#ive become far too invested in this

[thegreatgay-tsby]

Marjorie: You need you grow a backbone Char!

Charlotte: *grows a backbone and stands up to Marjorie*

Marjorie: 😯 No, not like that

[arolesbianism]

Thinking abt the random card au again. Why must it go so crazy hard I miss it sm

[rxzennia]

selfish atonement

– requested. 

✎𓂃 executing your duty perfectly, until it’s not so heavy anymore. less romance, a lot of lore. mandatory shoutout to @st4rrth0ughts and their bodyguard reader & oc. i really searched up oswaldo for this pls enjoy (i tried to cook but i might’ve burnt it y'all)

ever since oswaldo’s expedition on aeragan-epharshel, you’ve become certain of one thing – he is a brilliant businessman; the epitome of a profitable business. regardless of the mostly negative emotions you felt while you undertook missions under his orders, you could at least admit that he brought unparalleled results to the ipc. 

but, well, it does not take a good man to make a good businessman.

this marks the third amber era after your departure from the marketing development department… no, your departure from the ipc as a whole. you’ve changed your name, got yourself a new appearance, and distanced yourself from oswaldo’s name.

you’ve since become a sellsword who answers only to your current client

you’ve chosen to not have your loyalty freely auctioned off to the wealthy precisely because of your history with oswaldo

aka, you’re done with the type of problems that can be solved with money, and you don’t want to be someone that can be easily bought with money, either

not in the sense that money won’t make you more likely to take a job, but in the sense that money won’t bribe you away from any ongoing duties

that’s enough about you and your standards

in any case, your history with the ipc (that you’ve manipulated a little) has been very helpful in landing you jobs

and at this point, you’ve got a nice word of mouth going on for you that you don’t need to bring up that history anymore

who would’ve thought that you’d end up in the ipc again?

this time as a temporary guard for one of the ten stonehearts

you don’t know what possessed someone like diamond to ask for you, because you’re pretty sure he knows about your previous involvement with the ipc

and also, what the fuck does the ten stonehearts need a bodyguard for?

you’d pay a million credits to bet that diamond just wanted someone to be surveillance

but hey, a client is a client, so you agree to meet the one you’re supposedly “protecting”

you walk into the room, and immediately you want to walk out. diamond is doing this on purpose, he’s gotta be, he’s got to have done a background check on you and still decided to choose violence.

you come face to face with aventurine, and you thank all the aeons out there that you’ve made the decision to wear a mask whenever you’re out. you don’t know if diamond had briefed him on you or not, but judging by how warily civil he is, it doesn’t seem so. 

just so we’re clear, you were far too green to be directly involved when oswaldo launched his sigonia-iv project. while you did tag along on these trips and treaty signings, you have no personal involvement there except standing there like a statue and watching your superiors hammer out a treaty or something. unlike in aeragan-epharshel. where you were one of the combat pilots. oh, that’s another can of worms altogether.

at least he can’t see your expression right now as you shake hands

at least he doesn't hear your erratically beating heart

you introduce yourselves, and you bow out of habit

impression points +100 (your starting score is -10000)

that’s basically how you ended up involved with the ipc again

ugh, you just can’t leave them in the past, can you?

although, in your defense, they’re everywhere, and you can’t possibly turn down a job with such luxurious pay

so, now, instead of the marketing development department, you’re in the strategic investment department. diamond is also a good businessman, but… the ten stonehearts have such a weird dynamic. they’re all tangled together with office politics, yet share one authority figure that they ultimately obey – something you haven’t bothered to think about when you were last in the ipc. and something you won’t bother thinking about, because the mere thought of corporate makes you want to dig yourself into a hole.

in any case, your constant meddling in aventurine’s daily affairs begins today. he’s quite a guarded man, and you have no idea what diamond wants you to do by putting you next to him practically 24/7, but oh well, you’re getting paid.

you settle into a routine surprisingly quickly, and he doesn’t seem to mind your presence all that much

alarmed? yes. mildly annoyed that diamond put a walking tracker on him? also yes. 

dislike your presence? kinda (not really). 

at least he knows you won’t betray him for as long as your contract is in effect

even if you answer directly to diamond, you were tasked to watch over him

which means that you will execute your assigned duty to guard him and strictly only that duty

(truly, your reputation precedes you)

but what is worrying is how swiftly you can change sides the moment your contract expires

well, a problem for tomorrow. diamond’s got you leashed for a year.

he does run a background check on you himself

not that he doesn’t trust that diamond hadn’t vetted you, he just wants to know what sort of person he is now stuck with

guess who found out your name is probably fake but can’t find your real name

because he could only trace your name so far, and anything beyond that point is blank

the discoveries will shock you!! top 10 most scary facts you didn’t know 

all he got was a full report from your first job to this one

anything about your past before your current alias is completely untraceable

not that he intends to ask anyway; you haven’t given him any reason to dig further (yet)

he keeps an eye out for you though

even if he’s not suspicious of you at the moment, that could change in the blink of an eye

aventurine is surprised at how loyal you are to him. you’re under diamond’s orders, but you’re surprisingly putting in a lot to protect him. and to look after him.

to you, it’s just your job… and a selfish, twisted sort of repentance. it’s a thought you intend to take with you to the grave.

you’re not obligated to wake him up or bring him breakfast, but you do anyway

which, he realizes that you must’ve woken up like at least two hours before him

you coordinate his schedule with his assistant so that he doesn’t make pointless trips to five different locations just to end up at the same one twice

you, quite literally, hover over him

yes, even at huge conferences, you’re tailing him like his shadow

some kinda scary dog privilege going on

but of course, you give him space whenever he requires it and keep him within your sights instead

so far so good

but you know what spooks him still? 

that you get pissed when someone makes any nasty passing remark at him

no, you are not a feral street cat that scratches anyone who wrongs you (him)

what you do is you give them a scary confrontation

or you pick them out and lodge a complaint with their superiors afterwards, if they aren’t the top dog

one time he got his hands on a report that you’re writing

aeons, you blow it out of proportion without lying 

you like to call it a suitable amount of embellishing 

then you pull a lot of emotional appealing according to the opponents' company policy

which usually results in some sort of disciplinary action that is actually pretty satisfying to see

but also

damn, you’re merciless 

and also very adept at business talk

trust +100, doubt +25

(shady mercenary for hire with far too much experience type doubt)

you’re as good of a bodyguard as aventurine can get, especially for someone he didn’t hire himself… 

he quite likes you, actually! because how many people do you think asked him something like “why do you need a bodyguard” to his face? none! you’re as entertaining as they come. 

and so he finds joy in his boring executive work by pestering you

you know that, but you put up with him

in fact, this guy is so one of a kind that you don’t even feel pestered

you sometimes even drink with him

whenever he offers, of course, because you’re not too interested in drinking

you drink moderately on the job, but c’mon, when are you not on the job

okay, maybe when he’s just chilling in his office or in the hotel and not going anywhere

then there’s competitive drinking where he tries to coax you into talking about yourself by making you down shots

and guess who’s wasted every time? not you

“mr aventurine?” you ask, nudging the unconscious man next to you. “sir? earth to mr aventurine? hello?”

his empty glass of whiskey on the table, his face slightly flushed as he snoozes away on the table… yeah, it does not look comfy at all.

you sigh, he’s giving you more work again, and you carefully hoist him from the table. 

when he comes to again, he finds himself in his own room

his head hurts so much

he notices that he hasn’t changed from his usual attire – only his coat and accessories are taken off

okay, and the top button of his shirt is undone

did you bring him back? 

as always, you don’t even bother to change him

he sighs, you’re really not very good at reading signs

because he’s done this multiple times! and he’s whined about not being changed after!

more like you did notice but you choose not to do what he wants

that’s crossing a line in your books

and your books is something you stick to like you’re obsessed

at least you left him water and hangover medicine on the nightstand

why does he feel like you’re deliberately keeping him at arm’s length?

it’s been a while and you two have spent so much time together, yet you’re still a stranger to him

not even acquaintances 

like… like, you don’t initiate conversation when you’re watching him

both when he’s going somewhere (requires actual protecting) and chilling at home (does not require actual protecting)

and even after so many late night drinking sessions, he still hasn’t seen you without your mask

mainly because you’ve never been drunk enough for him to sneak a peek, but still

aventurine doesn’t know how to express affection. platonically, romantically, in general, pretty much. so he tries to do the one thing he does best, splurging. and he tries to splurge on you, because he’s intrigued and wants to make buy a friend, but…

but you don’t let him splurge on you! you don’t even let him give you gifts! he only knows how to win affection by spending money on others! 

sometimes he feels like you stick too strictly to your duties

just like his other subordinates… you take orders far too well

he’s tried to give you trinkets, designer clothes, even limited snacks

all of which were returned to him within 24 hours

though, with the snacks, you take it if he offers you a piece or two when he’s already opened it

and you let him treat you to coffee occasionally. very occasionally.

he eventually figures out that it’s a matter of principles

but what principles, exactly? you’re a sellsword, for aeon’s sake

he thought those are the people who have absolutely no principles???

anyway, won’t stop him from trying

“mr aventurine…” you pinch the bridge of your nose as you see the bags stacked on your desk. “i remember telling you that souvenirs are unnecessary.”

“what’s wrong with them?” aventurine laments dramatically. “i’ve picked out only the finest for you!”

you don’t deserve it, you think, but you don’t say that, of course

you don’t even know of his lifelong grudge towards oswaldo

you just know that you had a hand in the extinction event

not like hand hand, but you watched it happen… it doesn’t sit well with you

besides, you have the blood of almost an entire civilization on your hands

if you think too hard about it, the image of flames and carnage overlap with what is in front of you

then, you envision the records of sigonia that you’ve read through in the past

and everything blurs together, your actions, your inaction, and your unwavering loyalty that led you to not raise a single question at all

you squeeze your eyes shut tightly and purge the images from your mind

you are currently here, in the present

“i can’t take them.” you reply, finally, shaking your head. “it’s inappropriate for our standing. especially since there’s no reason for you to be gifting me so many things out of nowhere.”

“what, i can’t be nice to my bodyguard?” aventurine pouts as he sorts the bags in height order. “i’ve got a limited edition tie, an antique phonograph, a discontinued mug, some rare natural color ink for your fountain pen, a pure cashmere sweater–”

“that’s… that’s enough, sir.” you raise a hand to cut him off. “i don’t think i can accept any of them, really.”

aventurine makes a face, then pulls out a bag from the end of the queue. “fine, fine. what about this, at least? assorted cookies from an artisan bakery, using only the best ingredients sourced from all over the cosmos?”

you stare at that bag as you feel the expectant stare from your boss

maybe… maybe one out of these dozens of bags is fine

you’ve gotta think about his feelings too, after you’ve rejected so many gifts

you reluctantly, carefully take the bag and say a small “thank you”

you don’t want his fascination with you to develop any more than what he’s already showing…

but you also know that it’s not up to you

so what is up to you is drawing a line that you won’t allow him to cross

for his sake, and for your own… 

if he keeps pushing, you should keep pushing back

keyword should

but can you?

aeons, you truly are selfish

wouldn’t it have been better to keep everything professional from the very beginning?

it’s okay. you only have a little more than half a year to go before you’re no longer obligated to be here. you’ll run away before aventurine catches on, like how you ran away from your past.

it’s okay. it’s just been a few months, there’s still more than half a year’s worth of time. before you part ways, there are still chances to get to know you better. perhaps even time to become friends, in the most literal sense of the word.

and maybe by the end of it, “you” will reach a satisfactory conclusion.

