.

[Frankie] Maybe I’m just good at seeing what other people pretend not to. Or maybe I just like the sound of your laugh and want to hear it again :)

Tonight, as you lost another day to the darkness crowding your mind, you lay still, staring blankly at your phone screen like it might eventually offer answers to questions you hadn’t found the words for. The notifications blurred together, too many to matter — until one lit up the screen, standing out in quiet contrast.

[Frankie] [9:17 PM] The group chat’s chaos again. Benny’s arguing that nachos count as a balanced meal and Lia’s threatening to make a spreadsheet about it.Same idiots, basically.

You stared at the message for a long moment. No pressure. No asking where you were or why you hadn’t shown up. Just… that. A thread gently held out in your direction.

[You] [9:19 PM] Sounds like I picked the right night to stay home.

[Frankie] [9:20 PM] You say that, but Benny made nachos shaped like ghosts and called them “emotional support snacks.” You missed some art.

[You] [9:21 PM] I’ll live.

You paused. Fingers hovered over the screen.

[You] [9:22 PM]...Just didn’t have the energy today. Everything felt like too much.

A beat, then:

[Frankie] [9:24 PM] Yeah. I figured.No judgment.Just thought I’d remind you we’re still out here. Even if you’re not up for being part of it right now :) 

You swallowed. Something loosened in your chest.

[You] [9:25 PM] You’re annoyingly good at this.

[Frankie] [9:26 PM] Nah. Just been in the same place enough to recognize the silence.

There was a silence after that — but this one felt easier. A quiet with space to breathe. 

[You] [11:41 PM] Still up?

[Frankie] [11:42 PM] Yeah. Sleep and I are barely on speaking terms these days.

[You] [11:43 PM] Cool.I just… didn’t want the last message to be the end of the conversation.

[Frankie] [11:44 PM] Good, me neither.You okay?

[You] [11:45 PM] Not really.But also nothing happened. It’s just one of those nights. You know?

[Frankie] [11:46 PM] Yeah. The ones where even breathing feels like effort.

You didn’t respond right away. Your apartment was quiet, the kind of quiet that made the air feel heavier. You stared at the door like maybe, if you wished hard enough, someone might be on the other side.

[You] [11:50 PM] What would you be doing right now if you weren’t texting me?

[Frankie] [11:51 PM] Probably pacing around my place. Trying to pretend the silence doesn’t get to me.Why?

[You] [11:52 PM] No reason.Just… my couch is kind of empty. Fries are gone. Silence sucks here too.

There was no reply for a moment. You were about to send a follow-up — something deflective, something light — when another text appeared.

[Frankie] [11:54 PM] I’ll be there in 15. You don’t have to talk. Or smile, or clean anything. Just unlock the door, okay?

Fifteen minutes later, there was a soft knock. And when you opened it, he was standing there — hoodie pulled over his head, a bag of chips in one hand, and that familiar look in his eyes. The one that said I see you. You don’t have to explain. He didn’t ask what was wrong. He just kicked off his shoes, sat beside you on the couch, and let the silence exist without making it heavier.

Frankie just stayed. Solid and still and there and for the first time all day, the storm inside your chest quieted just enough to breathe.

It had been an hour.

The TV was on, low volume, playing something neither of you were watching. You sat with your legs tucked beneath you, hoodie sleeves pulled over your hands, eyes heavy but not tired. Frankie was next to you, close but not quite touching — not at first. But somewhere between the silence and the soft flicker of screenlight, his knee brushed yours.

Neither of you moved.

You didn’t talk much. Every now and then, he’d glance at you — not in a way that asked for anything, but in that quiet, consistent way he always had. The kind that saw through your walls without making you feel exposed. But this time, it felt different.

You turned toward him, and your eyes met — not briefly. Not the way friends glance and look away. You held it.

He looked at you like he was trying to memorize something. Like he wanted to say something but didn’t want to scare it away. His gaze dropped, lingered on your mouth a second too long before he cleared his throat and looked back at the TV.

Your heart thudded wildly. 

“I’m glad you texted me,” he said, voice low. “Didn’t like the thought of you sitting here alone tonight.”

You didn’t answer right away. Just shifted slightly, letting your shoulder press into his arm. He didn’t move.

“I almost didn’t,” you murmured. “Didn’t want to bother you.”

“You never do,” he said, too quickly. “Seriously. If it’s you—I’ll show up. Doesn’t matter the hour.”

Your stomach flipped.

The silence that followed wasn’t uncomfortable. It was thick. Like the air was holding its breath.

You tilted your head toward him again, slower this time.

He looked over, eyes dark, unreadable, but his jaw had gone tense like he was bracing for something. You weren’t even sure what you were about to say. Just that the air between you had changed. And part of you wanted to fall into it.

But then your phone buzzed, loud against the quiet. You blinked and just like that the spell broke.

Frankie leaned back just slightly, gave a quiet laugh like he’d been caught leaning too far over an edge. “Guess the universe says that’s my cue to shut up.”

You didn’t push it. But you didn’t move away, either.

And for the rest of the night, something hung between you—unspoken but real. Something you both felt.

He hadn’t meant to say it like that. Hadn’t meant to let it slip past his teeth, so low and careful and honest. But when you looked at him—really looked at him—Frankie forgot to guard the edges.

He leaned back because it scared him a little. The way silence between you wasn’t awkward anymore. The way your eyes held his for just a second too long. The way his chest tightened, not in panic but in something gentler, quieter, more dangerous.

You were still close—close enough that he could smell the faint scent of your shampoo, that warm thing that always clung to your skin like a memory he hadn’t earned. And when you didn’t move away, didn’t joke or retreat or hide behind that sharp wit of yours, Frankie knew something had shifted.

But he didn’t push it, he just sat there with you, shoulder brushing shoulder, knees almost touching. The TV played quietly in the background, the flickering light casting soft shadows across your face. He let you lean your head back on the couch. Watched the way your eyes slowly blinked, heavy with exhaustion, but calmer than earlier.

You looked… lighter. Not fixed. Not suddenly okay. But not drowning anymore. He took that as a small win.

And maybe it was selfish, but he didn’t leave.

Frankie stayed. Even after you dozed off with your head tilted slightly toward him, even after the credits rolled and the room went quiet. He stayed in that space between a friend and something else he didn’t name yet. Stayed still, watching the rise and fall of your chest, letting the warmth of the moment settle somewhere deep in his ribs.

He knew the line was thin. Knew this could crack everything if he reached too far.

But damn if he didn’t want to.

Just for a second, he let himself imagine it—what it might feel like to reach over and thread his fingers through yours. To press his lips to your temple. To tell you that he meant it—that he sees you, always has, even when you’re trying your hardest to disappear.

Instead, he sat in the quiet and watched you breathe. Guarded your peace like it was something sacred. When you shifted in your sleep and murmured his name—barely audible, but real—Frankie closed his eyes and let himself hope.

At some point during the quiet, sleep crept up on him too. He didn’t remember closing his eyes—just the low hum of the TV, the warmth of the room, the steady rhythm of your breathing beside him. It felt safe, something he rarely ever felt since returning from service. When he stirred hours later, the light outside was a faint silver, the kind of early morning that painted the world soft and half-real.

And you were there.

Not beside him anymore—but curled up ,somehow, with your head resting in his lap.

Frankie blinked slowly, the sleep not fully shaken off, and looked down at you. Your legs tucked up, one arm curled around yourself like you hadn’t meant to move at all. Your cheek pressed against his thigh, lips parted slightly in sleep, hair a bit messy from shifting around.

He stilled completely at this sight, a thousand things ran through his mind—but louder than all of them was the quiet awe. Like something rare had landed in his hands and he wasn’t sure how to hold it without ruining it.

You were always careful with space, with touch. So this was something else entirely. Unintentional maybe, but unguarded. A side of you he rarely saw.

Gently, he reached down and brushed a strand of hair from your face, his fingers lingering for half a second too long near your temple.

And that’s when you stirred. Your eyes blinked open slowly, and at first, you didn’t move. Just looked up, a beat of soft confusion passing between you. Then realization hit.

You bolted upright, not abrupt but tense, like waking from a dream you weren’t sure you should’ve had. “Shit—sorry,” you mumbled, rubbing your face with your sleeve, not quite looking at him. “Didn’t mean to— That wasn’t—”

“It’s okay,” Frankie said quickly, voice still low and sleep-rough. “You were out. I didn’t mind.”

You nodded, still avoiding his eyes as you scooted back a bit, putting a little space between you. Not a wall, but a buffer.

“I must’ve shifted in my sleep,” you offered, the words clumsy and thin. “Wasn’t trying to be weird.”

“I know,” he said softly. “Wasn’t weird, promise.”

But it kind of was. Not in a bad way—just in a way that meant something had changed. And now, in the grey morning light, you were both painfully aware of it.

The atmosphere was warm,charged—like a wire had been brushed and now everything was humming a little too loud.

Frankie leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “You okay?” he asked after a beat, quieter now.

You glanced at him, eyes softer but still guarded. “Yeah. Just… didn’t mean to cross a line.”

He shook his head. “You didn’t.”

But he didn’t smile and neither did you, because some lines didn’t need to be crossed with intention to leave a mark.

And both of you were feeling it now—in the hush between words, in the echo of how natural it had felt to rest against each other, like you’d done it a hundred times before.

Neither of you said what lingered in the air afterwards, this big little thing that felt like it had a life on its own.

The kitchen was still cloaked in that fragile kind of morning quiet, the kind that made everything feel closer, heavier.

You moved automatically, going through the motions—grabbing mugs, flicking the switch on the kettle, pulling out the coffee tin with muscle memory alone. Your hands were steady, but your thoughts weren’t. Every time you glanced toward the living room and saw Frankie still sitting there, rubbing sleep from his eyes, the knot in your stomach pulled tighter.

He hadn’t said anything else since waking up.

But he hadn’t left, either.

You reached up to the cupboard for the sugar, standing on your toes—and suddenly he was behind you.

“Want me to grab it?” he asked, voice close enough that you felt it more than heard it.

You startled slightly, bumping into him with a soft thud. “Fuck—sorry, didn’t hear you come in.”

“It’s okay,” he said, but his hand had come to rest on your waist—just for a second, steadying you, barely there. But it lingered long enough to light a fuse in your chest.

You didn’t breathe until he stepped back.

The silence stretched as you poured the water, the steam rising between you, thin and ghostlike. You passed him a mug, your fingers brushing his—too gentle to be an accident, too fleeting to be addressed.

His eyes flicked to yours for a heartbeat, unreadable. “Thanks.”

“Yeah,” you murmured, suddenly fascinated with the swirl of coffee in your cup. “No problem.”

You both leaned against opposite counters, holding your mugs like shields, pretending the space between you wasn’t thick with whatever had shifted overnight.

“I didn’t mean to…” you started, but the words trailed off.

He didn’t push. Just sipped his coffee, eyes watching you over the rim. “I know.”

And maybe that was worse. That he knew—and still wasn’t moving away. Still standing close enough that you could smell him. Still looking at you like you hadn’t just curled up in his lap a few hours ago like it was the most natural thing in the world.

The kettle clicked off behind you, forgotten.

“Your friends,” you said suddenly, desperate to break the air, “they’d be disappointed you didn’t show up last night.”

He gave a quiet huff of laughter, looking down at his mug. “They were the same idiots as always. They barely noticed.”

You smiled, but it didn’t reach your eyes. “I would’ve noticed.”

He looked up, really looked, something unspoken passed between you again. A current, or a question neither of you were ready to ask.

You turned back to the counter, pretending to fix your coffee.

Behind you, he spoke, voice lower now, treading carefully “You sure you’re okay?”

You nodded. “Yeah.”

But your hand trembled slightly as you set the spoon down and you knew he saw it, had to.

He didn’t call it out. Just stepped a little closer, mug still in hand, close enough that the edge of his arm brushed yours.

Neither of you moved away and you really didn’t know who moved first. Maybe it was him, maybe it was you. But somehow you were standing too close, not touching, not quite—but almost. Another almost.

Frankie set his mug down on the counter with a soft clink, the sound sharp in the otherwise quiet room. His eyes stayed on you—soft, unreadable, patient in that way he always was, like he never wanted to scare you off. Like he was waiting for you to make the call.

Your breath caught when he reached up—slow, tentative—and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear. His fingers were careful, feather-light, but the warmth of his touch lingered long after he pulled his hand away.

You didn’t say anything, couldn’t even if you wanted to.Because now, there were only inches between you and it took the air from your lungs.

Your heartbeat sped up, hammering in your ears.

He leaned in just slightly, his voice low. “Tell me to stop and I will.”

It wasn’t a tease. There was no smirk, no cocky edge to his tone. Just a quiet request, wrapped in a kind of reverence that nearly undid you.

And for one breathless second, it felt like gravity shifted between you—like something inevitable was about to happen.

But then—

Your phone buzzed, sharp and jarring against the counter, slicing clean through the moment.

You flinched, just enough to step back, and whatever had been building between you shattered—sudden and brittle, like glass underfoot.

You didn’t look at the screen. You didn’t need to. The spell had broken, again.

Frankie stepped back too, blinking like he’d only just remembered where he was. He scratched the back of his neck and let out a soft breath that sounded like a laugh—but it wasn’t. Not really.

“Right,” he said, nodding once. Like he understood. Like he’d been waiting for the interruption all along. It landed heavier than it should have, a quiet sting in your chest, even though he probably didn’t mean it that way.

You turned back to the coffee, focusing on the mug like it could anchor you. “I should get dressed for the day...”

He nodded again. “Yeah, yeah of course.”

You slipped out of the kitchen with your heart pounding, the ghost of his touch still burning on your skin.

The plan had been in place for weeks. A weekend camping trip—just the group, no cell reception, no excuses. He wasn’t going to go. Had half a dozen reasons not to. But none of them stuck once Benny showed up at his door, grinning like a devil and throwing him a bag of trail mix like that settled it.

"Don’t be a ghost, man," Benny had said. "She’s coming."

Frankie didn’t ask who she was. He didn’t have to.

And now here he was, standing ankle-deep in soft dirt while the late afternoon sun bled gold over the trees, watching your car door slam shut. His stomach did something annoying at the sight of you stepping out, wind-blown and smiling faintly, like you weren’t quite sure you’d made the right choice by showing up either. You hadn’t looked at him yet. But he felt it anyway—that quiet current that had lived between you ever since that night back at your apartment.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked out at the lake, pretending he wasn’t already a little unraveled.

The campsite was beautiful. Dense trees, soft moss underfoot, and a lake that glimmered like it had been carved from glass. Everyone fanned out, unpacking coolers and gear and arguing over who forgot what. There was music coming from Benny’s car, something old and loud and badly sung along to.

And then your voice cut through it: “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Frankie turned. You were crouched beside your bag, frustration etched into every line of your face. Pieces of tent poles lay scattered on the ground like broken bones, and the rest was nowhere to be seen.

“Problem?” Santi called, already laughing.

You held up a tent bag like it had personally betrayed you. “I either forgot the actual tent or packed the world’s saddest kite.”

There were groans, and someone yelled 'rookie mistake' and someone else suggested duct tape and tarp. But eventually Benny, ever the ringleader, clapped his hands and declared, “Only one solution. Draw matches. Losers share their tent.”

Frankie knew—he just knew—what the universe was about to do to him.

The sticks were torn from a granola box and held up like some ancient rite. One by one, the guys picked theirs. Frankie went last.

When he looked down, it was the shortest stick.

A beat of silence. Then a chorus of oohs and Benny’s terrible drumroll on a cooler lid.

Frankie didn’t even glance at them. He looked straight at you.

And this time, you looked back. Your eyes met his like you’d been waiting for it—and damn if it didn’t do something stupid to his chest. You didn’t smile, didn’t smirk. But your gaze held, quiet and unreadable. Heavy with something neither of you had put into words.

Frankie cleared his throat. “Guess I’m the lucky one.”

You arched a brow., arms crossed defensively. “That’s one way to put it.”

He nodded slowly, heart doing double-time, already dreading and anticipating the moment night would fall.

No escape. No couch cushions or coffee mugs to serve as shields between you.

Just one thin tent wall and all the silence you still hadn’t broken.

You weren’t sure how it got so quiet.

Everyone else had turned in. The fire had died hours ago, and now the campsite was just a rhythm of distant snores, rustling leaves, and the occasional crack of branches shifting in the cool night. Inside the tent, it was still and dark—too still. You lay on your back, cocooned in your sleeping bag, barely breathing, aware of every inch of the man beside you.

Frankie was close. Not touching you, but close enough that you could feel his warmth, hear the soft exhale of his breath, smell the faint mix of campfire and whatever clean laundry detergent he used.

And god, you wanted it. The warmth. The comfort. The steadiness of him. You wanted to curl into it, let yourself have it—just for a moment. But you stayed frozen. Afraid that even the smallest move would tip everything over the edge.

Your mind wouldn’t shut up.

You kept thinking about the almost-kiss. About how it lingered between you like a thread that hadn’t snapped. You thought about his hand brushing yours that morning in your kitchen, how your breath had caught in your throat like something sacred had passed between you. You thought about falling asleep on him, about waking up there—on him—and how he didn’t push you away.

And you thought about how terrified you were of needing someone. Of needing him.

