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mssishipi · 2 days ago

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CHAPTER 3: mr. panties stealer - enhypen! heesung

PAIRING: broke! rookie panty stealer! heesung x reader, senior panty stealer! jake x reader

SYNOPSIS: When Heesung discovers his roommate Beomgyu's bizarre side hustle-stealing panties for cash in a campus-wide competition-he's appalled. But after hearing about the insane prize money, his moral compass wavers.

Overwhelmed by deadlines and broke from juggling classes and a café job, Heesung finally snaps. Armed with Beomgyu's tips and a growing desperation, Heesung sets out to grab the bag-and maybe a shred of dignity along the way.

chapter includes: long ass chapter, profanities, girls fight but they made up, angst, toxic fwb breakup, jake being an asshole (again), slut shaming, heesung is the biggest softie, making out in public, reader being horny.

chapter 2 - chapter 4

It's a war. You're determined to catch those motherfuckers once and for all.

You march into the lobby with purpose, the dorm committee trailing behind you. The moment you step inside, all eyes turn to you. The girls are gathered in a loose circle, some sitting on the couches, others standing at the back. Their chatter quiets as you drop a stack of papers and a pen onto the center table.

"So? Is this that serious? You brought the dorm committee with you?" Yuna asks, her voice tinged with skepticism. She points toward the group standing behind you.

You don't flinch, your eyes sweeping across the room. "These papers have seven tables," you explain, your voice steady but firm. "Each of you will write down the names of the guys you've let into your dorm. Boyfriends, guy friends, anyone. Write their names next to yours and include how many panties you've had stolen. Be honest."

The room shifts uneasily. Some girls straighten in their seats, others glance at each other with wide eyes.

"You're saying you think they're the ones stealing our panties?" Wonyoung shrieks, biting her nails.

A wave of complaints erupts from the group, everyone talking over each other.

"Even the dorm committee will write down names," you say firmly, cutting through the noise.

"Our boyfriends wouldn't do something so disgusting!" one girl snaps, crossing her arms defensively.

"Right! What are you trying to imply?" another chimes in, glaring at you.

You let them vent, massaging your temples as they spiral into protests. When their voices finally die down, you speak sharply, your tone slicing through the tension.

"Just write and let yourself analyze the situation. If you trust your man that much, then fine—leave."

Silence falls over the room, the weight of your words sinking in. Wonyoung is the first to move, sighing as she grabs a paper and starts writing.

"I'm Wonyoung," she begins, her voice quieter now.

"My panties started disappearing five months ago. The only guy I've let in is Sunghoon, from the ice skating team. I've known him for two years—we met at an acquaintance party. He's a good guy, but... I'll help with whatever plan you've got." She passes the paper on.

"I'm Mia," the next girl says, taking the paper.

"I don't have a boyfriend, but I do have a guy friend. My panties started disappearing four months ago—right after I started letting him into my dorm about five months ago. I've had a gut feeling, but now..." She trails off, scribbling on the paper. "This is making things a lot clearer."

Gasps ripple through the group as Mia finishes and passes the paper. Chaewon takes it next, her hands trembling.

"I'm Chaewon," she says, her voice breaking.

"My panties have been missing for six months. I don't let boys in, but my roommate does. I saw three men lurking outside our door at 3 AM once." Tears spill down her cheeks as she hurriedly passes the paper to her roommate.

Her roommate writes quickly. "My panties have been missing for six months too," she begins, then hesitates before adding, "The only guy I let in is Sim Jaehyun, the Australian guy."

The air shifts instantly.

"Jake?" someone exclaims, her voice laced with disbelief.

The girl glances up sharply. "Yeah, Jake. What about it?"

"Miyoung?! You're hooking up with Jake?!" another girl shouts, rising from her seat.

The girl—Miyoung—crosses her arms defensively. "Of course! We've been dating for almost a year!"

Your heart sinks as the room erupts into chaos.

"Dating?!" another girl yells. "You knew I liked him, you fucking slut! We've been hooking up for three months!"

"What the fuck?" Karina whispers beside you, her eyes wide.

Two girls stand, shouting over each other as Ryujin and Yuna rush to separate them.

"You told me it was first come, first serve!" one girl screams. "And now you're acting like you're his girlfriend? Bitch, you're the side chick!"

Miyoung snaps back, her face red with fury. "I'm the side chick? You're the one who said you were just messing around while I've been dating him for a year! You're nothing but a lying, jealous bitch!"

The slaps come fast, loud, and vicious. The room descends into chaos as the two girls push and claw at each other.

You stand frozen, the noise fading into a dull hum as your thoughts race. The accusations fly around the room, but all you can hear is Jake's sweet words echoing in your head, his laughter, his kisses.

You and Jake weren't exclusive. Sure, you were just hooking up, hanging out, waiting for him to make the next move. But the trust you gave him? The way he made you feel like you were the only one? It feels like a knife in the back.

Karina touches your arm gently. "Y/N," she says, her voice quiet.

You shake your head, watching the chaos. "Fucking Jake," you mutter, swallowing the lump in your throat.

Ryujin and Yuna struggle to hold them apart, their voices drowned out by the yelling.

"Are you seriously going to fight over a man?!" Yunjin's voice cuts through the noise. Her tone is sharp, commanding, as she forcibly steps between the two. She shoves them apart with surprising strength, glaring at each of them.

"God, do you even hear yourselves? Jake's two-timing you both, and here you are, tearing each other apart like it's your fault!"

The room falls silent, the tension thick enough to choke on.

You take a deep breath, your nails digging into your palm. The weight of the moment presses on your chest, and before you can stop yourself, the words slip out.

"I'm also hooking up with Jake," you say quietly.