[morning-star-joy]

here, everyone knows you're the way to my heart

Pairing: Post-Outbreak Neighbors, Joel x F!Reader, Ellie x Platonic Reader

Summary: At Joel's request, you teach Ellie how to press flowers, and become even more engrained in the life of your neighbors. Joel continues to struggle with your kindness, and makes a choice that'll have consequences between you.

Tags/Warnings: 18+ MDNI. Grumpy x Sunshine, Mutual Pining, Implied Age Gap. Angst. Joel's an emotionally unavailable asshole. Petname (dollface). Mentions of food and eating. Cigarette use. Language. Please check series warnings on masterlist.

A/N: This took far too long, like 5 months after I started this series, but it's here now! Angst is kicking in towards the end of this one and through the next few parts so...yeah. Buckle in loves. Ty for being so patient and supportive for this fic!

Wordcount: 6.3k

Part I || Part IV || Part V || Series Masterlist

Masterlist || Kofi || Updates Blog

Looking back at it all now, the way you always acted around Joel finally made sense.

It had started out of neighborly kindness. You treated the older man, and the girl who he looked after, the same way you would’ve treated anybody who moved in next door, with a warm smile and offers of goodwill made by your own hand.

Somewhere along the way though, your reasons for seeking Joel out had shifted, so subtly that you hadn’t even realized it until suddenly it was all you could think about.

And now he was all you could think about.

Out in your garden, tending to your flowers, you wondered which blooms you could give him next. The meanings hidden within each family of plants, each variation of color, how you could tell him exactly the way you felt without him knowing a single thing.

In your kitchen, baking a small batch of brownies for Ms. Garcia again, wondering if Joel would like some, if you should set aside a few for him to try. Wondering if he liked something decadent, if the dour man had a secret sweet tooth, or maybe he preferred a sour taste instead.

Wondering if he had even cared enough to try the banana bread you had brought to him when he first settled in. 

Or if he had put any of your flowers in a vase like you had told him to.

Hoping you’d see him when you walked out of your house in the morning to go about your daily tasks helping out around Jackson, or hear that soft music played by rough fingers on his porch at night.

So when there was a rapt knock on your door one afternoon, you rushed from the kitchen to answer it without a care for your apron splattered with remnants of baking ingredients, too full of irrational hope until you opened the door, and your eyes were led down.

But the sight before you still brought a smile to your face, watching as the girl who also lived next door to you brightened when she saw you. Her awkward slouch straightened, a tentative smile twitching on her face to answer your welcoming one.

“Hey,” Ellie offered in terms of cautious greeting with a little wave, stuffing her hands back into the front pockets of her jeans, rocking back and forth on her heels as you returned her wave cheerfully. “Uh, I’m here for the…flower lessons?”

“Oh! Of course, please come in,” you chirped, smile widening into a grin with excitement at the prospect of sharing your knowledge of botanicals with somebody willing to learn. 

There weren’t many people in Jackson who were as invested in gardening as you—some even turned their nose up at it, deeming it trivial in the kind of world you lived in, when others were working day in and out to keep the place not only running, but as safe as could be.

But what was the point of having all this safety, if there was no warmth of it? What was the point of surviving without living, without finding what beauty remained, lovingly tending to it so it could grow, and cherishing its worth?

So you had been thrilled to learn from Joel that Ellie wanted to know how to press flowers, but you hadn’t wanted to overwhelm the girl, deciding it was best to let her come to you. 

Though she had seemed bright and energetic for the most part, and had been kind the few times she’d called to you from the next porch over, at times there was a shadow cast over her young face, a look that almost reminded you of a cornered animal. A soul that had grown up without knowing any sort of beauty.

And so you hoped that by showing her patience and kindness, Ellie would find there were still beautiful things that remained in the world around you.

“I thought maybe you had smelled the brownies,” you teased as you led her through the house, glancing back to see her eyes light up at the mention of desserts.

“Like, as in chocolate brownies?” Ellie asked, suddenly on your heels as you entered the kitchen, and you laughed at the way her jaw dropped at the sight of ingredients set out on your counter, in the midst of making a batch when she had dropped by.

“Yup,” you popped the ‘p’ of the word as you circled the counter, gesturing to the batter you had been mixing with a fond smile at her growing grin of excitement. “I don’t always have the ingredients for it, but when I do, I always try and make a batch for Ms. Garcia down the street—they’re her favorite.”

Ellie wrinkled her nose at the mention of the older woman, bright mood dropping quickly at the name, even as she stepped closer to you to peer down into the bowl when you picked the whisk back up. “I don’t like her.”

Arching an eyebrow down at her, you countered the blunt statement with, “Do you know her?”

The young girl paused, eyes flashing up to meets yours, looking a little taken aback by the question before you saw her stubbornness double down before your eyes, squinting up at you as she shot back, “Well, she doesn’t know me, but she sure likes to talk shit about me. Joel too.”

You frowned, sighing softly before glancing back down at your batter to mix it a few more times. “Yeah, she can be a bit of a busybody. She’s lived in Jackson longer than most, and she’s watched so many people come and go that I think she finds herself a bit of an expert on the matter of who lives here.”

“She should mind her own fucking business,” Ellie mumbled, and you both found yourself looking at each other in surprise when a snort of shocked laughter left you, four eyes wide before the girl’s smile grew mischievous at your hint of amusement that you quickly tried to hide.

“I’m not a fan of gossip, and she does a bit too much of it,” you admitted with a sigh, turning to grab a pan to pour the batter into so you could get it in the oven and move on to what she had come here for. “But she’s lost a lot, and I try to offer some kindness to her.”

“Like you do with me and Joel.”

Your head whips back around to Ellie, eyes wide at the no punches drawn comparison.

That’s also when you see her hand as it crept towards the uncooked mix of ingredients for a sneak taste, and you gently smacked it away, lips twitching up into a smile as she huffed indignantly that you had caught her.

“Everybody deserves some kindness,” you replied softly as you poured and spread the batter into the pan, sliding it into the sweltering heat of the oven and setting your little timer. You turned back with a smile that showed your genuine motivation in spreading goodwill, one that made the tension in Ellie’s shoulders relax. “How could that not include my new neighbors?”

“Yeah, okay, Sunshine,” Ellie teased with a roll of her eyes, and you laughed again, not only amused by her wry sense of humor, but happy to see how she perked up at your positive reception to her jokes. “I came here for the flower shit, remember? But I’m definitely staying for those brownies.”

With a playful roll of your eyes, you gestured for her to follow you out the back door to your garden. When Ellie descended from the porch and stopped short, turning around in place to take in your carefully tended garden, you felt a swell of pride in your chest at the wonder in her wide-eyed gaze.

“Holy shit,” Ellie breathed out, her tone impressed as she glanced over your carefully coordinated flowers spreading throughout the yard. “You did all of this?”

“Sure did,” you chirped, a bright grin on your face that she slowly matched with one of her own as you led her to the flowers you’d be working on today. 

“I’ve had to do a lot of digging around for them—both through trades and, well,” you gestured with the trowel you picked up to accentuate your point, “literally.”

Ellie snorted, rolling her eyes at your joke, even as the sharp brown of them lit up more than you had seen yet at your bad pun. The cheer faded into something more somber, almost melancholic as she knelt down next to you in front of the patch of white and yellow daisies.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” she mumbles as you pick up a pair of shears to give to her, and you watch as she takes the tool and holds it as if ready to wield it. 

The teen doesn’t even seem to notice the way she holds it out, sharp edges pointed away from herself like preparing to stab an Infected that didn’t exist within the walls of Jackson, and you wonder just what Ellie has gone through in her short life, how many improvised weapons she’s learned to make deadly, how hard she’s had to fight just to make it this far.

You’re reminded once again of the spooked animal backed into a corner at the sight of her awkwardly gripping the shears, and you show her your open palms before slowly reaching out, making your intentions clear before gently readjusting her grip on the shears.

“You’re nurturing something,” you say gently, picking up another pair of shears and demonstrating how you trim the dead leaves off your plants before finding a bright yellow daisy to carefully pick. “Not killing it.”

Ellie frowns, watching you retrieve the fresh bloom and present it to her with a smile. She takes it gingerly, staring down at the petals as she swirls it between her fingers and says bluntly, “But it’s gonna die anyway.”

You falter, a frown pulling onto your lips as you hear the unmistakable truth, the knowledge that ran deeper than just flowers in her grave words.

“It will,” you assent, voice quiet as you pick another one, handing it to her to join the first. “But they’re not alone. We’ll appreciate them while we have them, and when they’re gone, we’ll keep a reminder of them, like you wanted to learn.”

Ellie glanced up, solemn frown turning into one of confusion with the pinch of her brows. “Huh?”

Now it was your turn to frown, your facial expression mirroring hers as you clarify, “We’ll press the flowers. That’s what Joel said you wanted to learn.”

Blinking rapidly, Ellie shifted around to face you completely, and you did the same as you stared at each other in dual confusion and misunderstanding. “Joel said what now?”

“He said that you wanted to press flowers,” you said slowly, head tilting to the side as Ellie’s mouth opened before she stopped, eyes lighting up in sudden understanding that you were still lacking.

“Ooooh,” she drew out the sound of realization as you continued to look at her blankly, a slow smirk stretching across her face before she looked back down at the daisies, then up at you again. “Yeah, right! Pressing flowers. Yup, that’s what I told him. Totally wanted to learn that.”

There was a new excitement in Ellie’s eyes now as she nodded enthusiastically, matching the mischievous smirk on her face, and you tentatively gave your own nod before turning back to the flowers, continuing to pick a few more daisies along with her as the girl kept shooting you looks and asking you questions about the flowers decorating your garden.

“What’s that one mean?” she asks, pointing her shears towards a bunch of blooming lilies with bright pink leaves stretching outward.

“Pink lilies symbolize love and femininity,” you explain, snipping away a few dead leaves around a few more flowers before pushing yourself to your feet. “A lot of the time, they’re gifted between women because of that. It’s a show of admiration.”

Ellie nodded slowly, perking up at the explanation as she rose to her own feet beside you. She cast another glance around the garden, turning around slowly on her feet much like she did when first coming out, but you saw a honed look in her gaze, different from the wide scale glance of appreciation for the flowers from before.

And you understood the subtle calculation in the action when she not so subtly asked, “What about that one?”

Your eyes followed the direction she was pointing in to find your roses swaying gently in the spring breeze, and your back stiffened instantly.

“Uh—” Clearing your throat, you shifted awkwardly on your feet, trying to brush off the inkling that she knew what you had given Joel, ignoring the shrewd way she focused in on your face while you tried to turn it away from her observation. “Different colors have different meanings—”

“The orange one!”

You froze, holding your shears tightly in one hand and your own bundle of daisies in the other, trying to hide your internal panic and knowing you failed when you heard a snicker from beside you, letting you know that she must have seen the rose you’d given Joel at some point.

Did that mean he kept it?

You swallowed down the sudden surge of excitement at the thought, trying to focus past your feelings towards the man as you glanced back at the smirking teen beside you.

Clever kid.

“They’re energetic flowers,” you admitted a partial truth slowly, moving towards your back porch to drop off your tools and conveniently face away from Ellie, when she bounced in front of you to walk backwards, eyes fixed on your face with a purely trouble-making grin.

“Energetic how?” she prodded, arching her scarred eyebrow, and you sighed.

“They typically are meant to convey…fascination,” you hedged with the explanation as you set your shears down on your workbench, beckoning for her to do the same with hers before opening the back door and letting her go inside first.

“And not so typically?”

Holding back a groan, you strode past Ellie quickly, busying yourself with finding a small, unused book in your living room to start her collection of dried flowers in. You mumble the answer as you try to bury your face in the book, hoping she wouldn’t continue to interrogate you for her own amusement.