The silence clawed at you, unbearable.

You turned slightly, your sleeping bag crinkling loud in the dark. “Frankie,” you whispered.

He shifted. “Yeah?”

“I think about that morning,” you said, voice soft. “The almost-kiss.”

The silence stretched.

You swallowed hard. “I think about it a lot actually..”

Still, he didn’t speak. But you could hear how sharply he breathed in.

“I just… I don’t know. I’ve convinced myself you’re better off when we keep some distance.” You stared up at the ceiling, blinking slowly. “Because I’m a mess, Frankie. Not the cute kind. The ‘can’t even be alone with myself for too long without falling apart’ kind. And I guess I’m scared of what it means to let you get closer.”

More silence, but it didn’t feel empty, it felt full. Like something inside it was shifting.

Then you heard his voice, low and gravel-soft, barely more than breath. “I know.”

You blinked, unsure if you imagined it.

“I know you’re struggling. I’ve always known more than I let on,” he said. “I didn’t want to push. Didn’t want to make it worse.”

You turned your head just slightly toward the shape of him in the dark.

“I haven’t said much about my own shit either,” Frankie continued. “But you should know—I’m still in recovery. Still fighting the edge of it every day. My temper’s not great, I lose patience faster than I should. Some days I hate myself. Other days I just feel… hollow.”

Your heart cracked a little.

“I don’t usually let people in. It’s been a long time since someone made me want to.” His voice went quiet. “But you did. And you never treated me like I was broken. You just… saw me. All of me. And it gave me this stupid illusion that maybe I wasn’t too far gone.”

You turned toward him then.

The space between you was barely a breath. You reached out slowly, fingers grazing his chest, resting just over his heart.

“You’re the best guy I ever met, Frankie,” you said, voice steady despite the lump in your throat. “For real. And none of this—your past, your battles, any of it—makes you any less valuable.”

His breath hitched.

For a moment, neither of you moved. The tension between you wasn’t sharp anymore—it was tender. Fragile. A thing you both held gently in your hands.

Frankie turned to face you too, his forehead just inches from yours, and in the dark, it felt like the whole world had narrowed to just this—just you and him.

You didn’t say anything else, you didn’t need to.

The morning came too soon.

Sunlight filtered through the nylon walls of the tent, warm and golden, and you woke slowly, disoriented by how calm you felt. Frankie was still beside you, quiet and breathing steadily. You didn’t know if he was awake yet, and you didn’t dare look. You just listened for a moment—to the breeze outside, birds in the trees, someone cursing over trying to get the fire started.

Eventually, you rolled out of the sleeping bag and changed into fresh clothes, not looking back.

By the time you joined the others, coffee was brewing over the flames and the boys were already half-alive and throwing jabs at each other. You sat on the log bench next to Benny, who passed you a metal mug without looking.

“Sleep okay?” he asked casually.

You just nodded, eyes flicking to Frankie across the fire. He was already looking.

Your gaze met for a second too long—soft, searching, warm—and it did something stupid to your chest.

No one said anything. But you felt it. You both did.

Later, the sun climbed higher and someone—probably Benny—declared it “prime lake hour.” Everyone agreed with groggy enthusiasm, and swim trunks and towels came out. You stayed behind a moment in the tent, staring down at your bikini, stomach tight with hesitation. It was cute. Objectively. But that didn’t mean you felt good in it.

When you stepped out, arms crossed over your bare middle, Frankie was standing barefoot near the treeline in the world’s most ridiculous swim shorts—sky blue, patterned with rubber ducks like a fever dream. It made you laugh before you could help it.

He turned at the sound, eyebrows lifting when he saw you. “There she is,” he said, that easy smirk tugging at his lips. “Took you long enough.”

“I was deciding whether to fake a leg injury.”

“Should’ve gone with amnesia,” he said. “It’s more dramatic.”

You laughed again, and—somehow—you didn’t feel so tense in your skin anymore.

Then Benny cannonballed into the water, screaming like a child. Santi followed with a cocky, slow-motion dive. Will, of course, gave a tiny, polite whoop before launching himself in.

That left just you and Frankie standing at the edge of the dock.

You glanced at each other.

“Race you,” he said, already grinning.

“You’re on.”

You both took off at the same time, feet slapping the wood, laughing like you’d already won. You hit the water seconds apart—cold and shocking and exhilarating. You surfaced gasping, blinking away the brightness, and when your eyes found Frankie, you were already swimming toward him without thinking.

He was floating just a little ways off, hair wet and curling wildly at his temples, eyes squinting against the sun, droplets glinting on his skin like gold dust. He was laughing quietly to himself, mouth slightly open, and when he saw you approaching, he raised an eyebrow.

“What?” he asked, teasing.

You flushed just a little. “Nothing.”

“Oh, it’s something. You were staring.”

You rolled your eyes. “You wish.”

“Don’t need to wish,” he said, cocky and soft at the same time. “I know.”

You dunked him or at least tried.

He yelped, grabbed at your wrists, and in seconds had pulled you under with him, both of you sinking briefly into the quiet blue.

And something happened there—under the water, beneath the surface noise of the world. Everything felt still. Weightless, safe.

You didn’t think. You just moved—arms sliding around his neck, legs curling instinctively around his waist. Frankie didn’t ask questions. He didn’t need to. He just held you there, his hands finding the small of your back like it was the most natural thing in the world.

You both stayed suspended for a moment too long, eyes locked, hair floating between you like ink in water. His gaze was steady, wide, real, and you couldn’t look away.

Then—

“Yo! Stop making out under there, fish freaks!”

Benny’s voice broke through the surface like a bad joke, followed by a splash that hit too close.

You gasped and broke away, popping up with a sputter.

Frankie surfaced beside you, wiping water from his face, grinning like he hadn’t just had the wind knocked out of him emotionally. “I’m gonna kill him,” he muttered.

You laughed despite yourself, blinking water from your lashes. “Get in line.”

The fire cracked loud in the silence, hissing as a log shifted and sent sparks spiraling upward into the night. The lake behind them lapped gently at the shore. Bugs buzzed in the thick summer air. Someone passed around a half-empty bag of marshmallows and a mostly dead lighter. Benny told a story that probably started out true and ended in a full-blown lie.

Frankie barely heard a word of it.

You were sitting beside him. Close. Shoulder against his, legs stretched out, toes tucked near the edge of the firelight. You’d been soft all evening—unguarded in a way that made his chest feel like it had been cracked open with a crowbar.

And then you laughed. Head tilted back, sunlight in your voice even though it was long past sunset. Without thinking, you leaned into him, head resting on his shoulder like it was second nature.

You hugged his arm and Frankie forgot how to breathe for a second.

It wasn’t just the touch. It was the weight of it. The ease. The way your fingers curled around his bicep like they belonged there, like he wasn’t some danger to your peace, like you weren’t scared of him the way you sometimes seemed to be. And that—god, that did something to him. Melted him from the inside out.

He sat as still as he could, afraid if he shifted even slightly, you’d realize what you were doing and pull away.

You didn’t.

The warmth spread through him slow and molten, thick and sweet in his veins. He stared at the fire, but his senses were full of you. The smell of your shampoo, the soft sound of your breathing, the lazy shape your fingers made against his arm.

Across the flames, Santi looked up from his beer and met his eyes, one brow raised. Frankie gave him nothing back. Just the tiniest shrug, like don’t you fucking say a word.

Santi didn’t. Neither did Will, who definitely noticed but kept his face turned toward the fire. Benny just snored softly, half-asleep on a log with a marshmallow stuck to his shirt.

Frankie let out a slow breath. Let his head tilt just enough to brush yours. Didn’t dare move more than that.

He didn’t need more, not right now.

This was already more than he thought he’d ever get.

And it felt like something, something worth to hold onto. 

The zipper buzzed softly behind him as he ducked into the tent. The air was cooler now, the fire burned down to coals outside, the lake settled into glass. Most of the guys had knocked out where they sat or stumbled to their tents half-asleep.

You followed a few minutes later.

Frankie lay on his back, hands behind his head, trying to look casual even though his pulse kicked up the second he heard the nylon rustle.

You crawled in with that quiet way of yours, the kind that made it feel like you belonged there. Like this wasn’t just a random arrangement of bad luck and missing tent poles.

It was dark, save for the moonlight slipping through the thin fabric above them. Still, he didn’t need to see you to know where you were—he could feel you. Every inch. Every breath. Like his body had memorized your gravity.

Minutes passed in silence.

Then—

“You make me feel safe,” you whispered, sudden and raw in the dark. “You know that?”

His breath caught.

“Like I don’t need to keep my guard up all the time. And I’ve never had that before.”

Frankie turned his head slightly, could just make out your silhouette now. You were still staring up at the roof of the tent, like if you looked at him, you might not get the words out.

“You don’t see the mess,” you went on, voice a little unsteady. “You see me. The me I mostly don’t even meet myself. And it scares me shitless, but I also… I don’t know, it’s good. Please just—keep doing that. Wherever it lands.”

He blinked hard.

God, you didn’t even know what that did to him.

He shifted, just enough to turn onto his side. Your face was barely visible in the moonlight—eyes wide and vulnerable, like you’d just handed him something breakable and weren’t sure if he’d hold it right.

His throat felt thick. Words weren’t his thing, not like this. But he’d be damned if he didn’t try.

“I love your laugh,” he said softly. “You know that?”

You looked surprised, breath catching.

Frankie smiled faintly, gaze tracing the line of your cheek. “It’s—fuck, it’s beautiful. Makes something settle in me. Every time I hear it, it’s like I get a little reminder that good things exist. That you exist.”

The silence between you stretched, but it wasn’t empty. It was so full it ached.

And then, barely above a whisper, he added, “So yeah… I’ll keep doing that. Seeing you. Because every version of you I’ve seen so far has been worth it.”

You turned to face him then. Closer now. His breath stilled as your hand found his chest again, warm and gentle like the night before.

And for the first time in a long time, Frankie didn’t feel like a man carrying too much weight.

He just felt wanted.

Your fingers rested lightly on his chest, just over the steady beat of his heart. You felt it jump the moment you touched him, and maybe yours did too. It was so quiet you could hear every breath, the rustle of nylon, the night sounds muffled outside the tent walls.

And still—it felt like the loudest thing in the world was the space between your bodies.

You didn’t know how long you lay there like that. Staring at him, feeling him breathe under your palm. It should’ve been small. But it felt enormous. Like your world shifting on its axis.

Your fingers curled slightly into the fabric of his shirt. Old, worn down and loved. Safe. Like everything about him felt. You couldn’t look away from his mouth, the way it parted just a little as your gaze dropped there. Your breath hitched before you even moved.

Still, you leaned in.

Soft, slow, tentative. Not quite a kiss. Just the beginning of one. The question of it.

And then, just before your lips could brush his, Frankie whispered, “I really would like to kiss you. Would that be okay?”

The way he said it—like it mattered. Like you mattered and all you could do was nodding, barely able to find your voice. “Yeah… please.”

And when it happened, it wasn’t like you imagined. It wasn’t fireworks or a movie scene or something dramatic.

It was careful and so gentle it made something ache in your chest.

His hand slid up, cradling your cheek, thumb brushing just beneath your eye. His lips met yours like he’d never been more sure of anything.

You kissed him back just as slow, like neither of you wanted to break it. Like this might be the first real moment of your life where you weren’t running from something, weren’t hiding.

Just here. With him, in this moment that stretched and made heat bloom in you.

And when you finally pulled away, your forehead stayed pressed to his. Both of you breathing quietly and unevenly.

You whispered, “That okay?”

Frankie let out a soft, breathless laugh, like you’d just said the most ridiculous thing in the world. “That was more than okay.”

Your smile broke before you could stop it, and this time when you laughed he kissed you again.

Just because he could.

thanks for reading 💌

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[seriouslycalamitous]

I wanted to send this ask to encourage anyone who has read CWTT, MS, and/or any of your one-shots but not Be the Death of Me to go and read it, NEOW. It’s so good, I’ve been following your writing since then, and I think it’s criminally underrated.

Particularly for the pure vibes. The build up is so insane, and slow cooked in the well-done kind of way. There were so many lines and passages that made me go “OH, ALRIGHT” and then giggle and kick my feet. The ‘I’m going to make it worse’ was one, and Grian trying to get back to the temple but running into something other was another one. You build tension so well.

Anyways, excited for the MS update tomorrow/today, and I hope you’re doing well <3

You sent this before ch6 was posted, so I hope you enjoyed, but thank you so much for recommending my other works <3 That really makes my day :)

[lennyfromvinci]

would you ever write an abbot pov? I was rereading just about starving tonight and I would absolutely kill to know what abbot was thinking for literally any part of the fic. specifically, does he go into having sex with samira after the game knowing that this is his only shot at being with her? I definitely get some slightly bittersweet vibes from it, like he’s feeling lucky that he even gets to be with her once and that’s ok with him. even though it’s heartbreaking, if he is aware. love your writing and was just curious!!

Omg thank you for reading it once, let alone multiple times!

Idk if I’ll ever write an Abbot POV of anything - I mean, the odds are pretty good. Maybe I need to watch GenKill another three times to get closer to that mindset first? That said I probably won’t do an alt of just about starving tonight because then I’d have to think of a year’s worth of things that man does in his free time. Is Robby even aware of this man’s inner turmoil? Probably not. I’m sure he thinks Jack’s really annoyed about the Pens/Pirates/Steelers or whatever the hell it is they watch when they hang out once every few weeks. (At least until Samira shows up at the fundraiser, which is when Robby’s like oh sure this is normal, no, you know what? Let’s pretend it is normal, who cares. I’m going to ignore that this is technically my circus and they are my monkeys. A tactic he employs for many months to come.)

Samira figuring out what the fuck she wants out of life is what was interesting to me while writing. I think Jack already knows, at least in this universe. He’s pretty settled, stable. I think he has the handful of friends he needs and a therapist and a police scanner and diversified investment accounts. Sure, this girl waltzed into his life a few years ago and he can’t stop thinking about her, but she didn’t upend his life the way Ellis and Abbot and the night shift journal club ultimately upend Samira’s.

That said, I had two major Abbot notes while I was writing, which I’ll put under a cut.

One was handwritten and says “JA thinks Robby’s breaking her down when he should be building her up” which is so obvious I don’t know why I bothered writing it down lol.

The other was about them sleeping together the first time - something I went back and forth about so many times, because I couldn’t figure out if they should or not. But I knew if they did, it would have to be a little bittersweet, so I’m glad that came through. This is directly from my notes/deleted nonsense doc for the fic, bolded because I kept referencing it while I was writing those scenes and wanted to be able to find it easily:

This man is ass-over-teakettle in love with her and has been probably since she gave him shit for saying “do numbers” that one time. He also knows that sleeping with her in that moment is some insane timing. Is this a bad idea? It’s probably a bad idea. That’s why he’s trying to talk to her, to slow everything down even before they get to her bedroom. The entire time he wants nothing more than for her to calm down and be with him. I think he’s cautiously hoping that it’s the start of something longer term, all the way up until they’re actively having sex and Samira is like “stop making love to me while I’m trying to fuck you.” That’s when it turns for him, when the seed of doubt really takes root.

He keeps trying, though, keeps hoping - he invites her to stay for dinner! - and she just keeps shutting him down, over and over again. Jack’s a guy who knows the dangers of hoping too hard; so he slams the them-door shut and agrees that it was one time only, pretends that he understands where she’s coming from by saying she’s leaving. He’s trying to cut her off at the path, shut it down before she says something that he can’t recover from. They’re two tightly-wound violin strings in that moment, both of them so close to snapping, neither of them knowing how to act because they think they know what each other’s thinking but they’re so off base it hurts. When Samira hugs him in the kitchen, it’s a lifeline. It’s the only reason he can pretend to be normal around her after, because sleeping with her has only made him want her more. He’s survived worse, so he knows he’ll get through this, too, but Christ alive is it going to fucking suck.

[wedriftlikelonelyplanets]

hi mate 🥰🥰 i love your githhhw verse SO MUCH🗣️ i dont think you understand ✋🙂‍↕️ but anyways ☝️ do you have any specific songs or playlists that you associate with these guys in this verse 🤠🙏 because honestly i think if you put their dynamic in a song it would SLAP‼️🥰

HELLOOOOO Anon!!!

It makes me SUPER happy that you love the series so much. I understand your love to an extent because I wrote it and it's the first handful of things I've posted, which in turn also makes it special to me. Even though I can only just read them now without getting wild second-hand embarrassment because I posted insane smut on the internet.

I do have both playlists and songs that make me think of them. If i could share the playlists without absolutely doxxing my spotify account, I would, but unfortunately I am an agent of chaos and have all my playlists publicly available so then everyone could see every playlist ever. So I'll give you some songs!!