But as any true teenager would, she popped up behind you with a bright, “What’s that?” and you snapped the book shut with a groan after flipping through the pages.

“Attraction,” you admitted on a loud sigh, turning to see her grinning up at you. You resisted a smile yourself, her youthful glee at sticking her nose where it didn’t belong nearly infectious, even through your embarrassment at being caught. You passed the book to her, beckoning her to join you on the couch so you could show her how to press the flowers on your coffee table. “Happy?”

“Very,” Ellie grinned, and you could almost see her mentally filing away the information for the most inopportune time, all the while your own mind churned over the meaning of the flower you had left unsaid.

The very meaning that you had given Joel the flower for, the feelings that he stirred up inside you again and again with each fleeting look, stronger with each passing moment in his presence, even without him intentionally fanning the flames.

You wondered how much longer it would take until it finally burned you.

Joel had tremendously, irrevocably fucked up this time.

He should have never let you get that close. 

He should have said no when you asked him if he wanted that smoke, even if it meant seeing dejection on your face before you turned from him and hurried back inside the safety of your home. As far from him as allowed with fate—or, more likely, his goddamn brother—putting him next door to you. 

You should be far away from the likes of him.

The dejection would’ve been better than the hope that flooded your face whenever you saw him now. It would’ve been easier if you avoided him instead of seeking him out, less excruciating than the ache steadily settling into his very bones when your eyes lit up every time they met his own if you happened to see him, or find him, around town.

Spring was warming into summer, and you shone in the warmth of the sunlight, like those flowers you loved so much that he’d catch you taking care of around town. Half the times he ran into you, you were leaning over some flower bed or up on your tiptoes to reach a hanging basket, tending to the bright blooms that faded in comparison to your brilliance.

Joel would try and get away as fast as possible, if you didn’t catch him staring more often than not. You’d approach him, offer a new flower to him with a dazzling smile that burned itself into his eyelids and taunted him every time he blinked.

The new flower would go into that same shitty vase, and the old one would join the ever growing pile of dying flowers on the edge of the counter, balanced precariously close to the trash bin next to it.

He kept telling himself he’d shove them all into the trash someday.

But every time a dried petal would flutter into the bin, he’d lean over with a grunt at that persistent ache in the back of his left knee and pull the splintering petal back out, setting it back onto the counter with the other blossoms that continued to fall apart.

One of these days, he’d get rid of them.

Every time he entered the kitchen, he’d tell himself it was that day.

And every time his hand hovered over them, gazing over the once full of life blossoms that had dampened with the passage of time, he’d decide tomorrow would be better. 

The pile of flowers grew, until one day Ellie stopped in her tracks heading through the kitchen, staring pointedly at the dried up petals hanging on for the last dregs of dear life off brittle stems, and then back at Joel.

And he pointedly ignored her, focusing on peeling the washed apple in his hand, knife carefully shedding the skin as he asked her before she could speak, “Where you goin’?”

“To learn more about flowers with your girlfriend,” she shot back, the snicker evident in her voice, and Joel’s thumb froze, the shiny red peel of the apple hanging in a swirl off the fruit in his hands.

“My—” he shook his head sharply, brows knitted together as he huffed out a quiet, exasperated breath. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I hardly know her.”

“Sure.”

Joel exhaled sharply, the peel finally falling into the sink when he finished, and he focused on cutting off a slice instead of the aggravating tone in Ellie’s voice that said she knew something he didn’t.

Something he in fact knew very well, as infuriating as it was to deal with.

“She just lives next door, Ellie,” he doubled down, only looking up to pass her a slice of apple, then another slice when she popped the first one into her mouth, even as he shook his head in disapproval when she smiled wide with the apple in front of her teeth when she saw his exasperation with her antics. “Thought you could give each other some company.”

“Right,” she mumbled through a mouthful of the chewed fruit, and he shot her a disapproving look that she only snickered at. To her credit, she did at least swallow down the first piece and hold off on eating the second to say clearly, innocent words with a sharp double meaning, “Nice flowers, by the way. What a neighborly gift. I sure admire them.”

Joel frowned, glancing from Ellie towards the light red flowers that currently sat in the vase—carnations, he thinks. You’d given them to him a couple days ago, when he had been on the way home from a patrol that had taken him out before the sun rose, and brought him back when it was finally setting again. 

Your head had popped up at the sound of his footsteps going past your house, a grin spreading across your face before you called out to him. There was a quick snip of the stems at the flower bed you were kneeling at in your front yard before you rose and handed them to him over the fence, old wood with peeling white paint that separated you from each other.

He had thought of you on your knees that night, the dirt on your skin, what it would be like to rub it off with a gentle caress until each passing of his thumb over your knee would turn needy. Desperate.

God fucking dammit, longing.

But he thought of the unabashed smile you offered him, and the startling way it eased his worn nerves after the long day even more.

What an old, goddamn fool he was.

And what made matters so much worse was how fond Ellie was growing of you. He could deal with his own…his own, whenever you were around him for too long.

But each time Ellie returned from a visit to you happier than when she’d left, it was harder to keep those lines that separated his life from yours from blurring even more. Two sets of fences separated your property from his, but your very being still bled into him, seeping into his bones and settling with a tension under his skin when you began to brighten not just everybody’s fucking day, but Ellie’s as well.

You may have given the girl a gift of flowers to help her feel welcome in Jackson, but it was you who truly made the kid feel at ease. Joel had hardly heard so much praise for anybody else from her, and he couldn’t even be irritated when Ellie started coming home from her flower lessons with you first with gifts of brownies and cookies, and then with casseroles, full meals in dishes that they’d sit side by side on the couch with a couple of forks and eat from together.

“She doesn’t think we eat enough,” Ellie mumbled through a mouthful of casserole one night, and Joel scoffed, even as he shoveled another bite into his own mouth.

“She’s right,” he begrudgingly relented once the dish was empty on the coffee table, their forks discarded inside, and they both fell into a peaceful nap like you had delivered them a fucking Thanksgiving.

Everything you did to him, everything you made Joel feel was harder to ignore when he saw the positive influence you had on Ellie. She went from hardly ever getting out of the house to looking forward to those flower lessons he had lied to both her and you about the other person coming up with the idea, when it was his own.

His own stupid blunder, the question of how to press a flower falling from his lips that night he had made the crucial mistake of letting you get too close. The question he had asked to stop the other question from leaving him, the one that had been taunting him nearly from the first time you had fixed him with that dazzling smile and wide, kind eyes.

How do you do it?

How are you so kind? 

How do you not hate the world?

How do you not hate him for hardly giving you the time of day everybody else was more than willing to give to you? 

All because he was old and bitter and couldn’t fucking admit to himself how you were growing on him, how you were branching out around every cursed inch of him and entangling him in all your softness, pulling him in like ivy, pernicious in its beauty until he crumbled under the weight of your light.

He was too scorned to appreciate what you illuminated in your path, taking your sunshine for a burn on his skin whenever he let you take another step closer.

Somewhere inside him, he worried that he’d burn you too, if he kept letting you take another step.

And somewhere even deeper, he feared that he wanted to.

If he saw you crack, if he got you to lash out at him, maybe he’d finally understand you.

Maybe he could finally let himself—

Fuck, he was an awful human being, if he was even that. The things he’d done, the things he’d still do—he needed to stay away from you.

And if he wasn’t so awful, he would.

If he wasn’t a selfish man, he would’ve sat out on his back porch to play his guitar night after night. Or better yet, stay inside altogether.

He wouldn’t be sitting out on the front porch as soon as the sun began to set, his eyes flickering towards the lights that would flick on in the house next door, filtering through the floral curtains when he switched to strumming a new song.

His fingers wouldn’t be twitching in yearning to hold a cigarette between them, his throat not parched for the stream of smoke that mixed with the sweet taste of you on his lips from sharing that cigarette with you.

He wouldn’t let you consume his every thought. He wouldn’t let you get closer when you weren’t even there.

He wouldn’t let you.

But he did.

He always did.

And maybe he always would.

It happens like clockwork.

As soon as the sun starts to set and sends the deepest hues of purple and pink cascading across the sky, the gentle strumming of a guitar starts. The music bleeds through the walls of your home, and at this point, you’re always sitting by the window in your living room when it starts.

You’d learned to crack open the window the slightest bit before the sunset begins, so you can hear it better when he plays.

You’d also learned to flick the light on in the room when it starts to get too dark. Because when you did, those calloused fingers you could see so well when you closed your eyes would stop across the strings.

There’d be a pause, and then he’d start again. A different song each time, and you’d lean against the wall and listen, his music filtering in as your light filtered out.

You could never bring yourself to open the curtains, but you wondered if he ever noticed the crack in the window after the first few times.

Sometimes you’d read, letting Joel’s music blanket your senses as your mind got carried away into whatever story was on the pages in your hands.

Other times you’d swirl the stem of a flower between your fingertips, the next one that you planned to give him. Or run your fingers down the recipes in a worn cookbook, searching for the next treat or meal you’d give Ellie to take home after a visit.

One night, you’d fallen asleep like that, curled against the wall and waking up with a start and a crick in your neck when nightmares plagued your sleeping mind again.

And when his music still filtered through, it had seemed like such a good idea to get even closer to it. 

There was a comfort to it, real or imagined, and you needed it. You at least had half a mind for a jacket and shoes that time, shoving the dwindling supply of cigarettes you had into the pocket before you stepped out onto the porch, letting the door shut behind you without a care to try and hide it that time.

The music stopped abruptly. By the time you dared a glance over, he was already looking at you.

A moment of silence that felt like forever stretched in that short distance between your porches before Joel jerked his head in a silent beckoning for you to approach, and you were off towards him in an instant.

That first night—or the second, really—you didn’t say a word to each other. You shared another cigarette until your nerves had settled, and left with a small wave and a thankful smile that was returned only with the growing familiarity in the weight of his gaze on you until you disappeared back inside your house.

The next few times it happened, you’d make small talk. A nervous habit, and he didn’t look at you as you spoke, but he’d give small hums every now and then. The smallest scraps of attention that only made you keep coming back.

When you were out of cigarettes, a fear caved in on you that he wouldn’t want you there, that he wouldn’t tolerate your presence if you didn’t have anything to offer.

So you padded about your kitchen that day, making three different batches of cookies as you couldn’t decide on which one to give him. Even with the way you found your life intertwined with his more and more, there was still so much you didn’t know about the man. So much you wanted to know.

Eventually, you settled on a hunch that he did have a secret sweet tooth. Either Ellie scarfed down every batch of sweets you sent her home with—which very well could be—or she shared them with Joel, and the latter thought had you crossing over to his porch that night, a plate of peanut butter cookies nervously clutched in hand.

Cookies he stared at when you ascended the steps to him, sending your heart into a nervous flutter when his jaw set as severely as the first time you’d shown up on his doorstep with an offer of goodwill in something you’d baked with your own hands.

“I was out of cigarettes,” you offered weakly for an excuse as you seemed to mess up around your neighbor once again, and Joel’s gaze finally flashed up to your face, flickering over whatever emotions were probably bleeding through onto your features before looking away.

His hand lifted from the neck of his guitar, rifling through a pocket of his worn jacket until he pulled out his own few rolled up cigarettes with a lighter, which you blinked at in surprise.

“Where did you—”

“Don’t matter,” he mumbled, gaze averted from yours, and you tried to swallow down a lump in your throat as he held them up.

Wordlessly, he passed them to you, and you handed him the cookies, which he set onto the small table beside his chair and stared at as if your gift was the greatest offense you could have ever made.

You tried to find relief in the nicotine, but he kept staring at those darn cookies, a furrow in his strong brow and a dark look in his eyes that you wished you could ease, or at least understand.