The Walls - Chase Atlantic

bitches - Tove Lo

Kiss in the Rain - Dasha Day

Meddle About - Chase Atlantic

Into It - Chase Atlantic

Slow Down - Chase Atlantic

Hatef**k - The Bravery

Touch It - Ariana Grande

L$D - A$AP Rocky

Fight or Flight Club - Madge

Often - The Weeknd

Ride for Me - Daniel Di Angelo

Complex - Xana

Pray - Xana

Mirrors - Natalia Kills

These are kind of overall vibes, not all of it is for lyrics, some of it is for the beat and the like thoughts and stuff that I get while I think about the fics. AND as a bonus, I have a whole entire new playlist that I made for Landoscar for the NEW fic i'm writing in the GITHHHW verse

Daisy - Ashnikko

Halloweenie - Ashnikko

Deal with it - Ashnikko

Destroy Me - Salem

Throat - Salem

I Wanna Be Yours - Arctic Monkeys

Dream Boy - Waterparks

Self-Sabotage - Waterparks

Moonlight Magic - Ashnikko

Bad Idea - Ariana Grande

There are more songs on both of these, but these are some of my faves. It's actually been INCREDIBLY hard to build playlists for them because I just want music about raunchy sex but also being wildly in love with someone for them both. Anyhow, hope you like!!!

[triviareads]

hi there, do you have any good slow burn, age gap romances that you'd recommend? i read that grace callaway one ("olivia and the masked duke") and i just didn't vibe with it. might need to go back and give it another try. but yeah, if there are others like it, pls share and thank you!

hi! here are the slow(er) burn age gap romances I could think of:

Voluptuous by Felicity Niven: SO MUCH PINING, SO MUCH SHAAAAAME on the hero's part because he's her dad's much older best friend and accidentally gets caught in a compromising position with the heroine so they marry, but he can't bring himself to touch her despite being VERY attracted to her (and she's always been down bad for him), in part because he thinks he was a shitty husband and is a widower twice over.

What I Did For a Duke by Julie Anne Long: The hero's in his 40s and the heroine is in her early 20s; it initially starts with her pining after someone else and him helping her make the other guy jealous but Feelings develop ofc; JAL is the QUEEN of building up tension and writing these insanely erotic moments you THINK should be fairly inane AND YET-

The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long: I think the hero is in his late? thirties? and the heroine is in her early twenties when they marry, but misunderstandings drive them apart for 5 years, and when he comes back, he asks for permanent separation. Again, JAL writes this insanely erotic, slow build-up between them and the payoff is worth it.

Glory and the Master of Shadows by Grace Callaway: If you wanna try some more Callaway, there is an age gap and a HEAVY dash of teacher/student stuff; the heroine has always felt like an odd duck romantically to immediately recognize her attraction towards the hero, and the hero is a cool, competent type who's is too hellbent upon revenge for his dead family to act upon his slowly growing feelings for a good chunk of the book until the heroine lays it all on the table, which I thought was really lovely.

Dearest Rogue by Elizabeth Hoyt: A bodyguard romance! The hero obviously hates himself for being attracted to his much younger charge, and they only act on their feelings after he whisks her away to the country to protect her from kidnapping attempts. SO GOOD. SO HOT.

No Ordinary Duchess by Elizabeth Hoyt: The hero is in his thirties and haaaates himself for his *depraved desires* (see: he's submissive in the sack), so the heroine has to get him to admit what he likes, and surprise, she's very into it too.

Selina by S.M. LaViolette: The hero in this one had a traumatic accident that caused him to lose his wife and his sight, so he has PTSD and is learning to live with his new reality when he hires the heroine as his new housekeeper, and it takes a while for both of them to warm up to each other before they fall for one another.

When the Duke Was Wicked by Lorraine Heath: I'm pretty sure this counts as slow burn; the hero is a much older widowed family friend of the heroine and when she asks him to help her find a suitable future husband, he first rejects her ask, then accepts it, and THEN realizes maybe? the future husband should be kinda like him?? Perhaps HIM??

Rules for a Proper Governess by Jennifer Ashley: A governess romance between a widowed lawyer and a street rat turned governess; I remember it taking Sinclair and Bertie a little while to act on their feelings because of the usual class difference/"he's too good for me"/"she's in my employ" issues.

[blood-red-hummingbee]

Gargoyles, who knew?

1500 words... :| I'm not sorry.

~

Emmelia was overwhelmed. That was her defense, and the reason for her regret. With so many people, and sights, and sounds and the Club Fair she just… panicked. And now she’s signed up for every single club.

She groaned into her pillow. Sitting on and kneading her back, Alma chirped in response. Em appreciated the support, but she couldn’t even remember what any of them were. She was doomed. Everyone was gonna hate her when she inevitably missed them all. She wants to be unnoticed, not hated!

As if reading her mind, Alma hopped off of Em, striding over to her desk where the stack of flyers… for…

Em jumped off the bed and scooped up the papers. There had to be a dozen in the stack, but one stuck out to her. Mostly because it was hand written in fancy looping scrawl on notebook paper. She remembered getting this one, actually. It wasn’t even from a booth, just a boy sitting under a tree, no one paying him any mind. His face had lit up when she approached, silently handing her the flyer for…

She looked down at it. ‘Gargoyle Club’. … What? Like… the statues?

No wonder the poor thing was alone.

But… he’d looked so happy when she accepted. And far be it from her to dismiss strange interests… She’d check it out.

Hold on, did the time say midnight?!

~

She was insane. Completely crazy, marbles gone, bananas. This guy was completely alone, and if she went, they’d be completely alone together in the middle of the night. And yet, here she was, walking across campus to the main square. Sure, if worse came to worst, she had her Signature Spell, but she still felt like the protagonist in a horror movie. Then again, the protag get plot armor… usually.

Her feet kept moving.

It took a second to spot him, despite his distinctive features. He’d been sitting down at the fair, but now she could see exactly how tall he was, not even counting his horns! His eyes seemed to glow, only enhancing the general ethereal vibe he was putting off.

He smiled at her softly. “Hello.”

Oh. Oh, no. His voice was so pretty. Deep and smooth. She had to be on guard right now! Now was not the time for her romanticism to come and bite her in the ass! 

“Hi.”

Wow. Eloquent.

“Where would you like to start?”

“What?”

He leaned in, an excited gleam to his green eyes. “There are many spots around campus, do you have anywhere in particular you’d like to start?”

What? Oh, yeah! Gargoyles! He’s serious about this, huh?

“Um. Not really? Do you have any favorites?”

Maybe it was stupid to go along with this but… She’d like to think of herself as a good judge of character, and she didn’t feel threatened at all. Besides, she always had her escape route. If this was genuine… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad?

She followed after the boy as he happily led her along. Speaking of…

“What’s your name?”

He turned to her, slowing down a little. He smiled, though she could see a bit of sadness in his eyes. “You can call me whatever you’d like.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. Was he for real? “Really? Whatever I want?”

He nodded. He was really serious?

“Even if I called you… uh, Hornton! What if I called you Hornton?”

He seemed to like it, his smile getting a bit wider. “If you want.”

She stared at him a moment. “O-kay then. Let’s see these statues, I guess.”

Hornton looked offended. “They aren’t statues! They’re gargoyles!”

Em… didn’t follow.

He sighed, seemingly resigned. “It’s alright, the confusion happens saddeningly often. You’re thinking of grotesques. Gargoyles actually serve a purpose! In architecture, and specifically gothic architecture, a gargoyle has a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between. Architects often used multiple gargoyles on a building to divide the flow of rainwater off the roof to minimize potential damage from rainstorms. A trough is cut in the back of the gargoyle and rainwater typically exits through the open mouth. Gargoyles are usually elongated fantastical animals because their length determines how far water is directed from the wall. They’re quite beautiful as well, serving their purpose both well and stylishly! Not to mention the superstitions about them warding off malicios intent and creatures.”

Hornton didn’t seem at all out of breath after the info-dump, looking quite pleased with himself… and her. She wondered if he’d ever actually finished explaining the difference before, and how long it had been since then if he had…

He seemed lonely. She could understand that.

“That’s actually really interesting!” She said, searching the rooftops for any gargoyles. She wasn’t lying either, she was always looking for relatively useless but interesting trivia to hoard. Like a dragon and it’s treasure. Hornton was delighted. “It is! We’re coming up on one of my favorites now.”

He gestured up to the roof as they rounded a corner, pointing out a barely visible gargoyle. She frowned. “I can’t see it very well.”

Despite her initial doubts, she was actually quite interested in the gargoyles. Hornton seemed surprised she couldn’t spot it up on the roof at least several meters up. “Hm, I suppose you can’t.”

He put his hand to his chin, thinking. Then he held it out to her. “May I?”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “May you… what?”

Despite herself, she put her hand in his noting how soft it was. He grinned at her, this one more mischievous than his last few, his fangs glinting in the moonlight. In an instant, they were up on a ledge on the roof, the gargoyle just a few feet from her. The prickle of magic lingered on her skin as Hornton slipped his hand out of hers and took a step back.

She let out a breath as she approached the edge of the roof. The distance seemed even larger up here. It made her kinda dizzy, so she turned around instead to inspect the reason she was here. Just play it cool. Don’t let the sound akin to a tea kettle escape her throat. Act normal!

“Oh, I see the spout!”

She turned back to her companion, a grin stretching on her face despite her. He closed the distance between himself and the gargoyle in just a step, still keeping a polite distance from her. Then he leaned over the edge of the roof. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped. He’d probably done this a hundred times.

“Look.”

What.

“Uh… No thank you. I can’t fly, just so you know.”

He chuckled lowly, giving her a look that seemed to say ‘how silly!’. “I won’t let you fall.”

She swallowed. She had no reason to trust him, let alone with her life, and yet… she kneeled down, scooching to the edge. She grabbed hold of the gargoyle’s podium and hesitantly leaned out. He pointed up at it’s mouth, the other end of the spout. “Oh!”

She felt her fingers slipping. “Eek…!”

She quickly pulled back, losing her balance and falling on her butt, but solidly on the ledge. Hornton laughed, but quickly muffled it, holding his hand up to his mouth. She scrunched her nose and stuck her tongue out at him. “Nyeh!”

He laughed, a proper laugh this time, and she found herself joining in. After picking herself up and brushing her hands off on her pants, he stuck his hand back out to her. “Are you ready?”

She hummed, not quite taking it yet, instead running her hand over the gargoyle, rubbing away a bit of moss that was stuck to it’s head. “I wish I had my sketchbook. It’s horns kinda look like yours…”

She turned back just in time to catch him turning away, his cheeks pink. “Well, you’re more than welcome to bring it and come back next time.”

She snorted. “You don’t mean that. Seriously, when I get sucked in, I get sucked in. We’d be here ‘til dawn.”

He furrowed his brows. “And?”

She paused. He was serious, something she was learning rather slowly at this point. “Well, besides classes, my sleep schedule is trash enough as is.”

“Oh, right.”

… Oh, awkward silences, how she despised them. “Right. I should probably be getting going but… I’ll see you next week?”

He looked surprised, but happy. “Of course.”

She had a feeling she meant it.

~

Tagging; Just @screamintoad atp, lemme know if you wanna be tagged tho <3

[thekuraning]

fic writing asks : 17 and 27, 28?

hope you’re doing well!! I’m just about to finally catch up with the latest chapter of moving on in a maelstrom (I haven’t checked my ao3 inbox for updates in a hot minute!!), thank you as ever for writing!

WASABI THANK YOU FOR SENDING im hanging in there i hope youre doing good too <3 and i hope you enjoy the latest chapter grelhbqughoeiqg

:') i talk a lot gomen

17. talk about your writing and editing process

so i'm definitely not the kind of person who sits down and outlines their story and all the plot points or does a ton of planning (kind of a bad habit probably!!) and mostly my fics comes from some broad concepts or ideas, vibes, or any sort of vivid scene I imagine up while im daydreaming on the way to work, and then I just kind of run with it. Actually I think from all the fics I've actually tried to follow an outline for in the past, only one has gotten past a handful of chapters (that would be Turning Point, which is shockingly complete!)

And like the scenes or vibes or ideas aren't always related to major plot points or anything either, they're just character moments and either a) do not need backstory to explain the situation, so they get to be a oneshot, or b) are VERY PARTICULAR about the backstory of the Scene and then they end up a full-fledged novella/novel/epic.

So like for example, I started on Maelstrom fic for a very specific scene with a very specific character--and you might expect it to be related to the main villain! Except I didn't even have a design for him until the day I sat down to write chapter 5 (which came to me in a caffeine-fueled fever dream) and wasn't even sure what his NEXT ability would be until chapter 8. Yeah he's the main antagonist. But this entire fic. This entire damn fic. Is a stepping stone. To a scene where Yuri is going insane under house arrest and Barnaby goes to visit him. And it's the funniest fucking thing in my head. Like I want to be so clear this is just an elaborate slide puzzle to a one-paragraph gag and I have no idea if the set-up is even worth it. But then once I get started writing things kind of start to fall into place like dominoes because I spend a lot of time overthinking the world building and the canon orz

Anyways as for editing uhhhh well!!! You have probably noticed!! I have SO MANY TYPOS IN MY CHAPTERS!!! My cat hears me say so many swears after chapters are posted :( I tend to be like constantly reading and rereading and editing... the first half of a chapter. The further I go the more excited I get to post! And the less I end up reading. So uhhh yeah if anyone ever goes back to read any fic I've ever posted EVER and you're like huh I don't remember that or huh I thought it was different yeah. yeah it was. I edited it 3 months later when I reread part and realized I had 15 typos, non-sequitors, and the worst sentence composition known to man OTL

27. your favorite part of the writing process

getting experimental with it! :') i like fucking around with imagery and description and pacing to try and see what kind of vibes i can squeeze out of something. actually i forget how long ago it was but i think my buddy isleofair sent an ask once where I went on a rant about what makes a slow burn a slow burn and ever since then I've REALLY wanted to try and write a slow burn that diagetically takes place in like. one or two hours. i have no idea how it would work but i think it would be really fun to try.

otherwise i think my favorite thing is like world building but through the little background details, like trying to squish in regional dialects or brands or in-universe entertainment franchises. I was really fucking proud of myself for Barnaby's Gatorade ad reel and his promotional coffee in Maelstrom lmfaooo or like getting so fucky with Proton's slang in my pokemon fics. Still trying to figure out how to write an entire oneshot about no one understanding what he means when he says "freezycaff."

28. your least favorite part of the writing process

>:( what do you MEAN I have to have a coherent plot!!! What do you MEAN I should probably plan to avoid plotholes!!! What do you MEAN i have to write through writer's block or take breaks when I burn out creatively!!!!! NO STOPPING ONLY VIBES ONLY GOOFS AND GAFFS!!! ONLY FICS!!!

On a more serious note. My least favorite part really is since I don't do a lot of planning beforehand :( sometimes all I got be them vibes, and getting from point a to point b can be like pulling teeth if I'm not like. manic. A lot of times I feel like I have a big picture with a lot of missing little pieces, and sometrimes I just can't figure out a satisfying way to get over it. Then the perma-hiatus hammer comes out UmU RIP in pepperonis dead fics from 2018.

Thank u again for sending!! <3

[lifesver]

𝘒𝘕𝘖𝘞𝘐𝘕𝘎  𝘠𝘖𝘜𝘙  𝘗𝘈𝘙𝘛𝘕𝘌𝘙  𝘞𝘌𝘓𝘓  𝘊𝘈𝘕  𝘗𝘖𝘛𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘐𝘈𝘓𝘓𝘠  𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌  𝘞𝘙𝘐𝘛𝘐𝘕𝘎  𝘛𝘖𝘎𝘌𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘙  𝘈  𝘓𝘖𝘛  𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘐𝘌𝘙.

NAME :  kels

PRONOUNS :  she/they/he

PREFERENCE  OF  COMMUNICATION : ims on here are fine, im kind of bad at discord until i know people better, but i prefer to talk to my pals on discord obvi

NAME  OF  MUSE(S) : leland mckinney, tommy jarvis, jake park are most recent. but we were also out here for a long while w richie tozier and five hargreeves.

EXPERIENCE  /  HOW  LONG  (  MONTHS  /  YEARS? ) : oh god uh........... it really goes back to something like 2013? like i started in oc rp groups on and off mostly, i think i didn't get into actual tumblr rpc until maybe 2018? and w leland well we have been out here since last may agjsdk

BEST  EXPERIENCE : honestly like... as much as i sometimes still get embarrassed trying to explain [scare chord] Tumblr Roleplay to people outside of this particular circle, it's been such a large part of my enjoyment online for years and years. i've met some really close friends here, i've done some of my best writing here. and a lot of it is just the ability to bounce off my friends and their huge brain ideas. collaborative writing, to me, is just so much more fun than doing it alone. i really like taking one character and getting just way too deep into who they are, i like learning and picking things up from the variety of other writers on here. improving my writing from reading what my super talented friends do... and in particular this last year has been probably??? one of my most positive rpc experiences in a long while. having people jump into the tcsm rpc, making new friends, and putting together just completely off the shits wild aus and whatever. idk! my creative brain loves to go stupid mode in the paint. and besties we have written some good fucking horror narrative on this stupid website.

and also i'm cringe and i'm free (:

RP  PET  PEEVES  /  DEALBREAKERS :  i'm kind of just chilling like i really am very much non-confrontational in this space because it's... for fun. it's just imaginary internet collaborative writing hobby. mainly i just don't need passive aggression of any kind. i believe that you kind of get back what you put in on this kind of space, so make it comfortable for yourself, be kind to others, and understanding as often as you can be. if people aren't hurting anyone, let them vibe in their own space. not everyone has endless time anymore for rp, so don't make it weird or take it personally when people take time to get back to you about plots, or if they never get time. soft and hardblock as you need to to make your space chill for You it's just never that deep

MUSE  PREFERENCES  FLUFF,   ANGST  OR  SMUT : we like a bit of everything in this house (except anything remotely usfw goes to usfw shadow realm blog). like be serious i am always in the horror rpc for the angst and suffering and exploration of trauma but that needs to be balanced out by fluff and gentle vibes. [loudly into the megaphone] its about LOVE and HORROR-

PLOTS  OR  MEMES :  i like both! i think it's easiest to get things rolling with just whatever memes thrown my way and vice versa. i love plotting stuff out, but sometimes that takes a bit of existing in each others rpc space for a while. so i can be sort of slow w building dynamics, but i do like to!