Eventually, you dared to try and speak.

“I—”

“I don’t get it.”

Your brow furrowed when Joel interrupted you, confused as to what he meant, and he seemed just as confused as he glanced over your face before hesitantly clarifying, “Your…kindness. The way you’re so positive all the time.”

He raised his hand from the neck of his guitar, gesturing towards the cookies with it, then in the air as he listed off with a voice tinged with irritation, “Baking. Flowers. Fucking…smiling like you do. I don’t get it.”

Your stomach flipped again when Joel met your eyes for a brief moment before he looked back down at his guitar, setting it aside with a sigh so he could rest his hands on his knees, and you murmured, “Well, I'm glad you're finally saying it.”

Joel’s head rose, his gaze finding you again as you gave a small smile, his entire body stiffening at the sight while you continued, “I knew you hated me since you came to Jackson, but it's a bit freeing to hear you finally admit it.”

His jaw clenched, eyes flickering all over your face, as if he was searching for…you didn’t know what he was searching for, and didn’t know whether or not he found it as his eyes narrowed and he looked away again.

“I don’t…” Joel trailed off with a heavy sigh, lifting a hand to rub down over his face, his next words muffled against his palm as he said slowly, “...I just don’t get it.”

His hand dropped, hanging between his knees as he said to you directly, “I’m not kind to you.”

Your head tilted, observing him quietly for a moment to try and see what he was getting at, figure out whether he wanted an answer or not. When he kept looking at you expectantly, you replied quietly, “No, you’re not.”

“So why are you so fucking nice to me?” 

With a shrug, you answered easily, “Because I’m nice to everybody.”

“Why?” 

You sighed, feeling a small flare of irritation at Joel’s persistence on the topic, but you let the feeling fade as you shrugged again.

But when you opened your mouth to reply, Joel swiftly rose, taking a step towards you as he lifted a finger to gesture towards your face while he murmured, “There. I saw it. You were annoyed.”

You raised an eyebrow, a quiet laugh slipping from you as you searched for the words you wanted to say, but it was getting increasingly more difficult to think as he slowly closed the distance between you.

“I get irritated, Mr. Miller,” you said patiently, watching Joel’s jaw clench again, though you weren’t sure what set off the reaction as you continued, “I’m only human. But what would being mad get me?”

“Satisfaction,” he replied easily, getting closer now, and your breathing quickened, pulse racing as you noticed again how big he was, how thick those arms were when he crossed them across his chest and how broad that was, and your mind was screaming at you danger again, just like that first night on his porch. 

Not because he was dangerous—though he might as well be from the rumors, just not towards you, not in that way—but because these feelings he stirred from you threatened to pull you under completely if he suddenly decided to stop keeping that short bit of distance that remained between you.

Lord, when had that distance gotten so short?

“There’s plenty of things to be satisfied about, Mr. Miller,” you said calmly, watching his jaw tick again, and your head tilted, observing him as closely as he watched you. “Cruelty isn’t one of them.”

“No?” he asked softly, the volume of his voice a direct juxtaposition to the stern heat in his gaze, and you shivered again, one of your hands pulling your jacket tighter around yourself in the same moment he reached for your other hand.

You froze as Joel tugged the cigarette from your grasp, holding it in front of your eyes as he mumbled, “Like this?” before dropping it to the porch, lifting his boot to stomp it out, and your breath hitched as he leaned in closer towards you. “Is that vice of yours really enough to satisfy you, dollface?”

Doll—

It was harder to breathe now, your head spinning, mouth still warm and tingling from the mere memory of that taste of him you had once gotten on another cigarette—mint and whiskey, mint and whiskey, and you wondered if his lips would taste of that now if pressed to yours, your tongue in his mouth to explore it and find out.

You quickly shook the heat of the spiraling thoughts from your mind as you breathed out, “There’s enough wrong with the world, Joel. I don’t plan to add to it.”

He exhaled sharply then, and your eyelashes fluttered as you felt his breath wash over your face, and there was that same scent of mint and something wholly intoxicating enveloping your senses and oh god, when had he gotten that close, but you were lost in the proximity as he murmurs, “Say it again.”

You could hear your blood rushing through your head now muffling your ears, heart pounding in your chest that was heaving from quick breaths as you whispered distractedly, “What?”

“Say it,” Joel repeated, leaning closer, and your breath hitched, lips parting when his nose brushed against yours, feeling your pulse between your legs now as he ordered in a low tone, “Again.”

Your mind was struggling to keep up, trying to find out what he meant, trying to find logic in the situation.

But there was no logic, only feeling, only this strange all encompassing heat, and your lips parted further to whisper what you knew he wanted to hear, “Joel—”

“Fuck,” Joel hissed, the curse slipping from his mouth a mere moment before it was on yours.

The only thing that you could manage to do was moan, the warmth of his lips pressed to your own increasing the heat until you felt like you were standing in the middle of a fire, feeling as much warmth as you did a scalding burn when he jerked away from you as quickly as he had kissed you.

Kissed you.

Joel had kissed you.

Something he was apparently horrified by as he leaned away from you, wide eyes darting across your face as he breathed out another, “Fuck,” before he was spinning on his heel and marching towards his door.

You knew it was coming before it happened, the same thing that always happened when Joel seemed to think you got too close. And so you were left standing on his front porch, burning with heat that still lingered on your skin, on your lips from where he had kissed them for just a few seconds before tearing himself away, the door slammed in your face once again.

[yanxidarlings]

hello !! I've been really interested in your "not slytherin" writing and i think i have reread it more than 20-ish times hahahah since it's really good and you're the reason why i am invested in all these fan characters (since i didnt see what their appeal was before reading your work).

and now speaking of it, I'm now thinking about a specific "what if?" scenario, and that is; what if the suffering the reader goes through becomes so much to the point it transforms them into an obscurial? they have pretty much oppressed all their emotions, all their negativity, for four years— and it broke them. and the angst would be so good for this. the reader would definitely be more than distrustful. they're afraid that since their name has already been burnt off their own family; they would soon be expelled or even worse taken into the ministry for how dangerous they are to the other students. and this would definitely up the yandere factor to another level. they're aware theyre at fault for most of the reader's suffering, and that a single trigger would cause them to burst but then they can't do a single fucking thing about it or else.

not a request, but it's something ive been thinking about for a long time now !! (I'm really new to the hp fandom and ur writing definitely made me want to read more into them so I'm glad i stumbled upon it suddenly ^^)

dude, broski, broskilenski, ur a wizard of some sort because HOW ELSE COULD YOU READ MY MIND

i was considering making the reader an obscurial (my favourite fanfiction trope by far) but hesitent incase it was too farfetched but I HAVE BEEN GIVEN A SIGN

was sitting on not slytherin aye p2 but this ask has given me the inspiration to write

so without further adieu, with compliments to the other not slytherin p2 ask

jaythes1mp asked:

Could you do a part two of your latest fic (at this time) — YANDERE SLYTHERIN BOYS: NOT SLYTHERIN, AYE?

Where all the sudden suffocating affection they’re showing him after years of tournament makes him leave Hogwarts because he’s so terrified. He knows they couldn’t have changed, since they’re still threatening anyone near him. But once news gets around to them that he’s leaving for good? How would they take the news? And if they learn that he’s been disowned from his family? Would that be a good or bad thing — because now they can’t arrange a marriage. And it would be harder to find him if he got out of their grasps.

Would they be forced to team up? Would they force him into an unbreakable vow or blood pact??

Please do my request, I’ll beg. Just ask, I will actually get on my knees and beg. 🙏🙏🙏🙏

i present

YANDERE SLYTHERIN BOYS: NOT SLYTHERIN, AYE? P2

“remember, you have to do anything to be slytherin, no matter what it takes” draco's words replayed in m/n's head. he'd replayed that sentance so much it had become distorted, is that even what he said m/n thought to himself, watching the train pass by.

under his eyes were bags the size of boulders, he hadn't slept in days. not since..

"excuse me, sir" a voice rung in his head. m/n shook his head, he wanted it all to go away, go away, go away- "mister, i'm gonna have to ask you for ID" somesort of internal wiring within him snapped "GO AWAY" m/n screamed, finally turning to face to the person- man.. muggle police officer, that had been addressing him.

the officer moved back, taking a strange device off his uniform and speaking into it "i'm gonna need back-up, barkley" whilst the man was engaged, m/n made a run for it.

"GET BACK HERE YOUNG MAN" the police officer bellowed, chasing after the teenage boy.

running through, down the subway and onto the train tracks, the officer gave up the pursuit. sooner or later the boy would be run over by an oncoming train in the tunnels.

after running for who knows how long, m/n finally slowed to a walking pace. then he stopped. the sound of a horn filled his ears, the pitch black tunnel illuminated by the vehicles headlights. i

it was getting closer

m/n looked around, there was nowhere to go in the narrow tunnel

closer

tears filled his eyes, but instead of sobbing he began laughing, only to break out into a fit of sobs and then revert back to laughter.

it was too close

suddenly a BANG was heard as the train came to a stop, the tunnel filled with black mist, which had somehow crushed the head of the train.

it was not natural, it was.. dark magic.

• it was on the front page of the daily prophet the next day 'OBSCURIAL SIGHTING IN SOUTH LONDON SUBWAY' obscurials were no common occurance, the last one was reported in the 1930's, new york.

• it wasn't a cured illness, no, the circumstances of it's development had simply become less common. children of all blood status' had access to education in order to facilitate their powers, and there were muggleborn programs across the world to ensure they did not develop one either.

• it had the ministry stumped. there were no leads on the obscurus, nor was a body found to sugget the outburst had caused the hosts death.

• albus dumbledore was no stranger to obscurials, he had lost so much to them, his sister, his nephew — but he knew well what power the host of one held. and the key role one could play in the coming war.

• which is why he had to find the obscurial before the ministry, or lord voldemort did.

"i am not here to hurt you, m/n" the headmaster called out, slowly approaching the young wizard, who's wand was drawn. "what spell do you plan to use, child?" the older man chimed, it was no secret m/n l/n was never the best with applied magic, like he was with potions or magical creatures

m/n's wand arm shook, "petrificus totalus" upon speaking the words, his wand shot out a spell, of which dumbledore blocked. hitting into the ground, the concrete began to degrade.

terrified, m/n dropped his wand, eyes glassy and wide "i didn't- i have to go" he stuttered out

"there are people who will hurt you, who will use you as a weapon" dumbledore moved closer to the boy who was now shaking "i can help, you can help, you don't have to be the monster the obscurus compels you to be" they were now face to face, or beard to cheek, as m/n couldn't break his eyes away from the concrete.

when the boy nodded, the headmaster took his arm, and a loud POP sounded through the air.

the next day, m/n attended breakfast as if he had not been missing for the past two weeks.

the headmaster had given him his own room under the guise of spacing issues, perhaps having an escape would make this year less hellish, or maybe spending too much time alone would exuberate his growing instability.

at least he could kill one of his tormenters without any witnesses now.

a couple people stared at him as he made his way to the great hall, lovegood had even greeted him. albeit she held the quibbler she had with her close to her chest.

"salazar!" he heard a familiar voice exclaim from behind him, arms wrapping around him "where have you been, l/n" he didn't like the way malfoy was looking at him, it was soft "i thought- i thought you had done something stup-"

m/n was quick to shove off malfoys embrace, rather roughly, before turning around to walk away.

he was pulled back, he now saw malfoys eyes were glassy, as if he was about to cry. what a baby, m/n thought, he wasn't listening to whatever bollocks was coming out malfoys mouth, instead he just glared "and i'm sorry if i was the reason-"

"malfoy, just go cry about this to the house elves, they get paid to care i don't"

and with that, m/n was off, ignoring zabini and nott who were staring at him as he shoved past.

• as the days went by, his tormentors wouldn't leave him alone, but they weren't doing what they always had, they were being nice. which scared him even more. perhaps because niceness was so foreign or because he knew it had to be a ploy for their next big trick.

• he wanted to be left alone by them but there was no way out. they held him in chokeholds they called hugs and suffocated him with what they called kisses.

• they sat with him in class and one of them was always partnered up with him, but they just wanted to sabotage his grades, and get him expelled.

• they were no longer hostile towards him but towards each other, whenever one caught him with another, they'd fight each other with wits or fists.

• they dragged him to their dorm every night and drew sticks to decide who he would be stuck with for the night. he never slept those nights, they were just waiting for him to fall asleep so they could do something horrible.

• but he rarely ever slept at all these days, which is what contributed to the paranoia that led him to leaving.

• the only reason he stayed was for headmaster dumbledore, who had been attempting to help him learn to control the obscurus, to no avail. when the headmaster was outcast by the ministry, there was no reason to stay and wait to get caught for what he was.

"do you understand your fault, mr l/n" the sickeningly sweet sound of umbridges voice filled his ears, it was more painful than the cuts inflicted on him by the quill he had been forced to write with.

blood was trickling down to the floor, the words that he had been made to write indecipherable, covered in the blood they had drawn. "i must not disrespect the high inquisitor" he uttered, teeth clenched.

"i don't think you understand, mr l/n, twenty more lines"

he remained still, staring at the blood on the carpet, then at the decorative plates embeded with cats, and then at umbridges face.

"i quit"

"pardon, mr l/n?"

m/n stood up out of his chair, dropping the quill on the floor "i'm leaving hogwarts" he threw his wand on the table he had been forced to maim himself at, before storming out of the room.

• the news soon reached the slytherins that their beloved m/n had left the school, leaving them bewildered.

• when draco tried to find the reader by having his father get in contact with the l/n's, it finally hit them that m/n had been disowned, rendering their previous efforts to keep him useless.

BLAISE ZABINI

• blaise is probably the most crushed. his entire plan involved arranging a marriage with the reader, which was now impossible. but what upsets him more is that m/n never even told him. five months and not one mention of being disowned.

• he's mad at the reader until he comes to know the reason for the reader being disowened - because of all he and the other slytherins had done to make it seem like he was a blood traitor.

• blaise hated himself for being a part of it all, but above all, he hated the other slytherins for starting it all. it was draco's fault they all started tormenting him, it was mattheos fault they took it to the extreme.

DRACO MALFOY

• draco had his suspicions from the moment m/n returned, his father had mentioned in passing about the l/n's and how dissapointed they were in their son. but it usually ended in lucius praising draco for being such a good son, so he had never paid it much mind.

• it was his fault, he knew it. he hated feeling powerless but that's what he felt as his father told him m/n hadn't gone back home. m/n didn't have a home. he could be out there all on his own, exposed to the dangers of the muggle world..

• his obsession only grew after m/n left hogwarts, every moment of every day he wondered where he was, if he was okay, if he was with anyone. if he was with anyone he'd end them.

LORENZO BERKSHIRE

• enzo had been told by his parents a few months ago they were unable to arrange a marriage because m/n had been disowned. not that he told anyone else, let them think they have him whilst lorenzo makes m/n fall in love with him.

• except his every advance was met with rejection or hostility. and when m/n left for good he was devastated, how were they supposed to live out their love story now?

• lorenzo confronts the other slytherins when the news m/n had left reached them, which is what led to the realization that they were all sickly obsessed with the ravenclaw.

MATTHEO RIDDLE

• something had been strange about m/n the moment he returned, mattheo saw it in his eyes. whether it was what he had gone through the previous years still haunting him, or something else, mattheo tries to get m/n to talk to him, but he's.. mattheo, who once broke m/n's ribcage from beating him.

• it was impossible to foster any trust no matter what he did. he tries to talk about his own struggles, his cruel father and upbringing. he tries to treat m/n like a porcelain doll, but the walls never go down.

• hell hath no rage like a riddle scorned, mattheo would have killed umbridge if tom hadn't stopped him. but he wasn't done with just her, the l/n's were next on his path of rage, and there was little anyone could do to stop him from inflicting a painful death on them

THEODORE NOTT

• theo could barely handle m/n's reluctance to warm up to him, it took every bit of strength in him not to yell and force m/n into opening up, accepting his affection, but m/n not being there at all? theo goes off the rails.

• he fears the worst, what if.. m/n.. theo thinks to himself every moment he's not thinking about how to get him back. when draco tells him m/n was disowned, he broke down crying in the bathroom when he was alone later.

• the world was not safe for a young wizard with no wand or money. what if the dark lord went after him for being a blood traitor. theo went with mattheo to threaten umbridge, and figure out where m/n would have gone.

TOM RIDDLE

• tom could see all the pain m/n was going through when he used legilimency on him. he saw the abuse, the torment, the self hatred, and he knew what the reader had been through and become.

• he's furious that m/n's own parents would disown him, as if he was disposable. it reminded him too much of his own father. but he puts his emotions aside to focus on what really mattered, finding and keeping m/n.

• tom was the only one who had figured out m/n's condition, and used it to his advantage, telling his father that the reader was the obscurus the ministry had been looking for, making m/n voldemorts new target for capture.

tracking down an obscurial was not as simple as the dark lord had anticipated it to be, which is why he delegated the task to his eldest son who had first hand experience with the boy, m/n l/n.

coming to a stop as the sight of the boy filled tom vision, the young death eater watched as m/n stared down his reflection in the water. tom slowly came closer, wand at the ready, until his own reflection revealed his presence.

"you look horrible" the boy turned to face tom as he spoke "you here to kill me, riddle?" m/n sounded resigned, like he had already accepted it.

but that was not what tom was there for. "the dark lord wants you within his ranks" tom stated, avoiding m/n's dead gaze. "what the dark lord wants does not concern me" m/n took a step back, he was scared, tom could tell.

"are you going to make this difficult for me, m/n?" tom took a step closer, snaking an arm around the males waist.

before m/n had the chance to try and stab him in the eye with his own wand, tom stunned him, knocking him out, as lord voldemort came out of the shadows "well done, son" tom looked down at m/n's unconscious face as they apparated. you'll love me oneday.

• the readers condition certainly complicates things for the slytherins, it's no longer simply just subjugate him whether he likes it or not, the readers stability is the difference between life or death, freedom or azkaban for them.

• he becomes the dark lords puppet project, a weapon to use against the order of the phoenix and a tool to keep the future of the death eaters loyal.

• he never returns to hogwarts, tom made sure he was outted as the obscurial so that he'd never have anywhere to run, everywhere he could go he would be seen as a threat, a monster.

• an all-out war breaks out bewteen the slytherins once they have the reader in their grasp again. no one is willing to relent, m/n belongs to them. not the others, them.

• the slytherins would slowly come to the realisation there was no single 'winner', none of them could ever have a normal life with him now the dark lord was back and he had developed an obscurus.

• instead the focus would switch into keeping m/n safe, from voldemort, from himself, from the ministry, from everything.

TOM RIDDLE

• out of all of them, tom can handle m/n's obscurus the best. mostly because he's level headed enough not to set him off. sure he has some sadistic tendencies but at the cost of his own, and surrounding lives?

• tom's obsession was exuberated by the obscurus, it made his darling all the more appealing. to hold such power over someone so powerful is what drives him to sometimes provoke the obscurus, to see what potential m/n truly holds.

• sometimes he goes to far and gets someone or himself seriously injured. he wants to help his darling learn to control the obscurus, but it's hard to acheive when he himself also wants to control his darling.

THEODORE NOTT

• theo is frankly horrified when he finds out m/n had developed an obscurus. he had only ever heard stories about obscurials dying young, after an outburst they can't control.

• he wonders how long m/n had suffered with it for. in the back of his mind, he hopes it was before hogwarts, or else he truly was an absolute piece of shit, to help torment the one he loves most into such a despairful illness.

• theo spends the time he's not with his darling searching through the old pureblood libraries for even a hint of a cure. he wanted to be with his darling forever, but the oldest obscurial only ever lived until 23. theo won't stop until he can figure out how to get rid of the obscurus.

MATTHEO RIDDLE

• mattheo knows he's most likely the reason, above all the other slytherins, for the readers affliction. he was the one who chased him into dark hallways and used the torture curse, the one who said the nastiest things, the one who went the furthest with the torment.

• he wishes he could take all his darlings pain away. because one wrong word, one accidental touch, could send him over the edge. a world without his darling is what scares him the most, above everything fucked up in the wizarding world.

• so he treats m/n like a single bump would shatter him. it's difficult, mattheo isn't exactly the super soft type, but he tries, he knows if any of the slytherins caught m/n looking upset around him they'd end him.

LORENZO BERKSHIRE

• enzo underestimates the readers condition, until he finally see's it for himself one day when snape had called m/n a freak, and he exploded. safe to say, it terrified enzo.

• he's under the impression that if he loves m/n enough, the obscurus will go away. deep down he knows it won't, but it helps him justify the heap of affection he doses his darling in. his heart breaks when he's pushed away and he knows pushing back could result in the worst.

• lorenzo is the readers number one caretaker. he always reminds them to eat and get sleep and not to stress about anything. he tries to treat them as normally as possible but it gets difficult when the obscurus mentality kicks in and m/n starts talking about killing them all.

DRACO MALFOY

• draco isn't quite sure how to approach his dear darling after finding out he's an obscurial. draco is overcome with guilt for the hand he had in it, and abominably frustrated he can't just force the reader into doing what he wants.

• when he becomes a death eater he begins to fear for his darlings safety, he hears what the dark lord says about his plans including m/n, and it scares him. there's no regard for m/n's safety or survival, the dark lords only goal is to set m/n off when he takes hogwarts for a quick and easy victory.

• draco tries to get closer to m/n by playing the dependent rich boy, who doesn't know how to do anything for himself. draco figures that if m/n starts to feel responsible for him, it'll be harder for him to leave or say no.

BLAISE ZABINI

• blaises mother told him to stay far away from m/n when she found out. if it were anyone else he would take her advice, but this was his darling, and he could never abandon him over a small imperfection.

• he's the easiest to be around among them all, he doesn't feel the need to always been touching or talking to the reader which is usually what sets him off.

• blaise tries to help m/n settle back into normal life (normal meaning non socially isolated endlessly tormented), but years of torment has taken it's toll in more ways than one. sometimes m/n will accuse blaise and the others of the strangest things, but they all have to take it in stride, or else risk an outburst.

[a-girl-in-neverland]

Hii TSH fandom

I just finished the book (literally an hour ago) and i have many feelings and questions and a insatiable need to ramble, so buckle up if you want to

Maybe upon reading this post, you might think that some things are a bit dumb or that i could have worked out on my own. So let ME be the first to admit, that i AM a bit slow and that sometimes i become so invested in a story/book that i do not take a step back and analyse the characters, symbols, metaphors, reading in between the lines etc.

So without further ado:

Warning for The Secret History SPOILERS!!!!!

• Somewhere in the first half, its mentioned that Bunny takes medicine for asthma and that could be the reason for him putting in weight and being irritable, but Richard says that he later found that was for another reason. What was it? By the time this is mentioned i dont know if the farmer has already been killed or not

• What happened between Francis and Bunny? I read a theory that Francis may have tried something but i dont think that Bunny would still want to be friends after

• Why did Francis, Henry, Charles and Camilla put up with Bunny? He doesn't seem like a good friend, uses them for their money, doesn't seem interested that much in greek or classics (actually i got the feeling only henry and richard were more interested)

• In the beggining, Richard sees Henry and Julian talking. And Henry kisses him. And the stuff they were talking. What was that about? Was Henry just Julian's favorite or was something else there?