LONG  OR  SHORT  REPLIES : i don't mind either, it's kind of refreshing to switch between the two, more rapid fire stuff is nice esp to start with, though i am known to be insane in the reply lengths for some prompts once stuff is plotted out.

BEST TIME TO WRITE :  i'm a morning person it's very cringe

ARE  YOU  LIKE  YOUR  MUSE(S) : idk if much really? but i do bring a sort of idiot jock(joth) energy to the function at times. i def project on him on the emotions side i think. and truly whoever i write at a given time reflects a bit on me bc hyperfixation go brrr

TAGGED  BY  :   did steal this from tsari thank u legend TAGGING  :  hands u it

[sneakyscarab]

another day, another touhou post! i almost missed the deadline on this one (not that it really matters, the pace is gonna slow down a lot in a couple posts anyways once i catch up). today's game is a bit of a weird one!

nina's thoughts on Touhou 9 - Phantasmagoria of Flower View

PoFV is a pretty strange game. instead of being a single-player experience like most mainline touhou games, PoFV is a competitive 2-player danmaku vs game. there is still a 1-player story mode, but instead of 6 stages and boss fights each character has 8 versus matches against other characters tied loosely together into a storyline.

the gameplay is neat, its honestly impressive how well the concept of a competitive danmaku battle actually works and it feels pretty natural. as usual the screen fills up with enemies and bullets, but stages dont have defined patterns or moments, instead both players keep surviving through an increasing onslaught of bullets and spell cards until one slips up and takes too many hits. destroying enemies creates a small explosion around them that deals damage to nearby enemies and sends weak bullets in the range to the other player's screen. if you line it up right you can get some nasty chain reaction explosions that can clear up your screen and really put the pressure on your opponent. in addition you can put more direct pressure on the other guy by building up your spell meter, expending it to summon powerful bullet patterns or even your own character as a boss fight onto your enemys side. while at times it can get a bit ridiculous (the two 'villain' characters have completely broken spell cards and insanely good ai piloting) in general the gameplay is fair and pretty fun!

as a fighting game of sorts, PoFV naturally has a rather large character roster, a total of 14 playable characters! we have the returners in Reimu, Marisa, Sakuya, Youmu, Reisen, Cirno, Lyrica, Mystia, Tewi, and Aya. Then we have 4 characters new to this game: Medicine, Yuuka, and the 'villains' of the story Komachi and Eiki Shiki. each character has different stats, shot types, zone shapes, and spell attacks, which makes for a lot of variety in the roster.

to try and unlock everything i beat the story mode for all 12 choices (Komachi and Eiki Shiki don't have a story mode). i didn't aim for 1cc's since the game doesn't differentiate whether you used a continue or not, but a couple of the runs happened to be done without continues: Marisa, Mystia, Aya, Medicine, and Yuuka. i dont remember enough about all the different characters bullets and stats to say that i really prefer any over the others, tbh if i were to play more i would probably just pick a character based on vibes alone. Marisa is my go-to generally, but im also partial to Cirno, Mystia, and Aya.

for the four new characters, theyre cool. Yuuka is probably my favourite solely because she gets a lot of cute art with Wriggle lol. for some reason the fandom is very split on whether Yuuka is an angry masochist or a lonely but wholesome flower lady. i think shes realistically somewhere in the middle. Medicine is also a neat concept, being an abandoned doll in a field of poisonous flowers who came to life through raw poisonous energy. Komachi is goofy, shes basically the grim reaper of Gensokyo but shes also really lazy and always slacking off, pretty much every singleplayer storyline involves her getting caught snoozing by her boss Eiki Shiki. Eiki Shiki herself is probably the weakest new character imo, its funny watching her judge all the characters supposed sins, but its really all she talks about, and her annoying fight isnt winning her any points for me.

PoFV is certainly a weird outlier in the series, but i think the gameplay does genuinely work pretty well! the idea of making a competitive bullet hell is so out there and they really put in the work to make it happen.

as always, thanks for reading! and if, somehow, someone is reading this who is remotely decent at touhou and wants to try playing the 2-player mode of this game with me, Please get in contact with me through whatever means works for you. i would love to give this a shot against an actual human.

[streamdotpng]

acting news

streamer enid au! once again part 2

There's a taste on Enid's tongue when she speaks. It's sweet, flavorful and distracting - addicting she can almost say. No wonder she keeps talking and talking, murmuring about anything just to taste that drug stuck in her mouth. 

It's why she couldn't fully focus on her stream, why her eyes aren't drawn to the colourful lights of the game she was playing on autopilot. Something was distracting her and she didn't know what. 

It isn't until she hears the slow yet measured footsteps passing by her door that it finally clicks and a smile grows on Enid's face.

Right, she ate well yesterday. 

Chat is as noisy as always, clamouring with their normal chatter but they seem to be confused as to why Enid suddenly decided to shut up. 

"streamer going insane?" 

"U see that glaze in her eyes? Bet she’s high on chocolate"

“You can get high on chocolate???”

“Ofc not this is y u dont believe everything in the internet” 

The werewolf quickly looked back to the game, a lil snort bubbling in her throat. Chat definitely has their moments, these were one of them. To think people wonder why she was streaming, it's for dumb reasons like this.

"hi guys what's happenin" 

"ur mom is what's happenin" 

“Yall so rude ;-; i was just asking”

A sound alert is the one that fully snaps Enid back to attention. With a quick thank you to one Sokoe-chan, she finally dragged her eyes away from the game to give a very concerned look at the camera, her eyes just reading that mess of a convo. 

“What the fuck chat?” she murmured, but the tone definitely couldn't hide the upward quirk of her lips. “Also I don't get high on chocolate, that's not how werewolves work.”

Chat begins to spark at that, questions of ‘duh, dogs are allergic that makes so much sense’ to ‘who made you the werewolf expert huh!?’ 

It makes Enid lean back as she builds a house. She’s playing minecraft after all, albeit one with horror mods but considering that the sun was up and her chests were full, she decided to go and finally build a house.

Before her chat remembers and calls her homeless.

She shivers at that, can you really blame her? It's hard to build things when you’re being chased and only have your own flesh and bone to keep you running.

The sound of rattling bones rings through her headphones and Enid’s cheeks burned as she gave her full attention back to chat. It's still a little shocking to have people pay for a free live stream, so she does try her best to give her gratitude to any supporters. “Thank you again Sokoe-chan for the ten gifted!” 

The text to speech drawled in reply “did you hear that Lunal curse is getting a movie adaption exclamation mark exclamation mark question mark.”

Enid’s eyes widened as she immediately straightened and pulled herself close to the camera. “Really?!” she places a hand on her chest, leaning back with a dramatic sigh. “My wife is going to do amazing, I'm telling you.” Enid points at the screen, a bright smile on her face. “Ain’t nobody can beat my woman! Imagine being a director and the main actor-”

As the werewolf goes on a tangent, chat meanwhile has their own thoughts.

“There she goes”

“Can you blame her?! Wednesday does such a good job as Viper”

“It just feels a lil self insert for the author to act out the main role yknow?”

“Hey now, if it works then it works”

“Just sayin!”

“Brother ur in the wrong channel to be dissing Wednesday”

“Endespair is a huge W.A simp after all”

Enid paused in her words to raise a brow. “Hey hey, nothing wrong with saying your thoughts but you’re treading a thin line there man.” she waves her hand around. “She’s giving good content and getting that bag! Besides, she auditioned for that role and the others greenlit her to be Viper.” 

Most of the chat agrees, some even citing a few articles of the process. This definitely wasn’t a new topic in terms of Viper’s casting.

The tone overall seemed rather easy going, everyone vibing until a comment pops in that makes Enid’s lips drop and her brows to furrow.

“Trust a dog to be at someones heel”

“HEY”

“Too far dude wtf”

“MODS”

“U AINT ACCEPTED HERE”

A stormy look crossed Enid’s face and the ban hammer dropped. The wolf sighs, escaping the game to the menu as she gives a look. 

“we’re boutta be scolded againnn”

“Its not our fault!”

“Sjdklajdklsja father forgive us”

“Pls not again, i havent recovered from the last lashing”

Enid’s look is affronted, but chat’s lil attempts to make her smile works. “You guys make it sound like I abuse you or something,” she laughs and for a moment, chat thinks they’re off the hook before she removes her glasses to raise a brow at the camera.

A classic look of disappointment.

“Dangit thought that was going to work”

“Lowkey i dont mind being scolded if its endespair”

“Daddy issues right here”

“Ay no need to call me out like that”

Normally, Enid would hold out for a few more seconds, just to make the tension palpable enough to fuck with her audience until the loud sounds of bones rattling makes her shoulders drop.

This is why she can’t be serious until it's really needed.

“Lunaslandingpad threw 50 gifted subs into the pile” spoke the alert but just before it could continue, Enid paused it to let out a harsh and very tired sigh.

One so filled with emotion that it makes Chat pause themselves as she rubbed at her eyes before sliding on her frames.

“One, no bribing me to feel better,” Enid starts and immediately, chat clammors in agreement. “Two, none of those dog comments. Not only is that a shitty thing to do but I have werewolf tagged on stream to make sure others like me find it easier so don’t make me regret it.” A shine of white is shown, her fangs seemed to almost be bared if it weren’t for the hand that covers anything below her nose. “Last, there is nothing wrong with criticising a piece of work but don’t bring that stuff here.”

Silence filled the air as Enid leant back, her lips pursed as she crossed her arms. “Got it?”

“Ofcourse!”

“Yesser”

message deleted by moderator

“WE SAW THAT” “Caught in 4k”

Soon, Enid’s scowl turned into a bigger raised brow before rolling her eyes as she opened up the mod log to see the rather.. Thirsty comment. “You all really gotta think before you type.” her head shakes as she laughs. “you guys are lucky i wouldn’t have you guys any other way.” 

Taglist: @agathaharkness-simp​ @lunaslandingpad​

[volturialice]

Do you have any dark gothic/horror book recs? I’m trying to get out of thrillers at the moment. also looking for some dark classics. any ideas?

I was waiting to answer this until after the Bella's Book Club summer reading reclist went live and now it's live!! and I must say, full of some Choice gothic recs. But I'll list my personal faves here!

Dark™ things from my part of the BBC reclist:

Jamaica Inn (and My Cousin Rachel) by Daphne du Maurier - iirc I described Jamaica Inn as gothic + adventure in my recs, and yep, that's what it is. definitely part of the specific "the book cover shows a woman in a nightgown running from a scary building" gothic heroine tradition. I also gave a brief nod to My Cousin Rachel because it's another of du Maurier's works which I think is underrated (that one's more of a slow-burning gothic mystery featuring a hero of the 'little wet babygirl' variety.)

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia - Also as I said in my recs, it's very like Jamaica Inn in structure and genre, though of course the writing, the specific characters, and the central mysteries are different. But MG is (of course) Mexican and has more fun Get Out/Ready or Not vibes with its themes of class and ethnicity.

Girls Running from Houses by tanaudel on redbubble

Perfume: the Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind - Villain protagonist villain protagonist! This one I love mostly for its flowery prose and sheer aesthetic commitment. You're telling me this 18th-century French serial killer turns his victims into perfume?? Say more

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey - Seriously the most underrated YA series of all time. Also so gory and terrifying I sometimes cannot believe it's YA. To this day some of the scariest written horror my eyes have beheld, not to mention it's got banger prose. Most people know Rick Yancey from The 5th Wave which is such bland cookiecutter 2010s YA dystopia love triangle nonsense that I just want to shake everyone and go NO, READ THIS BRILLIANCE INSTEAD! ngl the last book in the series is Not Good (you can 100% tell he had switched all his energies to 5th Wave, which is a shame) but the first 3 are absolutely good enough to make up for it.

Other people's reclist recs that I too have read and enjoyed: Rebecca (Daphne du Maurier), We Have Always Lived in the Castle (Shirley Jackson), Dracula (Bram Stoker), Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)

More classics: The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (short and easy read!), The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (a must-read for aesthete gays everywhere. I mean cmon it's Oscar)

Extremely melodramatic "classics:' I loved reading Louisa May Alcott's little known "flops" A Long Fatal Love Chase and Behind a Mask (short story collection.) I might make Book Club read Love Chase at some point because I think we'd have way too much fun with it. We'll see.

My personal favorite that I think everyone should read: The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter (short story collection of gothic fairytale retellings!)

Not exactly what you think of when you hear 'gothic' per se but definitely Dark and it's my OTHER favorite: Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer (I never shut up about this book and it's for a reason. Very different from the movie, which I also love!)

My favorite gothic/horror authors:

Shirley Jackson - I've definitely talked about her before but both The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle are straight bangers (and short, easy reads to boot!) Do NOT think you can watch the Mike Fl*nagan Hill House show of the same name and call it a day—they're completely different stories. (also let the record show I'm censoring his name out of personal dislike he hasn't done anything 'problematic' afaik calm down)

Stephen Graham Jones - Insanely good writing oh my god. I have so far only read the My Heart is a Chainsaw books but his entire oeuvre is on my TBR because he cannot lose. Also he lives in my town and I'm starstruck just knowing this fact. Indigenous (Blackfoot) author who writes about indigenous characters!

Kelly Link - Writer of banger short fiction. I particularly enjoy Pretty Monsters because it's 100% written for the Twilight girlies and clearly made with love and silliness

Grady Hendrix - I didn't loooove Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, but I adored Hörrorstör and especially My Best Friend's Exorcism, which is a total masterpiece IMO. Another writer whose entire oeuvre is on my TBR.

[jikookpancakes]

JIKOOK FIC RECS that no one asked for (2021)

but im giving anyway because THE TALENT IN THIS FANDOM IS INSANE

long post incoming!! this is probably just part 1 because i wont stop reading anytime soon so i’m inserting that link just in case i do make another one in the future

What’s a Soul Really Worth, Anyway? by thisneedsmorefilth - 130k words, fantasy, demon!jm, witch!jk, listen, this and the next one are my top 2 jikook fics of all time, so well-written, plot so exciting legit reads like a book, better than a lot of books tbh, the world-building is INSANE, jungkook and the gang accidentally summon demon!jimin and chaos ensue, especially for jungkook...and you know why!!!, so funny, angsty, cried so much, happy ending but listen to me: you gotta read the sequel too, YOU GOTTA.

Militat Omnis Amans: The Beginnings by edaen - 92k words, fantasy, werewolf!jk, vampire!jm, forbidden love, super slow burn but super worth it, JIKOOK IN THIS IS MY FAVORITE JIKOOK IN ANY FIC EVER EVER EVER, this is the ultimate all or nothing will freeze hell over for the other kind of love, and the way this is written is just so... how do i describe it. like you can just tell the author wanted to be very realistic with their feelings. you’ve seen the word count, this is SLOW burn. like you will legit feel their struggle to just be able to love each other and while it hurts, it’s also SO GLORIOUS. i love this one so much and if you like reading angst with happy ending but like cranked up to 200% then read this. bonus feels if you read the whole series

Until Dawn (series) by edaen - this is the long series where the previous one above is part of. highly rec if you love fantasy and you wanna read about bts being a rag tag group of supernatural beings fighting evil yay. also it makes the above fic more satisfying because you see more of jikook just being tgt and in love (with bonus angst because of course)

7 Signs by NamHyora - 27k words, secret spies au, abo, alpha!jk, omega!jm who is always used as a raven in their operations aka they use jimin and his attractive self to attract people and gather information or acquire targets and all that spy stuff, and his bestie alpha jk is not too happy about it hehe, friends to lovers, iove this one so much i wish it was longer but i think the author is planning to write a sequel!