• In the second half, it has this whole drama and tension between Charles and Henry. I get why Charles is pissed. I don't get why Henry is tho. That scene which Camilla tells about this meeting with a lawyer, Henry is furious with Charles but I dont get his reasons. Was it just because Charles wasn't accepting his manipulation anymore?

• Kinda off topic but has anyone suggested Luther Ford as a fancast for Francis? He's the only one i could picture in my head

Kinda off topic part 2, i read the book in brazilian portuguese and the translation was... well, it could be better. Has anyone else thought so too?

Also, this is the second Donna Tartt book ive read (first was the goldfinch) and i still cant put into words how these books made me feel. The characters are insane but so compelling. The book is lengthy but every single part is important. I cant just say it was a good book, it doesn't feel right or does justice to how i felt

Anyway, if anyone has made it this far, thanks for the patience and for letting me ramble. Hope you have a great week and dont do cocaine in the burger king parking lot <3

[cal-writes]

Do you have any headcannon/interpretations of zoro and mihawks relationship? Most fic and stuff I’ve seen have him as a sort of aloof but caring father. Canon hasn’t really given us much to go off but so far as we know Zoro’s dream in life is still to kill and/or maim him so idk.

ohh i do! (some of the nsfw)

i dont think zoro necessarily wants to kill him, he wants to beat him but that doesnt necessitate killing people. zoro actually rarely kills his opponents that we know of (but then in generall one piece doesnt have a lot of on screen character death i think one of the only few confirmed kills by the straw hats is arlong) like hachi survived, mr one survived, wyper survived, kaku, hody, monet, pika, king all survived their match with zoro. i think at this point the only confirmed kill is the former mr seven prior to canon.

honestly kind of funny to think about zoro having such a ruthless reputation and then we know he killed like, one guy lol (it was probably more and he doesnt seem to have objections to killing in general unless its women and children but you get my point)

so i think to zoro the goal is beating mihawk in an honorable battle to fullfill his promise to kuina.

mihawk i think is bored as all hell. like he's the greatest swords man, he has his own island, he's a warlord so not even the marines touch him (pr time skip) there is no challenge to him, barely anyone even dares to until zoro and even if their fight is ridiculously one sided zoro's tenacity impresses him

like its fucking lonely and boring at the top or how that saying goes. mihawk and zoro are both very alike in sentiment and their sense of honor, standard swordsman stuff. so i think mihawk was pretty happy to find an equal in that regard already even if zoro couldnt beat him yet. he's investing in zoros future and his own in a way

like zoro dropped on his island out of thin air, injured and close to death and he took him in

mihawk giving his energy, tried to help him and seeing “oh okay you just gonna get yourself killed”.

when zoro comes back to ask for his teaching

he has high expectations for zoro and demands him to meet them (similarly to how zoro holds the crew to his own high standards) so i can see the where the stern parent angle comes from

but mihawk also has the experience to read zoro really well. i think before this point he thought zoro was doing it largely for himself, his own ambition. but here with their second meeting "its always for the sake of another". in their first fight zoro said he needs to beat mihawk because of "a promise to a friend" and here zoro does everything to get back to his crew.

i find it noteworthy that mihawk insists zoro recover before they start training, probably knowing full well zoro wouldn't allow himself on his own accord. makes me think of the whole "help yourself before you help others" something mihawk knows but zoro still struggles with.

we dont know too much about mihawk, why his running around alone without a crew or how he got to be so strong but again to me he reads as very lonely due to his powress and he kind of wants zoro to defeat him. not just bc for both of them it would be a good fight but also bc then he could "retire" so to speak.

ive mentioned it before but i dont think zoro will know what to do with himself once he beat mihawk and at this point on canon its definitely taken second place to seeing luffy become pirate king so it can go a few ways. i can almost see them not having a direct battle but maybe mihawk falling to an elder and zoro then beating that elder but we’ll see

it would be interesting to see how thatll go down

i think its more a mentor then a parent dynamic, like a grumpy ass professor that wants you to succeed.

in terms of nsfw thoughts i can only add ten images on mobile so thatll come in the reblog lol

[guesst]

MANHWA REC LIST PART 3 courtesy of @ihavenobigbrain

have tried my best to put in all the nice platonic manhwas i’ve read! theres still a bunch of romance but fun and games and lightheartedness is the main focus of these for sure 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

first of all i will rec the obvious and popular ones so they dont get missed becuse they are Popular for a Good Reason:

the s classes that i raised (super good, ive read the novel mostly but the manhwa is JUST as great. mc is collecting people like pokemon)

trash of the counts family (amazing art, little dragon child, mc is collecting people like pokemon)

also gonna plug some ones from the previous rec posts just cus i truly believe they are some of the best non romance manhwa: susu, han; i see you; the tale of goldiluck the black kitten

okay onto the actual recs !

WHEN THE THIRD WHEEL STRIKES BACK

HILARIOUS. genuinely so good, pretty underrated too (in that i havent seen anyone talking about this?) but it has a main character who isekais into a second male lead and decides to stay awayy from the leads — this fails miserably, obviously, and its comical. the misunderstandings, the unlucky run-ins… also the mc is a priest and theres a pretty interesting magic system and worldbuilding!! and as a final bonus the art is nice. genuinely so fun to read, highly recommend

A STEPMOTHER’S MARCHEN

favourite manhwa of all time tbh its the only one ive bought a physical copy of (so far, anyway.. hehe). has a romance sub plot but the characterisations, relationships, plot development etc is exquisite. the family relationship takes precedence here especially in the first few arcs, the characters are REALISTIC, the art is gorgeous…, i love it so so much highly rec if you havent read it already. i guess this doesnt fall as much into light-hearted, because there are quite a lot of heavy moments… but its nicely balanced out with the comedy n all so i’ll put it in anyway :]

SCHOOLMATE FRIEND

super cute! this one is a school romance and it doesnt have many chapters out but its simple and the two mains are adorable. its a nice fluffy read and the artstyle is also lovely.

THE DEMON KING DAD AND HIS HERO DAUGHTER

jdjsjd can you tell how this goes from the title? speaking of which i type it from memory and i cant find the tab i had it open in so it might actually be “his daughter the hero” not “his hero daughter”… not sure. anyway i havent read much of this one but the first few chapters alone had me screaming the dad and his lackey are idiots please read it for him. he loves his daughter but this is backfiring on him so badly djrnfj

^ idiot lackey, everyone

RETURN OF THE WAR GOD

you would assume the war god goes to war! but no. he picks up a little girl and then he’s like. ok mine now. and the rest of the manhwa is spent getting money out of people and living in the woods in his homemade mansion with his daughter and the mamy many sidekicks that they pick up along the way. lovely art, lots of funny moments, plenty of action -- this is a martial arts story -- n the side characters are great (especially the governor lol) .

SCREW THE NOBLE LIFE, I’M GOING HOME

there arent many chapters out for this one (24 i think?) but im so invested already. as it stands this is centred entirely around the isekai’d main character and her new family, there is a heavy dose of angst about identity issues but every chapter has a new misunderstanding and it has me rolling fr ,, oh also the mc’s new brothers are her stepsiblings but they shoot down that romance route really fast and their relationships are so entertaining if it keeps going the way it is this will definitely become a favourite. heres an out of context foot pic

SIGRID

AMAZING TRULY AMAZING the character arcs in this one are so !!! yummy !!! mc time travels n endeavours to correct her actions n save people and in the process makes sm friends and all the characters have depth and grow and theyre all so !!! lovable !!!! the friendships in this one are amazing even without the romance subplot (and also speaking of romance, its a slow burn mainly cus sigrid is as dense as a brick but its NOT frustrating because it actually makes sense for her character!! like im usually the first one to move on from a thick fl but honestly you cant help but cheer them on) its so so good, i love it

THE MEANING OF YOU

this one is an isekai romance with again some lovely character arcs :D the main character is pretty depressive but its also got plenty of light/funny moments to balance it out, and the plot centres around her learning to take care of herself and becoming more confident,, i love the characters a lot ! they care a lot. the romance does get a bit cheesy at times but it really is so wholesome with solid characterisation n its completed too so you have a nice 3am read.

HOW TO BE A DARK HERO’S DAUGHTER

urgh one of the best kid leads ever, plenty of plot and the art is gorgeous as well like its a winner all around okay. as it stands its on an indefinite hiatus (author had cancer and i assume is still recovering or just taking a break for a while) but season one is already completed and its an excellent family centred read with a few mysteries scattered here n there also did i mention the entire family is so yummy. im so gone for the butler fjddjdnndd

MY BROTHERS, THE PROTAGONISTS

simultaenously super funny and somewhat angsty. this is one of those dungeon manhwa but the caveat is each of the mc's brothers has a different trope going on (time travel, became demon king, isekai'd) while mc is a decent potion maker and has to deal with all their bullshit (affectionate). it handles family issues and balances it with comedy perfectly. the main character is really really likeable and you cant help but cheer her on. so far its almost entirely platonic but i spy a few male leads lol

MY CUTE BEAST!!!

romance manhwa again !! fjdmcjf the author of this one looked at all the classic miscommunication and misunderstanding tropes and noped the fuck out its so easy to read because you will NOT stress out and the male lead is so cute also. they play with the typical gender roles so fl has the knight aura while the ml is the damsel. its great and the characterisations are also awesome. big big fan. look him

WEE!!

iirc this is actually either malaysian or indonesian, not korean i think..? its mostly slice of life iirc n its been like.. 2 years since i read it so the humour might be . slightly outdated haha,, the cast is pretty diverse which is cool and there are a few angsty backstory chapters scattered here and there but on the whole it is chock full of shits and giggles if you want silly times. the only caveat is there isnt an official translation afaik so like… fan translation will have to do djfnc

A FREE RIDE EVERYDAY

back to romance ! romance manhua this time, slice pf life office type of thing and its pretty much just fluff. its a cute low stress read for times where u just want to sit down n smile about something and the characters r not thick about everything like they can be in SOME romances fjfnf and also the art is lovely! look at the cover, thats what its like the whole way through.

PURRFECT WORLD

mad underrated djfhdn it’s pretty chill, its a story about a human girl working at a salad restaurant on a planet full of cats. the art is super cute, the cats have jobs and all but they also act like cats and its great dhsks like the owner of the restaurant likes to sit in random cardboard boxes. its been a while since i read it but there is not much romance (if at all??), but plenty of cats and shenanigans. heehee

read it for him !! its also complete and its not particularly long either btw forgor to say

ONI NO KO

this one … i think is a manga actually? in colour?? its about a random oni kid that gets picked up by a high schooler’s family. very very cute art, it’s short and sweet and i will repeat very cute.

look him! hes so small ! he likes baseball!!

BONUS REC which doesnt fit the mood but i think more people should read it: the goldfish osushi. i wont elaborate anymore but its truly… your heart will be touched after it lol

also if anyone has more to add to this list (preferably things u think r underrated !! and no orv because everyone automatically recs that to me and im tired ajfndn) please do i would also like recs. also also if anyone has requests i love making lists

[5-pp-man]

another tierlist because ppl actually liked that first one;

the crème de la crop;

the first 2 eps i thought it was fine, but it didnt really captivate me as much as id hoped. but then ep 3 changed everything for me. i started to think "how could living armour work logically? everything so far has been edible, so this must be too, right?" i actually managed to think of the exact thing that this series did. that really made me realise the worldbuilding in this was something unique, and it only got better and better with each episode. its really managed to captivate me and i look forward to "delicious donderdag" every week :)

ANIME ORIGINAL LETS GOOOO absolutely bonkers show that almost slipped by me because it initially tried to fool its audience into thinking it was a regular dramatic military show. it still is but theres also a giant robot who plays by saturday morning cartoon giant robot rules. if that sounds like tonal whiplash to you, trust me, it is. and its amazing. have i mentioned how homoerotic this one is as well? yeah. originally a tier below this one, but immediately after finishing this post i watched the newest ep. i had to make an exception and edit the list because ep 9 changes everything. i havent been gobsmacked by a show this hard in a while.