Drop Like Confetti by annie_vi - 110k words, ceo!jk, age difference, age swap, ahhh i love this fic so much cause jimin smart and mature and has this no bs attitude, and he can keep up with jk despite the age gap and the difference in status/experiences, jk sexy dilf in this one eheh, i love it cause the drama/angst tackles a very real concern for such couples, like there’s no angst just for the sake of having angst, it really makes sense where they’re both coming from, they’re so whipped for eo too so love that for me

Fold it Up Like Origami by annie_vi - 99k words, gamer!jk, model!jm, same author as above and jk is so boyfriend goals in this one and in all this author’s fics in general like wow my standards are so high now i will legit be single forever just reading jikook fics (with no regrets), secret relationship due to their celeb status, well-written as usual, dialogues/banter in this author’s fics are just YES

The Tournament by kinkmins - 34k words, prince!jm, bodyguard!jk, abo, i’ll paste part of the summary here “Prince Jimin gets ready to hold a tournament where 50 alphas compete for a chance to court him, his father the king hires a new bodyguard who is a little too blunt and a little too talkative.“, i really love this oneeeee

Screwed Up and Brilliant by annie_vi - 113k words, escort!jk, jimin needed a date for a work event and in comes jungkook, escort extraordinaire with a no sex rule and jimin is just dasdkjfhasl, a lot of that “is this real or is he just acting” kinda angst, fluff smut angst

Like Everything Glows by annie_vi - 180k words, merman!jm, aquatic vet!jk, ok this is like my 4th rec from this author just read all their fics you’re welcome, this is their first fantasy fic but soso good, i rec’d this to someone who doesn’t really read fics and she really loved it and said “their love is so pure hhh”, she’s right

Track one: I love you by honeydice - 30k words, they’re “just” best friends, lots of pining it hurts, there’s some yoonmin and mentioned past jinmin in this so just noting in case, angst, denial of feelings, siiiiigh

InYou by edaen - 4k words, pwp :), abo, the morning after jikook mating, more sexytimes ensue + fluff

Falling For You Again by Rose_gold715 - 30k words, amnesia au, jk forgets about jimin and idk just something about this hits right in the feels. btw i don’t support the jk hated jm before in real life agenda so i don’t like this fic for that reason but i like this fic because i love me some good painful angst with happy ending.

The President’s Son by AmeliaBedelia - 55k words, bodyguard!jk, president’s son!jm, jk is assigned to shadow jm bc his life is under threat, and things develop :), jm is jk’s gay awakening :) :)

A Touch of Sin by pettey - 102k words, fantasy au, police officer!jk, supernatural!jm, shamanism, LOOK AT THE RANGE OF JIKOOK WRITERS YALL, this is such an interesting concept, so different from every other fic i’ve read, really well-written, sometimes you come across fics and you cant help but go “someone out there rly blessing me with this art for free”

Tears to the Tide by haromame - 65k words, abo, alpha!jk, omega!jm, honestly there’s not a lot of abo elements it’s focused more on jungkook having ptsd as he just came from war, established relationship jikook, he comes back home to jimin and things have just... changed. except their love ok THEY LOVE EO SO MUCH this made me cry so f much ugh so good tho.

Zero Hour by edaen - 5k words, canon compliant, a little drabble based around rosebowl jikook, it’s part of a series/collection of canon compliant jikook so if you’re looking for more canon compliant here you go!!, also if you can’t tell already i tend to like several things from a single author, i haven’t read their other fics im legit saving for sad days but i am confident enough to say their other fics are also rec-worthy.

Wonder by wordcouture - 7k words, im sorry in advance, mcd :( pls take care of yourself, i don’t like sad endings ok i don’t, but this is so popular and i was like, ok let’s see what the hype is all about, i get it now, :((((((((((((((((((((, well-written tho, bc the author will manage to crush your heart in just 7k words ha ha

The Omega Revolution by PinkBTS  - 158k words, abo, alpha!jk omega!jm, dystopian au, the hunger games more specifically mockingjay vibes, angst with happy ending but there’s some...things... lost along the way and i think that’s realistic for a dystopian war au, well-written

Blind Switch - 226k words, jockey!jk, rich spoiled brat!jm, jm gets exiled to his grandparents ranch where he meets jk yeehaw, im sorry for the yeehaw, anyway fluff smut angst enemies friends to lovers hurt/comfort slow burn happy ending, all the good stuff, ugh jk so boyfriend goals, also the amount of fluff in the later chapters thank u writer

Finally by Rose_gold715 - 12k words, abo, alpha!jk, omega!jm, angst with happy ending, jikook mate out of convenience and jimin runs away from jk and his pack feeling unloved and outcasted, but jungkook goes after him :((

Park Jimin’s Guide to Good Housekeeping by Ashlyn17 - 235k words, fantasy au, when i say jikook has the best fic writers i mean jikook has the best fic writers because THE WORLD-BUILDING in this one?, THE PLOT TWIST?, yesyesyes, jungkook is a powerful fae and jimin is assigned to be his housekeeper hehe, listen my entire fic rec has several that could be great netflix shows and this is definitely one of them

A Spell That Reminds Me of Your Name by Chimneycricket - 42k words, wizards!au, enemies to friends to lovers and the development felt natural, well-written plus the author sometimes makes art of their fics and other jikook fics and posts on twitter, both their fics and art are so good, i’ve heard good stuff about their other fics too :)

that’s it for now!

just a quick one about my preferences: idc about tops/bottoms, i read just about anything but i prefer fantasy and multi-chaptered fics, i love established relationship jikook so hmu with recs anytime, i don’t like reading anything with cheating and mcd, i love fics where jk and jm are just so friggin in love they are just IT for eo, and at the end of the day even if there are elements to the fics i wouldn’t normally read, as long as they’re well-written then i’m all for it

[samisnotlegend]

same anon with the broke boys headcanons, anyways, I'm feeling broke boys withdrawal and need to satiate my addiction

please feed us some crumbs by responding to more of my cutesy headcanons/predictions/random thoughts/ideas about the story. (note: I'm not forcing you to write any of these ideas, but if you felt *ahem* inspired, it's free real estate)

okay so when I first started reading the fic, around the time when bkdk went to costco(?) together and were trying free samples, I have never been able to stop imagining bkg getting invited to a high school reunion and then recruiting deku to go with him soley so they can steal the snacks. And when they show up, they split up to cover more ground. A few members of class A notice him and talk with him and they get along, and they get around to asking him who he's with and deku says he's w/ bkg....cue slow blinking form whoever he's talking to. Meanwhile Bkg is trying to sneakily stuff snacks into a bag at the food table and Uraraka happens to be nearby and being a fellow broke girl(tm) herself growing up, she clocks what he's doing immediately and feigns indifference to seeing him while they talk, but also helps him steal more snacks no questions asked

2. a prediction I've always had was that somehow, a huge battle happens, like Camino Ward levels of fighting) and Bkg is the hero that defeats the villain but ends up in the hospital. And the press is going wild, like, "he was supposed to be evil?? But he did something okay?" and is being skeptical. But as reporters are reporting outside the hospital, a giant group of people shows up, passing by the cameras which are broadcasting live. They all have platters of food, or other gifts. And Izuku comes outside and invites them with him because....its the neighborhood! Some of the newcasters ask the neighbors why they're there and they explain how much their community has blossomed because of dynamight (let's be honest they'd call him kacchan) and his husband. Which is how bkg gets some positive press for once!

3. headcanon of mine is that, once the dynamight hero agency becomes successful, Izuku starts a charity

4. another headcanon is that the neighborhood helps deku and bkg paint the walls of their agency building, kinda like they helped out with the community garden

5. Eventually katsuki discovers the terms aromantic and asexual and a few years down the line does an interview with a queer magazine about it to raise awareness about being aroace and to help other people like him (i'm aroace so this would be amazing). Maybe he starts wearing an ace and aro ring on a chain around his neck? (he would've worn them, but he didn't want his wedding ring to stand out less)

6. when they have enough money, deku finds a cat on the street and takes it home and adopts it and katsuki looks at deku's big doe eyes and agrees

anywho, just wanted to let you know this story lives in my head rent free and thought this might brighten up your day!

Hello my dear friend <3

I am truly sorry it took me so long to reply to this! Honestly, everything about this is so wonderful and I wanted to write something specifically for it, but I haven't been able to (yet!) but here are my thoughts on all your wonderful headcanons.

my jaw legit dropped when I read this one. I cannot spoil anything atm, but... there has literally been a *very* similar scene planned since basically the beginning. A few more UA characters will be introduced as we go through, and yep, Izuku is going to get to meet them, and yep, some slow blinking will occur. ;)

Again!!!! My friend you understand the vibes of BB SO WELL its insane. Something.... similar.... is planned.... I assure you. Now, I'll credit you completely for the hospital idea though, because I hadn't thought of that, but I LOVE IT!! I'll do my best to work something like this into the story. <3 <3 <3

Yes.

I love this one so much. I'm not sure if I'll be able to work it into the actual story, but its canon for you!

Yes! The ace/aro rings!! So, tbh the reason why I gave Deku and Katsuki black rings is because to me, they ARE ace and aro rings! I actually debated having the ring fit better on Katsuki's middle finger, but decided to go ahead and just have them wear them on their ring fingers. I own several ace rings myself, and I just adore them. (makes me feel all warm and fuzzy whenever I look at mine!) Down the line, Katsuki especially will do some more exploring with his identity. (Izuku is already very content with his) I'm not sure if I'll give Katsuki a totally separate ring, but he'll spread the ace/aro colors in other ways. ;)

Oh gosh a kitty!!! Well, they've already adopted half of the neighborhood kids (and several of the adults) so what is one furry friend to mix? Anon, what do you think I should name the kitty?

Overall, my friend, this ask totally blew me away. You really understand where I'm going and what I want to do with this story.

To me, Broke Boys has always been an incredibly personal story. So many of the themes and experiences (and even stories!) are just thoughts and things that I've taken from my own life. So the fact that it resonates with other people means the world to me.

Sometimes the world sucks, anon! Sometimes life doesn't take you where you want to go, or even where you deserve to go! But its also still wonderful! There will always be happy days ahead of you! There will be people in it who love you! And that's so awesome!!

In the future, I hope that this story will continue to bring you happiness. You deserve it.

[marvellovegalore]

Breaking You

Chris Evans

Parte Deux - Hurting You

Synopsis: You begin to feel the true consequences of you hurting Chris and it's beginning to overwhelm you - and him.

Word Count: 2,483

Author's Note: I listened to quite a few songs to truly get into the vibe of this but The Cinematic Orchestra - To build a home (slowed) really got me into the energy I want to be delivered from this write-up. Happy Reading! Feel free to let me know how you feel!

Warning: Explicit Language, Mention of Mental Illness, Sexual Content

You’ve rarely had to consider yourself as someone who runs from her problems. You’d probably proudly tell anyone that asked that you quite confidently tackle your problems head-on.

However, you’ve created quite a serious problem for yourself. A broken heart.

What you have periled numerous men with, is now afflicting you. The odd thing is, is that you are exulting in it. It’s an oddly familiar sensation; it drowns your body in an intangible sickness that paralyses and asphyxiates you.

You sit at your piano, watching the silent and unmoving countryside. The fields of Portofino showered with golden sunlight, the brio reflecting into your room.

You haven’t pushed aside the sheer curtains since you arrived four days ago. You’ve taken your first shower this morning, the water sinking you into its comforting, warm embrace. You don’t really want to tell yourself aloud why you chose to come back to your grandparents’ old house, when stuff is going wrong. You’ve decided that playing the piano and smoking your days away is better than confronting yourself in the mirror - good thing all the furniture is covered with sheets. The sorry state of your face would make you plunder even deeper into your melancholy.

You will yourself to forget him and try to forget his existence.

But it’s virtually impossible, with him promoting a new film three towns over.

Good thing is you feel physically incapable of stepping outside of the confines of the house. The ladies that tend to the house scurry around the town buying food for the house and maintain its upkeep, they attempt to feed you three meals a day or four. You refuse most of the time, and they regard you with concerned gazes.

How could you begin to explain that with breaking a man’s heart, you subsequently had broken your own? His words blistered with bitterness bit you and dragged you down to the same pits of sadness that you plunged him into. You can probably say that you loved him, but you’ll probably truly never grasp why you can’t stay in something that requires such cemented commitment.

“Signora?” Your house governess interrupts your train of thought, you pull your cigarette away from your lips. “Sí?” She presents you with a letter addressed to you. The handwriting vaguely familiar to you. You thank her and dismiss her, the cigarette back in between your lips.

The letter doesn’t inform you of who it is from, but you hope, in the depths of your ribs that it’s from him, but you couldn’t possibly understand why he would ask to meet with you. He left you wordlessly two months ago and hasn’t been in contact since, not even through subliminal messages on social media. You can wager that you’re probably dead to him. It was made clear to you when you stood at the beach outside of your friend’s Malibu compound. He would rather die than get back with you; you don’t blame him.

You turn back to your piano, the keys feeling like lead beneath your shaky fingers. You play out a melancholic tune, your fingers feeling like they’re losing blood, you play clumsily, your eyes welling with tears.

You do have to admit, you feel extremely guilty for leaving him.

Life was beautiful with him.

He would have served you the sun on a platter if it meant making you smile - but you’re meant to destroy beautiful things.

It was what your father told you. You ruined his marriage to your mother; your sheer existence drove her to the brink of insanity. Since you were conceived you were a parasite that took the love your mother had for your father and you guzzled it out of her, taking all of her focus and affection. When you were born your parents refused the diagnosis of postpartum psychosis. Your mother believed you were an angel sent from heaven and doctors were trying to take you from her; so, she slowly succumbed to the madness and your father eventually was forced to send her away. The resentment he felt towards you all but scented the house, you were a poisonous leech, and you were treated as such.

You take the last drag of your cigarette and drag yourself to your walk-in closet, you decide on taking another shower - scrubbing away the odour of tar and smoke. You ready yourself for your strange and mysterious encounter. You dress yourself and half an hour later rush out to your car. The sun is low in the sky by the time you start driving away from the house, the countryside hugging you from all sides.

The drive is long into the town centre. The sky is blushed with pink and tinges of orange. You park your car and take a slow walk to the Splendido Mare; you enter the hotel’s restaurant and are led to a table. Your order a glass of wine and wait. After ten minutes you take out the letter, you read it from start to finish and confirm that the invitation was not a figment of your imagination; you were indeed summoned here by a mystery writer. Whom you hope is him.

You sit for half an hour at your table, you sip your anxiety away through two glasses of wine, you step outside and smoke two cigarettes and yet you’re still waiting. You flit through your phone notifications; you decide against your better judgement to type his name into the Goggle search bar. You fleetingly glance around the sparsely attended restaurant. You lock your phone without looking at the updates about him.

The thought of him makes your chest ache, harshly. The pain is tangible, you place your hands over your chest and wince. Something is not right.

You’re not aware of his slow approach, his hands wringing around each other, his cheeks red with nervous energy. He wishes he had had a shot of something - anything before getting here. He doesn’t recall what filled him the mad inspiration to send you a stamped letter to meet him at his hotel restaurant. He doesn’t know whether he wishes he had just called the brunette and spoken to her tonight; but he misses you. Madly.

He pulls out the chair in front of you. You can both tell that you’re holding in your breath.

Every time you see him it feels like the first time, all over again.

And he feels the same, but for either of you to admit it would be succumbing to defeat. You’re engaged in a silent and unspoken battle of wills.

“You sent me a letter?” You show him the letter. He nods, you sigh. “What is it you want to talk about?” You’re afraid to look into his eyes, they’re huge lakes filled with your dreams and deepest desires.

He hesitates, a ghostly sentence is formed on his tongue – he decides against materialising it. “I heard you were nearby; thought we could catch up.” He motions for the waiter. You narrow your eyes in - almost offence. What does he think, that you’re old pals?

He wants to catch up, but you want to do everything. Mostly profess your adoration for him and make love to him.

You despise the feeling; you’ve never felt like this for anyone. The alien feeling makes you heat up, your chest rises and falls quickly; agony filling your body as if you were a vessel to claim. “Right,” is all you can utter.

“What have you been up to?” He’s ordered two martinis, his eyes connecting to yours. You wince as the pain in your chest returns. How can he be so close yet so far?

“I was filming a fragrance campaign recently.” You speak quickly, an itch to smoke tickling your fingers. He nods, his eyebrows raised high.

“Nice.” He sighs and extends his clasped hands further onto the table. You look even more beautiful than in his thoughts, which he can’t expel you from. It seems your haunting presence is with him to stay, and his imagination can’t do any justice to your face and your intoxicating smell.

The conversation you have over your first drinks is dry, emotionless and full of hidden desires.

After each of you have three cocktails you let out the first laugh. He’s released himself a bit from the shackles of wanting to one-up you, his joke about his dog’s stubbornness reminding you of the good days of domesticity with Christopher and his dog. You move out to the terrace, candles flickering in the wind; you share more laughs. Memories being shared between you about life together.

There’s a clear shared emotion - longing. You crave the late summer nights sharing the dance floor with his friends or yours; him undressing you slowly in your pool; the nights watching the fire pit in your Santa Barbara home; the dinners enclosed in brick walled Italian restaurants with candles illuminating your elated faces.

“Come up with me.” His suggestion is quiet, his lips edging closer to yours. You nod, overcome with emotion. He grips on to your hand, the grip of a man thanking his lucky stars. He leads you to his room, on the top floor. A paradisiacal view of the sea and hills greeting you. The sun has set completely, and the moon casts a pale light over the buildings across the water.

Chris closes the door, and no sooner is he clutching at your lips with his. His hands smother you onto him and you meet him with the same desperation. Your hands slip under his shirt and moan into his mouth, your lipstick smearing over his lips. You feel him inhale your smell; he sighs desperately as he pulls you closer to him. You fall onto the chaise lounge in front of the open doors leading onto his balcony. The wind whispers sweet nothings onto your skins as you meld together, your bodies wanting desperately to be combined. He removes your clothes with familiar precision and your fingers touch him where you know he likes it.