(return of the) show(s) that execute their own premise very well;

i havent read the manga for yubisaki to renren so i cant compare, but the quality of this adaptation has been very consistent. you need a little sweet romance every once in a while :) this is one of those series where the characters really grew on me the longer it went on. im always a fan of mixing realistic struggles with romance and this one has been doing it well so far

adaptations that are ok (i read the manga for both of these);

i've been a mashle fan since before s1 aired. and the anime has some good changes and additions here and there! but its not very consistent in terms of quality, it does that shonen thing where the animation quality suddenly spikes for certain action sequences, but it also frequently had a lot of scenes where they recycle shots a lot and nothing interesting happens on the screen for a considerable amount of time. still! its a fine adaptation. and yeah the op for this. blew tf up lmao? very strange to see happen in real time

i actually rlly like the manga for this one. i read the whole thing up until vol.6 before the season started (all that was available back then) and it made me cry multiple times throughout. i was sort of missing that connection with the show, though some of the later episodes still hit. its mostly to do with the animation quality, which isnt that great unfortunately. the voice actors are knocking it out of the park though

wghere am i;

is this show good? i. uh. will you hate me if i say yes...? objectively, i know its not that good. especially in the animation department. but if you like other Umatani shows, you'll like this one. it's got the same brand of goofy reactionary humour mixed with gimmicky tacky characters and crazy stupid plot twists. ive been faithfully watching this one each week and I'm afraid i've become very invested. overscientific indeed

bro you fell off...;

i was so beyond excited for this one. i replayed the op a million times, watched each preview, rewatched multiple episodes. and then. ep 5 happened. and i started to realise. oh this show kind of sucks doesnt it? the pacing of the first ep was great, but the rest? way too fast. it became clear with ep 6 that theyre trying to do a double cour show with half the length, which is why they started hauling ass plot-wise. now. i was an arajin apologist for the longest time. but at that point i honestly started to loathe him. even when he stepped up, his praise still felt sort of unearned. and to top it all off, shindou's motivation sucked so he felt like a lousy antagonist. ep6 was better than 5, but it really made me lose my enthusiasm and hope for the series. and right as we were talking about them probably not having time for a filler ep, ep7 happened. feels like a waste of time to do an ep like that when you've still got a whole 2nd arc to go through. but who am i

it started off pretty good honestly. but then chris went to the hospital and it kind of just dwindled from there. this season does so much with characters that have not even been properly introduced like how am i supposed to care about these people if i barely know who they are. the stuff with finn and leo respectively was good though. but the lore dump? lord help me. also vijay just kind of. exists to be there in the background huh? i would not call him a main character they never give him any attention. wendy had another ep again and he didnt get shit. again. also i think finn was stupid as fuck for not listening to lala but again. who am i. i know we cant destroy high card because we need a show but. cmon man.

i am severely behind on these;

reason why im behind is because most of the eps are a bit heavy so i kept. not watching them. its starting to get rlly interesting though so i'm def gonna catch up this is one of those robo-racism shows so i have to really watch out to see where its going. dont want another marginal service situation...

sorry this is just. a little too boring for me. its charming, sure. but i think this wouldve worked better as something with an 11 min timeslot instead of 23 min. theres just a bit too mu- or well, too little for me to rlly get into this. i think reading it would be more fun for me personally

[bloodsbane]

ive just entered year 1 winter in fields of mistria; here is my personal ranking of each romance option SO FAR (please note progression is currently capped at 4 hearts):

march: favorite, easily. his design is exactly my type, his rough attitude piqued my curiosity, i find him sooooo cute. like i thought i'd be capable of being Normal about him at first, because i actually do not traditionally go for the Kinda Mean for No Apparent Reason characters (coughshanecough), but then i got to the first friday night where he's tipsy and blushing and smiles at you and says you should sit with him and that "you're not actually that bad" and i was like Uh Oh. Oh NO. i NEED to be allowed to kiss this guy asap

balor: unexpectedly becoming a front-runner romance option. i like his vibe of trying to come off mostly unattached, but he's clearly invested in mistria. a lone traveler perhaps beginning to yearn for a home and kinship... again, a man i wanna see open up more...

adeline: i do have a weakness for workaholic women. i really like how proactive she is with mistria's restoration, i think it's suuuper cute that when she's working w someone they'll do the little clipboard animations; she someone juggling a lot of responsibility with optimism and enthusiasm and it's appealing!

celine: unexpectedly high in the rankings; i thought she'd be boring bc she's the box cover, kinda basic blonde 'girl next door' type with the most predictable interest given her genre. BUT imo the writing has kept her feeling sweet and charming enough that i just genuinely enjoy scenes with her and find her mildly cute

juniper: slightly less in respect to being romancable, but im into learning more about HER and, once again, seeing if there's more depth to her past the superior, slightly mysterious, perhaps even untrustworthy exterior... im noticing a trend here

reina: id LIKE to enjoy her more! at this point im the list, my main issue with the other romance candidates becomes evident: they stay a bit one-note for the most part, mostly being nice while having their "thing" and not much else (yet?). but reina is SUUUPER cute so i hope i there's more to her that i get to discover

hayden: i found him fairly one-note until he invited me over for tea, then i think i got his appeal. i can get into a boisterous but gentle and slightly silly man with a beloved chicken roommate. if he reveals a bit more depth to his personality he could climb easily

eiland: he's very sweet, and i definitely think of all the cast he gets the idea of 'this Thing is an actual hyperfixation of mine' across most genuinely. what i mean is, it feels less like him being an NPC with a niche interest that covers some element of the game and more like he's just a huge dweeb frfr, which i like. however, subsequently, he DOES suffer from the Kind of Bland curse. i admit though, im intrigued at the idea that he uses his special interest in history as a means of navigating feelings and interactions with others, like the idea that being more present and engaging people directly kinda freaks him out? this is all inferred by his response to receiving liked gifts, so there's not like, A Lot to go off of, BUT it does intrigue me. i'd be suuuper interested if that's actually an element to his characterization

valen: I THINK SHE'S THE HOTTEST WOMAN, but unfortunately i have no real need for going to the clinic so i don't check in on her often, and funny enough she just seems so mature like TOO mature for me?? lol ;lksjdfl;kj im getting actually intimidated by a hot older woman and i think it's affecting my ability to see her as a real candidate. maybe once i see more heart events w her i'll change my mind, i actually don't think i've seen any yet?? LOL

ryis: i like his vibe i think he'd be, like, a great option for a Best Friend, he's chill and thoughtful and helpful, but uuuuuuuuuum unfortunately. i do think he is a bit. BORING is too strong and rude a word but maybe just Quiet, like he's purposefully trying to wallflower. which i admit colors me curious, but yeah for now, so far, haven't gotten a strong read on him so he's just the least interesting of the lot atm. i do think that him being friends with march is very cute tho

THOSE ARE MY CURRENT THOUGHTS... i actually typed up way more than i thought i would. if any of yall are playing you should tell me who your faves are. or if you're not playing but you've seen the NPCs you should tell me who you think is the cutest/who you'd go for just based on vibes. pls im dying to talk about this game w people-

[writingquestionsanswered]

How do i know if a relationship im writing is going to fast. Ive never been one for slow burns so ik im rushing just a little but i feel like i rushed it too much to seem natural but im not sure id its just in my head or not. How do i know and how can i fix it?

Pacing Relationship without Slow-Burn or Insta-Love

It's totally fine not to write a slow-burn relationship, but you definitely don't want to swing the pendulum so far that you end up writing "insta-love."

I want to clarify that "insta-love" is a term that is frequently misapplied. It tends to be attributed to any romantic bond that forms in a short amount of time, but believable romantic bonds aren't as much about time as the quality of that time. You can have two people stuck together in a dangerous, high stakes situation where they're forced to get to know each other, learn to trust one another, learn to rely on one another, and let down privacy barriers and emotional walls, and that's more than enough time for a believable romantic bond to form. Because you can likewise have two co-workers or students who "believably" fall in love over the course of a couple months, but if the actual amount of time they spend together is less than an hour a day a few days a week, and maybe a couple extra hours on the weekend, that's about 34 hours... so not significantly more actual time spent together than the pair trapped in a high-bonding situation for 24 hours.

So... it's important to know that "true" insta-love, which we want to avoid, is when people "fall in love" without doing the emotional legwork of getting to know each other believably and bonding. Exactly how much time that needs to take depends on the people involved and their exact situation, but the point is you need to make a case for the audience that this couple has done that necessary emotional legwork. The audience needs to "see the math" (so-to-speak) so they can understand all the steps that led to this couple becoming romantically invested in one another.

And how do we do that?

1 - Illustrate Romantic Chemistry - Romances aren't believable if the characters don't have romantic chemistry. In order to pull that off, they need to have enough interactions (either on the page or off the page) to show us why they're attracted to one another.

Physical Attraction (which doesn't have to be about "looks")

Emotional Attraction

Intellectual Attraction

Social Attraction

Guide: Creating Romantic Chemistry

2 - Transition Them Through Levels of Affection - All of the attraction built up during those interactions leads the characters through several stages of affection...

The “Like” Stage

The Friends Stage

The Regret Stage

The “In Love” Stage

Even if each stage can only last a few hours (as in the romance forged over a high stakes 24-hour adventure), the characters still need to go through these stages and the reader needs to see it. These can be explored through internal cues/thoughts/feelings, external cues/dialogue (external cues being body language, gestures, actions), etc.

Transitioning Through Levels of Affection

3 - Transition Them Through Stages of Falling in Love - As they're experiencing each stage of increasing affection and all that goes with it, they'll also be transitioning through the stages of falling in love.

Lust/Attraction (during "like" stage of affection")

Preoccupation (during "friends" and "regret" stages of affection)

Idolization (during the "in love" stage of affection")

Intimacy (during the "in love" stage of affection")

Exhilaration (during the "in love" stage of affection")

Guide: Characters Falling in Love

4 - Give the Reader Swoony Moments - Part of making all of the above a success is giving the reader all the "swoony" stuff that goes along with it all. These are all the little internal and external emotional cues that show us the chemistry, affection, and romance. Things like their eyes meeting from across the room as their faces melt into blushing smiles, butterflies or sparks when they touch, gazing a moment too long and looking away bashfully when caught, flirtatious tics when interacting, making excuses to be near one another...

The Subtle Signs of Romantic Interest and Love

As long as you pull all of this off, it really doesn't matter how many days or weeks your characters know each other before they fall in love or embark on a romantic relationship. Doing the above convinces the reader of the quality of their interactions over the quantity.

I hope that helps!

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[d1gnan]

I absolutely love the jewelry you make and I’ve been saving to buy some of your bracelets for a little while now.

I hope this isn’t bothering you or anything right now but I wanna ask if you have any tips when it comes to outsourcing beads, chains, and charms etc. I really admire how a lot of the items you use to make to make your stuff is like thrifted and upcycled. Unfortunately none of this yard sale stuff is near me so I’m wondering if you know any alternative ways to get similar styled beads/charms that you have. Or just general tips like what tools you use to make jewelry and what the process is like for you.