The grooves of his skin are familiar, his dick entering you slowly as your fingers caress his tanned skin. He looks spectacular underneath you, his skin illuminated by the moonlight. You ride him slowly, you lips adventuring each other, like your bodies are each other’s long lost home territory. Your lips touch again, but it feels like the first time all over again. You feel yourself melting, your brain feels high, your limbs terribly relaxed. You guess this is what true love feels like. There’s nowhere else you’d want to be.

You love him. Only him.

He turns you over, on all fours, one hand gripping your throat and the other around your hair. He thrusts into you - with passion, his lips ghost over your shoulder. You feel your eyes close, the strength to fight the sedation unable to be found. It goes on for a while, and he flattens you onto your stomach. He lays on top of you, his hips gyrating against your skin, his arms encircling your torso. You feel safe, his head laying to rest in between you shoulder and jawline. He inhales your scent and kisses your shoulder, his lips printing their mark on your skin.

He turns you over and takes a deep breath, his eyes hold your entire world. They’ve trapped you into his universe and you have no desire to leave. He’s your whole world and you gave him away on a silver platter - but he’s here. He accommodates himself in between your legs and gives you a hug, his lips find yours in the darkness. The moonlight bathes you generously and he nestles himself inside you again. His lips refuse to leave yours; his thrusts grow in fervour; he wants to bury himself inside you and never leave.

He’s so deeply, and madly in love with you.

He can’t believe you hurt him. He hates you for it.

He pulls away from your kiss, his breathing heavy and slightly laboured.

His hides his face in the nook under your head. You feel like crumpling when you feel tears run over your shoulder, you hug him tighter. You want to stitch his wounds closed, tightly with your bare fingers and your lips. You want to mould your bodies together and live forever in this moment. His fingers reach for your clitoris and he makes love to you in two different ways. Your head lolls back and you feel ecstatic, currents washing over you slowly and you orgasm.

Chris kisses you desperately, swallowing your moans. He thrusts into you, complementing your orgasm. He releases himself into you, slowly moaning into your mouth.

After a few moments he stands up from the lounge chair and heads to the shower, as he walks through the door, he turns to you. He smiles in a way that you understand is an invitation to join him in the shower. You stand slowly, your legs feeling like jelly. You join him for a warm shower, peppered with tender kisses and saccharine touches.

Your bodies unconsciously refuse to part until you’re lying in his bed. He turns off the lamp and lays facing you.

A sweet look embalms his irises. His hand lifts itself to nestle under your cheekbone. He regards you softly.

“I love you,” he whispers, his voice shaky.

You smile sleepily, “I love you too.”

You’re hypnotised to sleep by his soft breaths.

—

The sunlight reflected on the lake wakes you out of you slumber, the first dreamless one you’ve had in months. You turn to the side where Chris is and find nothing but empty air. You sit up quickly; the room is deadly silent. Nothing but your movements on the bed make noise. You scramble out of the bed and look for him.

There’s no trace of him in the room. You let out small wail of desperation. What if it was all a dream?

You pace the room, an uneasy feeling setting itself in your chest. You feel the space between your ribs tighten and your head feel faint. Your legs feel weak and unsteady, you crumple into a heap near the chaise lounge. Your breath feels constricted, massively so. The world begins to spin, and you fall onto your back.

It feels like a heart attack.

You can barely feel your heart.

You drag yourself to the counsel table, desperate to reach the phone. Your hand misses it massively, instead a hotel branded paper flickers down next to you. You pick it up, the tightness in your chest limiting your movement.

I guess this is goodbye, I can’t get over the fact that I’ll never be able to trust you. No matter how much I want to.

I hate you for ruining us

I’ll miss you, forever.

With all my love,

C

--

Parte Quatre -

Tags -

@chvntelle-99, @krispy-toes, @hampass, @calimoi, @saltyflowermakertaco

[binniesthighs]

call me babydoll | reader x chan

soooo shhhh this actually a part one shhhh but i’m just trying out writing out different things and getting out some of my ideas outta my head that i’m really excited about, this one being one of them!! for now...just pretend that this is just a regular ol’ drabble hehehehe. this part is the set-up chapter (shhh i mean drabble) 

One

Pairing: self insert, female reader x bang chan 

Genre: fluff, smut, and angst 

Tags: (overall) bodyguard au, moderndayprince!chan, bodyguard!reader, secret agent au, royal au, action and peril, plot driven, running out of time, slow-ish burn, growing feelings, softswitch!chan, hardswitch!reader, some skz side characters, jeongin third wheel and comedic relief LOL, travelling, chan being expensive and having a lil bit of a superiority complex, flirtyyyy chan, bits of mystery, explicit language, mentions of food and alcohol, idk think like 007 vibes hehe 

CWs: guns and gun violence, a shooting in a ballroom, mentions of blood 

Word count: 4.6k 

Parts

ONE | TWO 

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here early.” 

“Well, expect the unexpected.” 

“Don’t turn the motto back at me. I’m sick of hearing it so many damn times.” 

“What? You and I both know that it’s true. You’re here early too, so, technically you don’t get to say anything.” 

Jeongin straightened his bow tie, then patted down the sides of his perfectly ironed tux with not a crinkle to be found. Knowing him, it was a miracle that he hadn’t messed it up in some form yet. He promptly took out his pocket square to clean off his glasses. 

“You’re looking nice. Seems like they don’t mind spending money now on you these days.” He blew off the flecks of dust on his lenses. 

“They know that they get their return on their investment. And thank you.” 

You smoothed down the sides of your dusty pink dress that nearly went all the way down to your ankles. Had you any other choice, it would’ve been something different, but, dresses were really good at hiding your thigh holster compared to the slacks you usually favored. You didn’t mind the times that you would have to put on a pretty dress, it somewhat reminded you that there was normal life outside of your job. Not to mention, they had started sending you jewelry as well. You always had liked the look of a diamond necklace. 

“You do your research for tonight?” 

Jeongin nodded, then took from his pocket his phone to read over the details. 

“I’ve done a background check on everyone attending, we shouldn’t have any issues. It’s already a low risk event anyway. Charity is never something to get too worked up over, but, you never know with the detail that some of these people come with...who they might be tied to...” 

“--The only people we can trust is ourselves.” You nodded with arms crossed. 

“Expect the unexpected, I know.” He slid his phone back into his inside suit pocket to adjust his cufflinks. 

“--Nervous?” You took note of his fidgeting actions. 

“Nervous? No. I’ve been through this before. You know that.” 

You flicked your partner right on his forehead strung with his white hair. You had really wished that he had picked a less conspicuous color, but he had strings to pull that you didn’t. 

Jeongin cleared his throat, “You do your once over?” 

“Do you even need to ask? I did it hours ago and when we arrived. You know that I’ve done this before too.” 

“I know. I know.” 

Jeongin looked out at the vast circular atrium that made up the center of the hotel. Several stories down under the glass rooftop, you could hear the faint sprinkling of the intricate fountain which smelled of copper. A bit further down, you could see the tips of the tree branches from the indoor landscaping. Across the way, a door slammed with residents tucking in their ties. The two men you had recognized from the roster: a simple thing which made you feel at ease. Your young partner must’ve started to have an effect on you. A sense of unease seemed to quell in your neck. You always listened to your hunches. 

“W-what do you think he thinks of us?” Jeongin broke the silence. 

“Well,” From inside the room you had waited outside, you could hear his distant murmuring, so you lowered your tone. “I think that he has yet to trust us. It’s only been a few weeks. He doesn’t seem like the kind to give himself up easy. That, and I’m sure his resentment of his father must have some influence.” 

“You think he hates us?” 

“I think he hates his father for hiring us. I mean, wouldn’t you? His old security detail, he had them for years.” 

“I guess so. But, we’re not like his old detail.” 

“No. We’re not. I don’t think he gets that yet. I think he sees us as one more way his father has a hold on him.” 

“It’s not like he can do much else about it when his dad’s a kin--” 

“--No, no, thank you, really, it’s lovely. Some of your best work. Thank you.” 

Chan swung open the door to his room, stopping Jeongin right in his sentence. 

“Ah. You’re here already. That’s...punctual.” 

As dazzling and showy as ever, Chan looking nothing short of a magazine model. For a prince, he had certain...appearances that he had to maintain. Today, it was a velvety and maroon suit jacket with a white button up. On the collar, two matching brooches had been perfectly placed, and they were silver like moonlight in the shape of English ivy and adorned with diamonds. On his lapel, he wore the royal insignia of the lion and the wolf. Behind him, you could see his slew of stylists cleaning up their makeup kits and obscene assortment of designer dress shoes for him to pick from. You had thought before that he even smelled like royalty: stuffy white roses with a hint of priceless cognac. 

Jeongin bowed his head respectfully. “Everything has been prepared for tonight. The rest of your guards are surrounding the building, and I’ll be corresponding with them as needed, your Highness.” He tapped at his earpiece. 

Chan drew his attention over to you, giving you a rather lusty glare. Over the past couple weeks, you had gotten used to it. He was a prince to every extent of the word. If there was anything that he had wanted, he simply had to ask. It drove him insane that all he could do was merely look at you. You had  wondered if he harbored anything else for you besides the way that he would devour the curves of your shoulders and hips. 

“Fox. Bee. You look nice tonight. I like seeing you dressed up. Makes me feel less out of place.” 

You couldn’t help but let out a little sound of discontentment over his rather affectionate nickname for you. You and your partner had been introduced to him as F and B. Quickly he had figured out Jeongin’s codename as Fox, considering that he had done a poor job picking out one that wasn’t related to him at all. Anyone could tell that boy was fox-like, and he also just wasn’t that creative when it came to picking out a name for himself. B, or Bee as he had decided, was your name; as in bumblebee. After learning about Fox, he figured that there was an animal theme going, so Bee seemed to fit best in his oponion. 

You tested his glare with your best, “Thank you, your Highness.” 

Jeongin gulped. “Your assistant should be waiting downstairs with your itinerary. She told me that you should meet her first off.” 

“You work too hard F. Have some fun tonight, hm? But don’t...drink too much. You’re responsible for my life remember?” Chan clapped his bodyguard on the back. 

Your partner nervously laughed and adjusted his glasses once more: his preferred tic. 

“And Bee?” Chan rose a brow to lean into close and whisper. “Stay close, alright?” 

“Of course, your Highness.” 

Chan let out a little scoff after getting one more proper look at your frame. “Damn. You really are stunning. Just a little too dangerous for me though.” 

You rolled your eyes, dishing him outa, “Whatever you say, your Highness.” 

Jeongin threw you and annoyed glare before tracing after Chan as he sauntered down the hall to the glass elevator. 

“Bee? You coming? Or do you have something better to do?” Chan’s voice called down the hall with an echo and a little teasing gesture of his hand. 

━━━━━━━━━▲━━━━━━━━━

It had been seven years since you had chosen this line of work, and each time that you had to go to one of these things, you hated them more and more. Not because they were hard to control--they were easy--but you just hated how many superficial and self-absorbed people that they could fit into one room. 

The air was filled with the scent of champagne bubbles and too much Chanel No. 5. From corner to corner of the room, and even next to the ice sculpture of the lion and the wolf crest, silk, satin; velvet and the best cotton could be found. Long gloves covered the arms of ladies with wrinkling skin, and tweed vests held in the guts of men who indulged in their food just as much as their mistresses. All this effort just to appear as if they had given one care about the philanthropic efforts of the royalty.

Several neatly dressed waiters passed you with golden platters of hors d'oeuvres made of ingredients so expensive, they would’ve cost the same amount as the generous donations made by the attendees. If you could’ve, you would’ve scooped up as many of them as you could, just to eat all of their copious amounts of money yourself, but, there was somewhere a rule that you had to keep your hand to yourself when you were on duty. The best that you had to look forward too was take-out to eat at 3 in the morning with Jeongin later. 

Buzzing chatter filled your earpiece while each of the additional guards gave their hourly report. 

“Damn. It’s fucking colder out here than I thought. It’s fucking summer.” One of them joked to the tune of the other guards laughter. 

“Stay focused.” Jeongin scolded over the line. “Don’t leave your posts until your shifts change.” 

While he was a timid man, Jeongin was not one to mess around. Son of the director, he knew that he had big shoes to fill. After pleading for years for her to admit him into the academy, she had agreed. Everyone knew the reason why she didn’t want him in this line of work. Too many dead. Too many missing. In some ways, he was also yours to look after. 

You trailed after Chan who was busy talking to his assistant and his publicist. While he nodded at their words, you knew that he must’ve been barely listening. Chan never really was one for formality, but much rather enjoyed simplicity and pleasure. Jeongin and you had somewhat of a bet going: out of all the guests, you had liked to bet which one he would take with him to his bedroom. Since you had all the profiles of the guests, you liked to bet a little money on which one it would be. 

Jeongin had guessed it to be the heiress and daughter of a tycoon who had made a multi-million won donation in the name of his company. It was ironic; his very company was a big-scale pollutor who liked to make nice with the crown. She was conventionally very pretty: long legs, a thin frame, she was educated and looked as if she could hold somewhat of a conversation...not like that mattered to him. 

You had predicted it to be the foreign CEO who had just started business dealings with the crown. While she might’ve looked a bit stuck-up and prim, she was intimidating, and a challenge. Chan loved challenges. Chan also had a pension for pretty boys with a bit too much money on their hands--usually inherited--and with nothing much else to do other than dote on him. There were plenty of those attending the gala tonight. 

Chan snaked through the crowd, bowing his head at all of the Good evening, your Highnesses and the It’s a pleasure to meet you, your Highnesses. Every few moments or so he would take a bite from a golden plate and then pop it into his mouth. The whole night long, he would hold his glass with him and it would get refilled for him without him even needing to ask. You sometimes liked to pretend that in some places, they must’ve assigned someone to watch him from afar to make sure that he would never need anything before it was given to him. It wouldn’t have surprised you. 

“Having fun Bee?” Chan languidly rolled his head back, swirling his glass. 

“As much fun as you are.” You quipped. 

“Anything that I should be concerned about?” 

“Nothing of concern.” You stated matter-of-factly. Had you matched his flirting tone, you knew that you wouldn’t hear the end of it for the rest of the night. “Fox. Report?” 

“Nothing that I can see. No one has been tagging you.” Jeongin had staked himself up on the upper balcony of the banquet hall room, and had been watching for as long as you had been following after the prince. “You sensing anything strange?” His voice tickled in your in-ear. 

“Just a bunch of the normal crowd.” You kept your tone down low. “He’s rubbing noses with the usual. You’ve seen too?” 

He chuckled. “Yeah. I know what you mean.”

You followed Chan to his seat nearest the front of the room which had been fashioned into a stage with a clear glass podium in the center. Right in front there was one more crest decorating it. Chan had ensured it to be so: he had wanted everyone to know that this was all for his charity. 

“It seems like our bets aren’t working out. He hasn’t talked to either of the...suspects.” Your partner changed his choice of words knowing that the other guards were listening. 

From the opposite side of the room both the heiress and the CEO stood with thin glasses of wine in their lithe hands. Chan had in fact walked right past them, and didn’t even notice. 

“Tonight is going to be a long night.” Jeongin sighed over the line. 

You politely pushed past attendees with a raised hand and a sweet smile. You had found that when you smiled, you had appeared less intimidating. 

“Oh wait...what’s this?” 

“What?” You whipped your head around after Jeongin’s interjection. “What? Do you see something? What’s the call?” 

“Relax! It just looks like he’s approaching someone he wants to talk to. I think both of us are about to be proven wrong.” 

“Ah, shit.” You sighed. “Don’t put me on edge like that.” 

“I’m only trying to entertain myself.” 

“Name. Who is it? You’ve got the roster.” 

You partner was quiet for a minute, and you watched from a distance as Chan approached the man leaned over a martini seated at one of the perfectly decorated tables. 

“Uh, I think that he’s Lee Minho. Some kind of royalty from somewhere else. Pretty low ranking from the looks of it. I think that he made a donation himself...and it’s...damn, larger than you would expect.” 

“Should we be concerned?” 

“No. Seems harmless.” 

“Thank you for coming,” You made out the words that Chan had mouthed. He drew a chair next to the unknown man. 

From what you could tell, Lee Minho was handsome to the full extent of the word: nearly all of his physical features were exemplary and his suit appeared to have been fitted to perfect for him; likely one of a kind. He too wore an insignia on his lapel, but it was one that you hadn’t recognized before. He had immaculately styled hair that had some kind of rebellious and boyish charm to it. The man had a kind of mystery about him too: you had been able to pride yourself in being able to read people, and it had saved your life on more than one occasion. But with him, there was something that you couldn’t place. 

“Do they know eachother?” You asked Jeongin. 

“Not that I know of. School friend maybe? Seems like all the royals send their kids to the same schools.”

“Hm. That would make sense.” 

“Enjoying yourself?” Chan said. 

Lee Minho nodded, and rose his glass to clink it with the prince’s. 

“Do we think that he’s our...suspect?” 

The stranger dipped his head into his hand as he listened to Chan speak. A flirty gesture that you had seen a hundred times or more. Still, the way that he inspected Chan, it wasn’t adoring. Or at least, you didn’t think that it was.

“No. I don’t think so.” 

“What the hell are you yapping about?” One of the other guards snapped over the line. 

“Um, classified stuff.” Jeongin quickly explained. “Above your paygrade. Don’t worry about it.” 

“Fox. Watch out for him tonight.” You snuck over to a corner of the room where you could watch the two of them more discreetly. 

“Affirmative....” Your partner paused. “Babydoll.” 

“Pffff--Babydoll??” The same guard stifled his laughter. “You call her Babydoll, Fox? Damn, you all must be closer than I thought. Didn’t know that I was missing out on some of the action--” 

“--Ever heard of a codename, Three?” 

“Babydoll’s her codename.” 

A grin crept over your lips. “Expect the unexpected.” 

You had almost gotten distracted enough to miss how Lee Minho had leaned over to whisper something into the prince’s ear. After he had done so, Chan laughed out a little, then reached his arm around the other man’s chair comfortably. 

“They’re...cozy.” You updated your partner. 

“I’m trying to cross-check where he might know him from.” 

Chan’s assistant and publicist finally slipped away with giddy little smiles. In many ways, you were jealous of them. They could leave whenever the wanted, eat what they wanted...

Jeongin scoffed. “Well, turns out...nothing. I can’t find anything.” 

“Nothing?” 

“Negative. I’m not seeing any crossover.” 

“So they really are strangers?” 

Your partner sighed. “Looks like neither of us are cashing ou--I mean--finding the suspect.” 

Under your breath, you wondered aloud, “Who are you...Lee Minho?” 

━━━━━━━━━▲━━━━━━━━━

The night drew on longer with the rest of the formalities: the formal dinner, followed by several speeches from important people while dessert was being served. It all led up to the final act: His Royal Highness, Prince Chan’s speech. On several neat notecards marked with the crest, he held them in front of him while he ate his last bits of Mont Blanc Chocolate Pavlova. Even the name of the sweet itself sounded pretentious. Granted, it smelled delicious--as many expensive things did. 

You stifled a yawn from your little set up on the edge of the room. At least you should’ve been able to sit, but it turns out that sitting is also against the rules in this line of work. A couple other security and bodyguards had joined you at the edge: some of their heads nodded with sleep, and the others looked as if they had taken one too many energy shots. Luckily, your stamina had been well crafted. 

A fancily dressed MC made his way up to the podium and the room filled with applause after the last speaker had said all of their correct mandatory words. 

“It is my honor to introduce to the stage, our wonderful head benefactor of this organization, His Royal Highness, Prince Chan of the Crown. 

Applause tenfold of before erupted through the whole room and it wasn’t even an afterthought for the every attendee to stand up from their seats in an ovation. It was a force of habit for you, but you found yourself clapping as well. 

Chan rose with grace, and re-buttoned his jacket with finesse. A blinding spotlight found him and it made the diamonds adorning his beck wink brilliantly. Even more blinding was his pearl white, and perfectly trained smile accompanied by his wave. 

Thank you. Thank you. He mouthed. 

“It’s like he’s a frickin’ movie star.” Jeongin groaned. 

“Might as well be with the way that they treat him. You know deep down they’re all just terrified.” 

Chan made his way up to the stage in all of his regality, and the applause didn’t stop until he cleared his throat. A collective groaning of a couple hundred chairs squeaked when everyone sat back down. 

“Thank you everyone, really. I wanted to thank you all for your generous support in your donations to this organization, as well as your association with the crown. I’m sure that all the beneficiaries of your donations are beyond thankful compared to me. Without you, this would not be possible.” Chan spoke with grandiose gestures, as usual, but this time, he had found you on the side of the room. “Listen, aside from being a prince, I’m also just a person. A person who knows what it means to struggle, to--” 

“--I can’t listen to this anymore.” You whispered into the quiet room, and to your partner. 

“Just a few more hours.” He droned. “I almost wish that something would happen so that we don’t have to sit though much else of this.” 

“Be careful what you wish for.” 

In the corner of your eye, Lee Minho shifted in his seat, but still kept his undivided attention to the stage. You figured he must’ve been just like the rest of them: enamored by the flashiness of the crown--and Chan. He had a way of putting a spell on people: it was the kind of spell that a prince of deception had crafted after years of being kept under lock and key. 

“--Anyway, what I’m trying to say, royal or fanciful we all might be, in the simplest way, we’re all just people, therefore this is what connects us all. Thank you.” 

Chan was gifted yet another standing ovation that was somehow even more thunderous than before. 

“Yeah right.” You scoffed. “People born into money. There’s a difference.” 

Chan gave his last waves, then a clamor echoed from the back of the room. At first, it had just sounded like the same raucous laughter you had heard all night, but then it shifted to something different. The sound of laugher turned into shouting, then screams: high pitched and piercing. You had seconds to respond, head whipping around the room to catch sight of the confused prince. In your in-ears, the the sound of gunshots echoed with rapid-fire speed. Machine guns. Shouting commands barked in your ear, and muddled with Jeongin’s string of demands and questions. 

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON OUT THERE? REPORT! REPORT!” 

Your heart instantly started beating into hyperdrive, and your legs sprinted as fast has physically possible 

“THEY’VE GOT GUNS!” A shrill and cracked voice of an older woman wailed from the back of the room. 

Immediately after she had said so, shots fired into the darkened room with sparks, and the metallic sound of bullets hitting the marbled ground followed. 

Chan looked around in his panic for you, petrified on the stage. You slung your gun out from your thigh holster and latched onto him with all of your might. 

“TH-THEY JUST CAME OUT OF NOWHERE IN THESE VANS. THEY’RE ARMOURED, WE CAN’T--” 

“Get the fuck down there and secure the exists!” Jeongin growled into his mic. “B--is the prince secure??” 

“Secure!” You yelled back. Using your body as a barrier, you led the cowering prince through the mass hysteria of the crowd. 

“Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Shit.” Chan shook under your iron grip. 

More shots fired into the room and bodies parted like the sea and fell over each other. 

From the balcony, you had caught Jeongin aiming his own gun at the chaos below. 

“I’ll cover you! Fuck! There’s so many of them! Get him to the car out back--Three, Six, meet B out there! Three!? Six!? Report!” 

“Three and Six are down F!” One of the guards panted. “I can provide cover out back!!” 

“Who’s speaking??” Jeongin bellowed, then aimed from above at one of the intruders. Your only focus was on weaving you and Chan out of there, but you had seen one of them in a blur. Each of the men with guns wore dark grey suits with black ties and leather gloves. Each of them wore their own crest: and it was all red. 

“Bee?? Bee???” Chan shouted out for you, and jumped every time the crack of a shot echoed in the ballroom. 

“I’ve got you, your Highness. We’ll be out soon. Keep your head down and listen to me.” Your arm held to him tightly, and you soon found the exit nearest. There was no telling if there would be more of them outside, but you loaded your gun quickly just in case, and pointed it out. 

“Jeongin, get your ass down here!” 

“Jeongin? Who the fuck is that??” Chan ducked down to hide himself behind your frame. 

His name had slipped on your tongue, but that hardly mattered. 

“I’ll be down in a second!!!” 

“Don’t fucking waste time up there when I need you down here!!” 

“Two! Two Reporting!!” A man suddenly yelled in your in-ear. “I’ve made it out back and I’ve secured the exit. The car is safe!!” 

“FOX! Now!” 

Your partner heaved, “I’m coming, I’m coming!!” 

You kicked open the exit door, gun’s still blazing, however one one else could be found on the other side. 

“Thank God,” You sighed. 

“Oh shit, I’m gonna be sick.” Chan had turned paler than white, then stumbled in your arms. 

“Hey, HEY!” You held him upright. “It’s gonna be alright. I’ve got you. You’re safe. You need to trust me. Your life is in my hands and I’m not giving it up easy, got it?” 

“O-okay.” He stammered, then attempted to straighten himself. 

“The Prince is outside, repeat, The Prince is outside. Two, are you in position?” 

“Yes. Yes, I am.” 

Other than the fact that you had just escaped absolute peril, the evening was unbearably pleasant. Crickets chirped in the summer evening, and the humidity of the night smelled gorgeously of the lake that was near-by as well as the vast array of flowers that had been purposefully landscaped around the hotel. Chan’s uneven steps scraped at the gravel walkway. 

Since you had canvassed the whole building well, you had known exactly where the getaway car was, but you were still careful. 

“Bee. Bee!” Chan blabbered. “Have-have I told you yet that I-I’m in love with you?” 

“No, you haven’t Your Highness.” 

“I fucking am. If I die tonight, I want you to know that I am ridiculously in love with you, and fuck, I wanna--” 

“--I’m sorry, Your Highness, respectfully, but now is not the time for this and you are not dying on my watch.” 

Somewhere off in the distance, frogs croaked, and the splashing of fish in the lake plopped at the surface waters. You turned a corner to finally see Two waiting his his gun raised. He was a bit of a shorter and scrawnier man, but something about him told you that where he lacked in strength, he must’ve made up for in agility. 

“I’m out! I’m out!” Your partner gasped, and over the in-ear you could hear his running footsteps. “I’m almost there! I’ll be there in a second!” 

“Your Highness,” Two bowed and opened the car door. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. You can call me Two or J. Either you prefer.” 

Jeongin came bounding around the corner with heaving breaths and his clothes askew. His glasses which just barely held onto his face had a crack on them and his knuckles were covered in blood. 

“Let’s go.” The younger man prompted. 

“In the car you go, Your Highness.” You motioned for him to do so. 

Chan whimpered like a toddler. 

You shoved his body in, “Stop that. Get in the car.” 

“I’m in love with you Bee!” He yelled out, “I’M FUCKING IN LOVE WITH YOU BEE!” 

Jeongin slammed the door in his face with a bit of a chuckle. 

“He’s delirious.” 

“Mm.” your partner smiled. “Sure.” 

[lazzledazzler]

Lazzle's Rune Factory 5 Review

Alright so here are my thoughts and experiences with RF5! This is a big boy so buckle in earthmates...

Obviously this review will contain spoilers, read at your own risk.

Initial thoughts upon playing...

Great opening! I enjoyed the jazz music~ I did feel like it leaned a bit more towards the male player though. It definitely feels like a rune factory game. It's familiar, and controls are easy to get accustomed to for the most part. The mold is there and rf5 doesn't stray too far from its predecessors which is comforting for veterans. That being said, I'm not going to pull any punches and will critique this game harshly. Keep in mind as updates for the game are released not all things discussed in this review will be as relevant overtime!

Let's hear some thoughts on...

The story/plot. The plot is enjoyable overall. I'm not crazy about the whole Seed organization thing but it was a neat idea. They address the Sechs Territory and it is confirmed that the game takes place some decades after RF4. But by the end of it, I didn't feel like I really accomplished anything because it felt like I barely did anything really. Also they left a lot of stuff unanswered. I'm not even sure I understood the message they were sending, if they were trying to send a message at all. The main story is too short, and it doesn't involve enough of the townsfolk. You're basically doing everything yourself in secret the whole time and the townsfolk barely know what's actually going on. Out of the love interests, Lucas plays the largest part in the story, followed by Priscilla and Scarlett. The story feels targeted at male audiences--at least that's how I felt. You, the player, have a larger role in the game, much like in RF3 and I was glad to see this. As of right now there are only two arcs. Praying for DLC 3rd arc...!

Protagonists. The latest protagonists to join the crew of Earthmates are...decent. Their designs are nothing special unfortunately, though I appreciate Alice's more than Ares's. Appearance-wise they lack personality and creativity. Personality wise I am pleasantly surprised with how sociable they are. They're not exactly quick witted and sassy like Lest/Frey were in rf4, or as endearing as Micah in rf3, but they have a certain realness to them that makes their reactions to things believable. I'm certain Xseed will see to making them a bit more sarcastic in their localizing efforts, so let's all look forward to that. Overall though, while I appreciate their mannerisms, they don't really measure up to all the previous amnesiacs we've grown to love over the decades.

Characters. Overall I enjoy all the characters introduced in Rune Factory 5! I feel like there is someone for everyone in this game on some level. The voice acting was pretty good for every character. The designs are very much Rune factory. Like OG runefa, compared to rf4 ( 4 kind of strayed from their usual style) which I like. Characters still have their own signature quirks that you find endearing. Although I would have liked to see more variety? Like we've had mermaids, univir, half monsters, vampires, etc in previous titles but rf5 only gives us the usual (half) elf, dwarf, and then a succubus (physically she doesn't have unique features aside from the ears and heart eyes), and some were-people. I was hoping for something more unique to really give that classic runefa vibe.

Dungeons/Battles. I'm pretty split on this one. On the one hand, the dungeons have more depth due to the 3D aspects. They've included more contraptions that are very fun to see even if they aren't executed that well. So I'm grateful for that. On the other hand, the dungeons are insanely short imo. It doesn't take long at all to get to the boss. The puzzles are also pretty subpar and few compared to RF4. Fighting monsters is similar to the other games. You can lock on now but I only use it when I'm trying to use my Seed Circle. The lock on feature is actually counter-intuitive and makes it harder to dodge. Weapon mechanics have shifted a bit. There’s a feature that makes you invincible to damage if you time the R button dash correctly. Axes and Hammers are significantly slower than in older games? Like. I thought I was in slow motion it was so slow. Lances are also harder to use as well? I'm questioning my sanity here. I don't know if it's a bug or intentional either.

Farming. Not much has changed from previous games mechanics wise. They added new types of special crops which is neat. The camera view changes to overhead when you go near your fields though, and it can make you dizzy/uncomfortable. It actually makes it a bit difficult to see at times so I wish there was a way to adjust the angle. If you are tilling corn or dried weeds to improve the soil, you need to place them separately if you don't want to use the entire stack. Otherwise, it will till the entire stack on the land if you place them all down at once. The flower shop is unlocked late in the story. Weird thing to do considering you need flowers to make medicine. Not to mention the fact that you wont have access to the fertilizer that increases defense against typhoons? During typhoon season? Thinking emoji...

The town. I have to say Rigbarth's design is poor compared to Sharance, Selphia, etc. It's too big and it takes too long to get around. Everything is too spaced out and there aren't enough warp points to make it easier on players. I don't want to walk an entire mile up a hill to talk to one person and then walk all the way down to the beach to speak to another. It doesn’t really feel like a ‘town’.

OST/BGM. Music was good, though nothing really stood out to me where I'd go "damn this slaps" or something. I think they might've had some old soundtracks from rf2 or something because it felt really nostalgic at times.

We need an exterminator. (Bugs Bugs Bugs)

Marvelous, I don't know how to tell you this buuut...your customers are NOT your testers. When you release a game, you need to make sure it's not littered with glitches because customers don't enjoy dealing with them and will drop the game!

Here are some of the types of glitches I encountered:

Crashing. Game would randomly crash or freeze and close at any moment. Sooooo frustrating! Sometimes you get lucky with the autosave feature, but the autosave only activates every morning at 6am in your room and then when you warp to a dungeon level/floor. So when you're in the middle of your daily tasks in town and it crashes, you have to start all over. Marveloussss no one enjoys losing their progress in a game I promise you that much.

Lag. The dialogue bar is seriously slow, especially after loading your file. Crafting/Cooking screen lags. When you press the Y button to skip through dialogue it lags like hell. Pretty much after every time you load the game will lag, the audio will lag if you're in a battle, everything is just. so. slow.

Repeating dialogue. So if you close your game entirely (or if it crashes) naturally you'll reload your file to continue where you left off. There's a bug that will cause all NPCs to repeat the last dialogue that occurred from whatever plot related thing you did last. So for example, if the last thing you did in the story was unlock Ludmilla, everyone in town will naturally have some dialogue about her. But even after seeing all this dialogue and even saving, if the game is closed and reloaded you'll have to read all that dialogue again from townsfolk. It got really annoying after a while.

Monster taming. One time I tamed a monster but once I named it and hit 'ok' the monster never showed up in my barns? Just. gone. Okaaaay then...? Additionally, I expanded one of my monster barns but all of the monsters I tamed wouldn't appear in the added room. You get 4 monsters for each room but the monsters I tamed would show up in the original room. Meaning I had like 7 monsters in one room! I tried to bring them into the newly added room but they would just warp back to the other room. Sad.

Pond Glitch. I fished in the pond located in Sasayaki Forest and left the fish I caught but didn't want laying around the water's edge. If you leave fish around the pond's edge and go to sleep, the next morning you will be teleported to the pond and trigger the fairy dialogue as if you had thrown all of the fish into the pond??? So the dialogue of her telling you she wants 'X item, not this!' will trigger over and over for all of the fish you left at the water's edge. RIP.

Party member Bug. I had Martin in my party and I made him leave. Then when I went into my monster barns to get a monster pal to join me instead it showed me Martin's portrait???? Also I've encountered a bug where I can no longer ask anyone to join my party for some unknown reason. The R &L button prompt was just gone when I reloaded.

Errors. When cooking or crafting, the dialogue box shows up sometimes...

Typos. Random average typo here and there. Not a real biggie but there is one instance where the heroine will use the japanese male pronoun "boku" instead of "watashi" which really convinced me that this game was completely intended for men lol.

Let's talk about Pros

The good stuff. The stuff that makes you all warm and fuzzy inside.