Again, sorry if this is too much! I’ve just been so inspired by your lovely work it’s motivating me to make my own little trinkets recently. Lots of love <3

HELLO thank u so much for this sweet message❤️🍀🐬

its an honor to be a source of inspiration for u i really appreciate u taking the time to reach out.

as far as my process + sourcing my best advice is to ALWAYS keep your eyes peeled. anything and everything has potential

i will say tho if youre striking out at places local to U, ebay and mercari are good online sources. be imaginative with your searches , some of my fav search terms r

- keychains - metal scrap/key lots - crackerjack / vintage prize charms - deadstock costume jewelry lot - watch faces - drilled dice

ask your friends if theyre getting rid of jewelry, ask your grandparents if u can go thru their junk drawer, let people know about ur mission to repurpose shit and most of the time they'll want to be included. lowkey people just bring stuff to me at this point

also, antique malls and Estate sales!!! estate sales are where ive found a TON of my beads, you can find estate sales on craigslist and u can specify in the search that you're looking for old jewelry.

also, i would invest in a dremel if you don't have one. obv b careful cuz its a power tool but its come in handy for me so many times to turn random shit into beads, for example i drilled all the dice for my the strokes inspired jewelry myself

last idea is u can also get metal stamping supplies for pretty cheap. then any random piece of metal can become a charm, i got a whole tub of washers and dog tags for free cuz i asked about it that ive been 4 stamping lyrics/words into

hope this helps u . thanks for the luv 💚☮️

[umbrellasareforever]

i get your dw feelings! ive been wondering/accusing myself of nostalgia, or if i just used to watch in a different way, if im too invested now, overscrutinising etc

but i feel you totally about the super clean feeling. i keep comparing ruby to rose bc the actresses were both 19, right? i keep trying to figure out if rose really looked more 'real' or if thats just nostalgia talking. maybe she read the same way to a 26 yo in 2005 as ruby does to me? maybe thats just how fashion goes? i dont know, but it all just feels too Pretty. grime it up

not like this isnt also true to an extent for other eras. i mentally grime up 13 a Lot, and like clara, or 12, or 10, or whoever, theyre all pretty, right? it's tv, and it's not grimy tv, of course theyre all gonna be made pretty! i already missed some of that lived-in-ness with 13s era but it feels even more sterile now

or maybe im just being nitpicky, like you said. ive been thinking about how the more time you spend thinking about something the more complaints youre gonna have, right? ive got more complaints about 13s era than i do........anything else ive ever watched maybe, but thats because ive spent so much time thinking about it because i love it, you know? it's kind of paradoxical

but i also totally feel you about wanting someone new. like every artist has their fixations their obsessions their things they make art about, and that develops also over the course of their life, im not saying rtd has uninteresting ideas when it comes to dw, but i do feel like we've kinda, you know, got the picture now. and i so desperately want to see what doctor who could become with some new artists with their own obsessions and experiences and visions at the helm, you know? i feel a little like ugh we've DONE this, even if we havent done literally exactly this bc rtd dw in 2005 is not the same as 20 years later, but like. some fresh blood you know? we've heard of these guys already, we've seen their visions. get someone new. do something completely bonkers and get a woman to run the show :P

idk, just wanted to say that. i feel you 🤝

Thank you so much for taking the time to say all this!! It feels nice to know I'm not totally alone or crazy!!

It really is hard, especially with RTD being back, to not fear that nostalgia is just taking over the brain and of COURSE we think about this damn show too much!! No doubt about it!

Which honestly does make me wonder how those who don't obsess think about this season so far; ohhh to look at things with fresh eyes...

Every time I think about bringing in fresh blood I think about Jamie Mathieson coming in and writing Mummy on the Orient Express, Flat Line, and Oxygen -- three of my all time favorite episodes of New Who -- and I'm like?? Where'd he go?? Those episodes were so wonderful and felt so fresh and I think about them so often?? Why is he not back??

But I also 10000000% agree that there's literally nothing stopping them from getting someone other than a white man to run the show. I promise you BBC, the world will not end!!

[heat--end]

beat the scarlet/violet DLC! i havent done some of the bigger postgame stuff yet, but ive beaten the main story, which is really the important part

ill leave my longer thoughts under the read more to avoid spoilers

honestly, i really like how they handled this DLC. i think part of me likes kitakami as a place more, but this is also a really nice little spot. the terarium is a cool place, the pokemon in it are cool, etc.

what i REALLY liked was the story, as well. ive talked about this with a lot of other people, but SV's main theme seems to be getting yourself too lost in your own desires, so much so that you don't realize what happens, and this continues that. ambition is a great thing, but pushed too far, it can put others at risk. i think kieran's character is fantastic in this regard. it genuinely makes sense, and it's no surprise he ends up the way he does, and his desire to look up to the player becomes warped and corrupted because he wants to be better, he wants to achieve the dreams he's seeing the player reach, etc.

it's really interesting stuff. i really, REALLY like it, honestly, and i love how they handled briar in the way, too. briar literally gets so invested and excited about terastialization research that she's putting *three children* at risk. she actively realizes this and apologizes, and i like that they highlighted this. it's a neat theme, and i think the DLC tackles it really well

like the lore and extra stuff introduced is cool, but i feel like always, the character writing shines really well here. it's nice to see a bit of old kieran peek back out, him falling into old habits, but then we see him lose himself again as SOON as a sliver of a chance for him to be better than the MC arrives. for that, i'm a huge fan, i think they did a really good job there

also, big fan of BBQs. scratches that "i want to do PLA tasks forever" itch just enough to be satisfying

the one thing i wasn't a fan of was the battle difficulty, however. now, keep in mind, after asking my friends for some help i WAS able to adjust my team and have strategies to beat them and all that, but MAN, this is WAY too drastic of a leap in difficulty compared to base game, IMO. it'd be one thing if this was optional, but this is the main story.

now, keep in mind, i don't mind if they want to make pokemon games harder. i think it's a good thing. challenge and all that. but when base SV wasnt... ANYTHING like this, it is VERY jarring for them to like, legitimately start using competitive movesets and strategies and all that, without so much as a means to prepare you for it. i feel like there's gonna be a lot of people who just get hard walled by some of the battles, and idk how i really feel about it.

i AM glad this is here, but, i don't think it shouldve been the DEFAULT. some kind of toggle or even having these be post-game battles wouldve been great. but having it be the main difficulty scaling feels really bizarre in comparison to SV's base difficulty. hell, kitakami wasn't nearly as bad as this. it's a leap that is very, VERY drastic.

(and yeah, i did get fucked up bad early on, but keep in mind this is coming from someone who first tried kieran, who is the hardest battle in the DLC. so it's not like i was just playing poorly all the time)

also stellar as a tera type is kinda just whatever i feel. idk not really as interesting as it seemed to be. it's cool lore wise, but even then it's just like... eh, neat, i guess LOL

all in all, i really liked indigo disk. it wasn't the most mindblowing thing ever, and i feel like i MAYBE liked teal mask more, but honestly, it's not by a huge margin. it was pretty good, i had a good time. i'd say it won't win over anybody who already didnt like base SV, but it's worth if you like the base game because it improves on a lot. honestly, i think i like the DLC more than i do the base game, and i already liked SV, lmao

[symphonic-scream]

Sorry that I slipped back into Genshin brainrot but I finally finished the Fontaine Archon Quest (I know. I just didn't feel like doing it for a while) and Arlecchino's Story Quest and. God

For context, I've been playing Genshin off and on since 1.0, literally the beginning. I have all my areas at 100%, and I even do those world quests that are unvoiced and way too long

And. Let me just say, Fontaine is now my favourite nation. For so long it's been Liyue, and as someone who really hates the French (Canadian, I'm Canadian), man. Fontaine fucking rocks

Long post ahead.

Sumeru's Archon Quest was, tedious. I didn't connect to it at all so it was not exactly a chore, but if given the chance, I wouldn't replay it. The region was torture before the layered map existed. I kept getting lost. The skin tone thing is an entire other issue as well, but. This nation loses a lot of points for the racist genie bottle fuck that quest

Inazuma was almost too much for me, in a way. I wasn't a fan of the locked progression, and the enemies and puzzles were frustrating. This nation brought in needing commissions to get all the quests too, which I STILL HAVENT GOTTEN ITS BEEN TWO YEARS GOURMET SUPREMOS FUCK YOU. I did like the touch that while you were wanted, if a guard saw you in Inazuma City youd get removed that was fun. DONT GET ME STARTED ON ENKANOMIYA.

Liyue felt like the right step after Mondstadt. Getting to beat up Childe is an extra plus. The way it also led into Inazuma was great too, I hope they do something like that for Natlan. The story had a natural build up to me, and it flowed well. The Chasm, while frustrating, felt like a meaningful addition to the nation. And, I am swayed by Lantern Rite. Best event every year, hands down. And, I love Chenyu Vale!

Mondstadt was the perfect starting nation. I go back every now and then to test out builds in progress and team comps, but that's about it. The City is the highlight by far, but the Archon Quest was near perfect. Venti used to be my favourite Archon, too. I got him on his first banner, he's fun to play and I wish he'd finally get his Story Quest chapter 2 IVE BEEN WAITING YEARS FOR MORE VENTI

Anyways. So, let's talk Fontaine

It didn't hit me right away. I loved the first part of the quest. Meeting the twins at the port, Furina showing up and making her grand entrance in such a showy manner, it was perfect. It was hard to see how the second part really fit in, and I will say I am a little tired of Navia crying, but. By the time the Finale happened, I was satisfied. The Fortress part was excellent too, and. The Finale

The twist about Furina was perfectly executed to me. Especially since her erratic behaviour in the trial is used to show how seriously she took her assignment from Focalors. She *had* to make sure they kept believing in her, otherwise,

Didn't like that abrupt cut in the whale fight. That part didn't wrap up right to me, but oh well

And, this nation has had so many wonderful characters. There's not one that I hate, and that's huge. Everyone feels whole and interesting to me, just. Amazing

I love Arlecchino. The Hearth siblings. How dare this game make me care about the Fatui?? I was doing so well, I didn't like any of the other Harbingers or operatives so far and BAM. Hot lady dad and her three French kids. Stole my heart

Neuvillette plays perfectly as the "higher being that's become enamored by humans", and the way Sigewinne contrasts his emotional investment with her more "detached" (used loosely) fascination works so well. There's Wriothesley, and Navia and Clorinde, who both highlight the grey side of Justice, in different ways. Charlotte and Chevreuse are also there

And. Fucking Furina

I actually cried during the Archon Quest, in her little mind bit. I wasn't her biggest fan on launch, but. Now I'm obsessed. To me, this accomplished much more than what Scaramouche did, with a similar premise. I can't stand that twink, but Furina perfectly captured my attention and heart

All in all, Fontaine was so excellent. The water mechanics are some of my favourite in the game now, and all the new creatures and birds and enemies were perfect. The Bygone Sea was a perfect added area, and. I may be biased as a musician, but it really outclassed Chasm and Enkanomiya

There's only about two Fontaine updates left before Natlan. Hopefully I'll enjoy the region that will be the closest from repping my culture (native Canadian. Latin America is, close enough for me I guess), so. Here's hoping

This was all opinion. I felt like writing it all out, since I've had so many feelings about the game lately

[intheholler]

Hi, Kentuckian here! I absolutely love the mythic or cryptic aspect of regions in the U.S. and especially Appalachia! I've become invested in learning more about Appalachia, and inspired to learn more about stories and the supernatural in my home state, Kentucky. I appreciate your blog a ton!

hey me too! ive been really diving into the folklore and legends, especially in north carolina. 

that's so cool. what's your favorite tale you've learned so far about Kentucky? (totally not asking partially because i'm writing an allegorical novel surrounding appalachian horror or anything...)

thanks for being here!