Plot Advancing. Now I'm gonna put this as a pro because I'm certain the average player will enjoy this even though I do not. There are now markers on the map to show you where to go to advance the plot. This is all well and dandy, but it also made the story less appealing for me because you don't need to go around town and speak to residents for clues or assistance to advance anything in the story.

3D Graphics The 3D models are all amazing. The interior designs of the houses/buildings are also incredibly detailed and realistic.

Collecting items. Now there's a feature that will allow you to collect items into your inventory just by walking over them. This is pretty neat and welcome for the most part. Once the item is sparkling, you can walk over it and it'll go into your rucksack automatically. This also makes lumbering and mining go much faster. Yay!

The miraculous L pocket. Now you can customize the categories that appear in your L pocket by going to the rucksack tab in the menu. This is a super neat feature that makes things easier on players who want to manage their items in a format that suits them.

Weapon/Tool Toggling. You can now toggle between your equipped weapon and tool by pressing the left or right buttons on the trackpad.

Collecting lumber/material stone. Oh lord this is probably the most welcome improvement moving forward from the previous game. You can now put all of the lumber and material stone from your inventory into its storage at once. This also applies to fodder for tamed monsters. Well done Hakama.

Autosave. This feature is a welcome addition to the series. The game will save your data every morning and every time you enter a dungeon. Autosave has really saved my ass a few times when I made a huge error in judgement so I'm incredibly grateful for this feature. And it doesn't save over your actual save file--there's a separate autosave file at the very top. So if you messed up something but already saved on your main file, you can still salvage your mistake by reloading the autosave! I just wish it activated a bit more often sometimes.

Warping. Now we can warp to each level in a dungeon as well as certain places on the map in town. It's pretty convenient for the most part.

Increased party members. Now you can have up to 3 members in your party! Hooray! Party members act more intelligently than in older games. Scarlett can use the Seed circle to assist you in fights. I think she also tosses healing potions at you occasionally. So far, no one has tossed a dish at me if I haven't eaten like Kiel and Clorica did in rf4. But I have been hit by a failed dish (from reinhardt?) and a healing potion (from scarlett). Scarlett, Priscilla, and Reinhardt are the most helpful when dungeon crawling in my experience. Some of them however, (looking at you Doug) don't shut the hell up with their one line of dialogue they have and repeat it constantly.

Seed Circle. This neat feature allows you to capture monsters. By charging it and releasing you can capture monsters for the bounty system or add them to your party temporarily. If you throw it without charging it, you can stun monsters in place momentarily or grab things from far away. When stunning monsters, it can also give you the monster's drop item occasionally. Unfortunately it uses a lot of RP so it can be difficult at times.

Combo attacks. This is a neat feature that I appreciate and use often for boss fights. They do some serious damage so it's good to save them for the bosses. The actual cutscenes aren't that impressive, and feel kind of subpar when you get down to it but I think it's a start in the right direction.

Farm Dragons. I'm listing this as a pro although I really just see it as a new feature. Farm dragons have fields on their backs that you can place monster barns on and farm on. Giving them certain crystals will give your fields boosts in certain criteria, like length of growth, soil quality, you get it. I personally don't use the crystals because I couldn't give a shit lmao I have men and women to woo here. But if you're into this kinda thing then it's a pro.

Storage. When opening your storage box, fridge, etc. you can actually hit the R & L buttons to switch between ALL of your other storages. Looooove thissss. Great addition. So much faster to put items away in their respective places.

Crafting/Forging. Now we can also use the R & L buttons to alternate between the different weapon types/accessory/gear types instead of having to exit the menu and going back in each time you want to make something different.

Cooking. More recipes have been added. Yay!

Days are longer now. More time to get shit doneeeee ayyyy

Fishing. They've added many more fish to the game! Now the player will shout something when you get a bite, making it easier for you to hit B at the right moment. Nice. Also if you fail or press B too early, the fish doesn't vanish most of the time. Also nice. There is now a feature to fish with another person's assistance. Once a day you can investigate the sign near the fishing station and someone might offer to lend you a hand. Press the B button at the right moments on the slider and you can get a rare fish that can't be caught normally.

Monsters. New types of monsters! Love the designs. Even the monsters that are the same but just have different skins are really neat. They look great in the 3D format too. You can even ride with up to two people on certain monsters! Some bosses had awesome designs while others...were bad.

New Types of Furniture. The carpenter store has a wide arrange of furniture you can buy for your home. It also has wallpapers and stuff which is really neat. Though unfortunately you can't even sit on some of the furniture so that's a shame.

Events. Now there is a system where events are triggered by approaching an icon on the map. This is probably an improvement to RF4's randomized system, though personally I found it annoying because it meant that I had to see the events before I could just enter a building normally. Sometimes I just wanted to get shit done and not have to read through walls of text for someone's love event when I just want to buy something.

Voiced Lines. The protagonist seems to have more voiced lines, as do other characters. Good!

Let's talk about Cons

Not including glitches. Oh boy. So many cons. Where do I start?

Dialogue. Probably the most notable con in the entire game. The dialogue is drastically minimal in comparison to previous games, especially rf4. There is probably a quarter of the amount of dialogue compared to rf4's insane amount of content if not less. Townsfolk repeat themselves. Often. Too often. Am I playing Harvest Moon? Originally I thought it was because the dialogue is randomized, but I think it's actually because more dialogue is unlocked as you raise townspeople's FP. Despite this, there's no linear build up where you start off as acquaintances and eventually become very close like in rf4 because of how sporadic the LP/FP is. Townsfolk don't even talk to each other. One of the greatest perks about runefa is the conversations townsfolk can have with one another. Residents randomly gathering in small groups to talk about anything. Previously you could add someone to your party and sometimes a dialogue will occur if you speak to the right person at the right time with that person in your party. This is nonexistent now. The only time they do this in rf5 is during the festivals. But, it will only trigger if you have unlocked all the characters in each marriageable lineup and they can't be in your party. The residents will talk about one another but that's pretty much it outside of town events. They got rid of all the minor dialogue that occurs too. Trying to sleep in someone's bed while they're right there? They wont comment. Inspecting objects in stores while the shopkeeper is present? Wont say anything. Take a character with you to a dungeon/boss fight? Their lips are sealed. Where's my sense of community? :(

FP/LP This ties into the dialogue issue. The rate at which LP/FP increases is sporadic as hell. You can go from 1FP/LP to 4FP/LP just by giving a gift sometimes. I wouldn't even speak to people and their affinity increased by like triple for no reason. Then it increases by like 2% for the longest time. Argh!!!

Graphics. I don't consider myself very picky when it comes to graphics. I don't really mind that the foliage and scenery are at the level of a ps2 game at best. I tried playing on my television initially, but the lag and camera operability was too much so I fully switched (haha puns) to handheld. One thing that sucked is that I literally cannot tell the difference between medicinal herbs, antidote grasses, and green grasses without the captions because the graphics are so indistinguishable. So when you're trying to pick up multiples of those items by holding the A button, you're just randomly walking over anything green in the hopes that you'll get the right ones...

Lack of Sound Effects. Something I noticed is they got rid of the sound effects that will play when you complete a puzzle or add someone to your party. When you try to brush a monster there's no sound for the '♪' they make when you successfully brush them. So it was hard for me to tell if I had actually brushed them or not. I was a bit saddened by the lack of cute sounds.

Too much free range. From the very beginning of the game, you're allowed to go pretty much wherever you want when leaving town. It was too easy to stumble into high enemy level territory without knowing, so when I was like level 5 so I got KO'd immediately.

Artwork. The portraits seem to be lower in quality somehow. Runefa has always had shitty portrait art imo but this time it's even worse. Many character's eyes looked fucked up. Though the 3D models are insanely good for mostly every character except Terry. Terry's 3D model looks Terryfying and I prefer his portrait.

Festivals. They've added some new festivals. Some I enjoy. Some not so much. They changed the format of the eating contest. It's horrible. Good luck with that one.

L pocket + R button? They got rid of the feature that lets you skip to the other end of your items when opening the L pocket by pressing R button. I really liked that feature because it made it faster to reach my items so I was bummed that they got rid of it.

Gotta go fast. Now when you speak to someone, it doesn't 'stop time' as you might say it did in previous games. So people are still moving about as you speak to someone, making it harder to catch up to people! Annoying!!!

Catch and release? Not in my farming simulator! Say goodbye to being able to toss a fish you caught back into the water. In fact, say goodbye to tossing anything you don't want anymore into the water. Now you just have an army of fish flopping on the ground around you. And with the auto pick up feature, they're probably going to end up in your inventory anyways once you try to move. There are still certain ponds with fairies that you can toss stuff into, but you'll have to deal with the fairy harping at you for giving her something she doesn't want.

Shop Hours. Oh god. The shop owners don't even open their stores at the correct hours? It says open at 9am. If you speak to them they won't open their store until like 9:07??? But Priscilla and Lucy will show up to work their part-time jobs at around 8:30am and you can buy stuff through them before 9am. So the actual shop owners (for the bread shop and general store) are pointless usually. Additionally, if the store is empty (but open) you can no longer add a shopkeeper into your party and then enter their store with them to buy things from them. Why. Just why. When you want to buy something that only a specific person sells (Only Hina sells fish, only Heinz sells misc items) you have to wait for them to finally decide to work in their own store. Wonderful.

Monster Item drops. Maybe I'm crazy but the monster drops are seriously a lot harder to get than in previous games. Especially boss drops. It's almost impossible to get the rare drops now. I don't even want to try anymore. And as far as I know, the only place to buy monster items is through Heinz, but his items are actually misc. items, not specifically monster drops. So you'll be lucky to check his store (whenever tf he decides to actually work) for any monster items you might want instead of farming for the drops. Sighs.

Difficulty. This game is too easy. There is little to no challenge whatsoever. I had to increase the difficulty setting to hard mode and it was still too easy. I beat it at level 139, never once did I need to grind or level. In fact, your character levels up way too quickly for the pace of the story. I had zero trouble with any of the bosses and even the final boss was a breeze. Quite sad. Though because I am not new to the franchise, it's likely that newcomers would have some trouble in the later parts of the story.

Fishing cons. Idk how you fck up fishing but they sure did. You have to stand further back now because the pole is so long that you'll miss the fish you're aiming for. In fact, it's seriously hard to aim period. You'll end up recasting more often than not. Fish come in the various sizes but they don't seem to have the darker or faded characteristics that can indicate whether it's a rare fish or not. The graphics make it hard to tell. The pros that i've already mentioned are welcomed but it doesn't negate the fact that I do not enjoy fishing like I did in previous games.

Mining/Lumbering Cons. You can no longer strike three times consecutively when mining/lumbering. This sucks lol. Even when you upgrade your axe or hammer, powering up the tool does nothing for getting wood and material stone--it only expands the area of your strike. So it takes longer to get wood/stone from stumps and rocks now since you have to strike the full 9 times but it's not too bad. It's also harder to aim now as well so that's also unfortunate.

Seasonal Fields? Kiss them goodbye! That's right, there are no seasonal fields in rf5 because devs are insane! You instead have the farm dragons that seem to look seasonal based on the fact that they are designed after elements like earth, water, and fire. But no, these dragons are simply extra fields for you to use. Here's a spoiler: you're not going to use those fields. You're just not. They're kinda useless unless you're obsessed with farming. Now you have to grow your crops out of season like the sad farmer that you are.

Farming cons. Seeds no longer tell you how long it takes to grow the crop. Why. As of June 29th, they fixed this with an update. But I still had to play the whole game without it so fuck you marvelous. The joystick is really sensitive? So when you're trying to use a fertilizer or something on your field you're likely to place it on the wrong 4x4 tile, wasting your fertilizer. So it’s best to hold down the R button when farming. Also the crops look uglie as hell.

Sleeping and warping cutscenes. Just like in rf4 there's a cutscene when you go to sleep that can be skipped easily by pressing A. In rf5, there's a cutscene to sleep and a cutscene when waking up. It takes a bit more than a second to skip these scenes so it gets annoying after a while. Warping is this new feature that replaces our beloved escape spell. Overall I appreciate the feature but I hate it for two reasons. One: there's an annoying ass cutscene for it each time you use it that could be much shorter. And Two: townsfolk now use warp even when inside the town. In previous games, someone exiting your party in town would just manually run to wherever they need to be. So you could easily chase after them if you need to talk to them or give them something. Now, party members use warp regardless of where you are at the time. So say you have someone at 7 hearts and you want to try confessing to them. You would have them join your party, save your game, and then have them leave your party and immediately speak to them and confess before they can run off. If it doesn't work you reload until it does. In RF5 this wouldn't work anymore because they will warp. Now you would have to save, run around town trying to find this person and hope they accept the confession. Otherwise you'll have to play hide and seek again because reloading your file will randomize the resident's locations (if they are not working in a shop)!!!! I often just waited until a festival day because then they will be at the plaza for most of the day and it has a warp point there.

Crafting/Forging/Cooking. They've removed the feature where you can press Y on the ingredients in the menu to add more of that particular item. I miss this feature :'(

Lacks incentive. There is no trophy room from my knowledge. The final dungeon that is meant to be like the sharance maze/rune prana isn't that hard to beat for skilled players and is only 20 floors. After you beat the main story and this dungeon there's not much else to do really.

Request Board. Unlike in rf4, you need to make sure you have accepted requests before you complete them or else it will not count. Previously, you could complete all sorts of tasks and Eliza would still recognize your work even if you accept their request after the fact. ie, shipping goods, harvesting crops, etc. So make sure you don't harvest your special crops before accepting the request it's for!

Return of the "Loli" Dragons... Yeah you read that right. We got more dragons in children's(???) bodies with skimpy clothes. I don't know anymore????¿¿¿

Can't marry the Milfs or Dilfs. Tragic.

Still no homo. Grow up Marvelous.

Reverse Proposal? Reverse Uno card-- Laid low by the patriarchy. You now have to buy the double bed and craft an engagement ring to propose to your man if you're playing as Alice. Marvelous this isn't what we meant when we said we wanted equal rightsssssss This can be seen as a pro if you're a softhearted babey who doesn't like rejecting bachelors' proposals because you feel bad :'( But this is a con for me because I don't want to spend money and materials on a double bed dammit!!!

Misc. Still can't stack dishes or fish. There's no green elemental fairy???All the other elemental ones are there except the green one? why??? Still can't tame the giant Wooly. Some bosses that have insanely awesome designs cannot be tamed and makes me wanna eat glass.

Let's talk about Love~

Relationships. We want them. And half of us only play these games for them. I've only played as the female heroine so far but I'll be updating this review as soon as I finish with the bachelorettes as the male hero.

Confessions

As usual, we must raise the love points of our beloved to 7 hearts before we can attempt to date them. However unlike in rf4, if you fail at a confession once, you will need to raise the LP up an entire level before you can try again with any chance of success. It's imperative you save before attempting a confession now.

Love Events

Each love interest has two love events that must be seen before you can date them. They're reminiscent of older game's style but I felt they could have been a biiiit more interactive or so? Or involved the town a bit more for some of them.

Dating

Once you get your honey to be your bf/gf, you get to choose the nicknames as usual. Then you can go on dates. The first three (non-festival) dates are actually events. You need to see all three events to get married.

Marriage Event

The final event you need to clear before you can marry your sweetie. In my honest opinion, so far for the boys, these events were rather disappointing. They lacked the drama and angst that sort of 'test' the love between the two when compared to rf4. Also this is a huge con for me personally and a minor spoiler but there are no special cutscenes at the end of the marriage event like in rf4. Instead, the cutscene takes place during your actual wedding. I was saddened by this because it took away the depth from the marriage events and the actual character? As it is just a cut and paste type of thing instead of an original cutscene for each person. They lack individualism this way. Also it kinda felt like a way for devs to avoid gay relationships and cut corners :^/....sus.

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes...

Children!!!!!! This is actually one of the coolest additions in the game. Just like in rf3, you can have up to 3 children again! Your first child will resemble you, and you will have the option to choose its gender as well as its personality. There are 6 different children, (3 boys and 3 girls), all with different hairstyles, mannerisms, and seiyuus. Your answers will determine which child you get. A year after your first child is born, you will get the option to have a second child. You'll end up with twins, both resembling your partner. You won't get to choose the genders (it will be a boy and girl) but you will get to choose the personalities once more. The children all have canon names too and each kid is incredibly cute. And of course, you're still able to take your kid with you in your party~ ...Though you can only take one kid with you at a time.

So is RF5 good?

Yeah it's a fun game! My theory is that Marvelous forced the devs to release the game earlier than they were ready for, and that's why it's so lacking. But that doesn't mean it's not worth playing! I'd rate it 3.5/5 stars hehe. Not nearly as good as RF4 (full stop 5/5), or RF3 (4/5) but enjoyable nonetheless. I wouldn't recommend it as a first game to play from the series for newcomers though, I feel it's best for vets who can overlook all the cons thanks to loyalty and nostalgia. By the time it’s released in the West, the bugs should all be dealt with too.

So! Definitely buy this game! We want the series to continue and we want RF6 to be better than this--and hopefully Marvelous will make sure of that next time. If you're not a picky person I think you'll enjoy rf5 a lot. If you're like me and have high standards then, well, still pick it up and let it run its course. Then dust off rf4sp and cleanse your gaming palette >;^)