All eyes turn to you, the shock on their faces palpable. You sigh, forcing yourself to meet their gazes.

"It's been almost four years," you admit, your voice shaking. "We're not dating or anything. Just... hooking up."

A murmur ripples through the room, the tension shifting into something heavier, more uncomfortable.

You exhale sharply, running a hand through your hair. "You know what's funny?" you say, your tone bitter. "We all live in the same dorm. We see each other almost every day. Yet none of us had any idea we've been fucking the same guy."

The silence is deafening now, the weight of your words settling over everyone.

"I'm sorry," Miyoung whispers, her voice barely audible. She looks down at the floor, her hands trembling.

Another girl, the one who had been fighting with Miyoung moments ago, sniffles quietly, wiping at her cheek. "Me too," she says softly. "I didn't know."

You clench your fists, your jaw tightening. "It's not your fault. It's not any of our faults. The blame doesn't fall on us. It's on him."

Karina steps closer, her expression a mix of sympathy and anger. "Y/N's right," she says, her voice firm. "Jake's the one playing all of us. And if he's been lying about this, who knows what else he's hiding?"

The girls murmur in agreement, their earlier anger now directed toward a single target.

Yunjin folds her arms, glaring at the group. "Instead of fighting each other, we should focus on the bigger picture. Whoever else is part of this disgusting panty-stealing game."

You nod, "Exactly. This isn't just about him. It's about catching all of them."

The girls exchange glances, their previous hostility replaced by a shared resolve. Slowly, one by one, they nod.

Karina looks at you, her expression sincere. "What do we do now?"

You take a deep breath, "we plan. And we make sure they never see us coming."

Heesung had been on edge for days. Beomgyu's constant chirping about the "game" wasn't helping.

"Relax, man," Beomgyu had said earlier that week, clapping him on the back. "You're just tense because you're new to this. Trust me, after the 28th, you'll feel like a pro."

But "pro" wasn't exactly how Heesung felt. One week before the dreaded date, he was a mess. Between overtime shifts at the café, juggling classes, and trying to process what he'd gotten himself into, he hadn't slept properly in days. Beomgyu's constant bickering and questionable pep talks only made it worse.

The final straw came when Beomgyu handed him a new "target": Kazuha, a freshman ballet dancer.

"She's perfect," Beomgyu said, tossing a folder onto the table with a grin. "Lives in that apartment complex near campus. CCTV coverage? Minimal. Plus, she's got a thing for leaving her laundry out too long. Easy pickings."

Heesung had reluctantly opened the folder, feeling his stomach churn as he skimmed through her "database." Photos of her smiling, her class schedule, even details about her laundry routine.

This felt wrong. It was wrong.

Now here he was, back at the café for his evening shift, the dark circles under his eyes practically casting shadows of their own. He wiped the counter furiously, trying to distract himself, but the noise around him wasn't helping.

Students were everywhere—typing loudly on their laptops, chatting in groups.

"God, the 28th is coming again," a girl groaned at a nearby table. Heesung's ears perked up, and his hand froze mid-swipe.

"I'm so sick of locking up all my stuff, and it still doesn't work!" another girl chimed in.

Heesung swallowed hard, his hand gripping the rag tighter.

"You know," the first girl said, leaning closer to her friend, "I'm not wearing panties today because those fuckers took all of mine."

Heesung choked on air, standing bolt upright. He quickly started swiping the counter again, his movements erratic.

The second girl snorted. "Honestly? I hope they all die."

That was the last thing he heard before speed-walking away, his face flushed and sweat trickling down his neck. His heart was pounding as he ducked behind the counter, leaning against the wall for support.

"What the hell am I doing?" he muttered to himself, staring at the ceiling.

"Heesung, what the hell are you doing? There's a customer in line!" his manager barked, snapping him back to reality.

He groaned softly, scratching the back of his head before straightening up and dragging himself to the counter. Plastering on the most forced smile he could manage, he tried to sound upbeat. "Hi, I'm Heesung. What's your order?"

He didn't even bother looking up, his eyes glued to the computer screen in front of him. His fingers hovered over the keys, ready to punch in another order for yet another overly complicated drink.

"So, we've been like in hell this week, huh?"

The unexpected comment made him pause. He finally lifted his head, ready to fake some polite small talk—but the words caught in his throat.

It was you.

His eyes widened slightly as he took you in. You looked as exhausted as he felt. The bags under your eyes were prominent, and the slight redness told him you'd been crying recently. Your hair was tied back in a ponytail, though a few strands had fallen loose, framing your face in a way that made you look effortlessly beautiful.

Heesung swallowed hard, his mind scrambling for something to say.

"Ice vanilla latte, please," you said, offering a small smile that didn't quite reach your tired eyes.

"Uh—yeah, of course," Heesung stammered, fumbling with the computer. His fingers hit the wrong button twice before he managed to get it right, the screen finally cooperating. "Ice vanilla latte. Coming right up."

He stole a glance at you while typing in the order, his chest tightening.

You leaned slightly against the counter, exhaling softly. "Long week?"

Heesung let out a dry laugh, nodding. "You have no idea."

"Oh, I think I do," you said, your tone light but weary.

Heesung hesitated, his curiosity getting the better of him. "You okay?"

You blinked, caught off guard by the question. For a moment, you seemed to debate whether to brush it off or answer honestly. Finally, you sighed. "I guess. Just... stuff. Dorm drama, classes, you know how it is."

"Yeah," Heesung said, his voice softer. "I get it."

There was a beat of silence between you as he handed you the receipt. "It'll be ready in a minute."

"Thanks," you said, stepping to the side, giving Heesung one last faint smile before heading to the corner of the café and sitting by the window.

You glance outside, waiting for Jake to show up, though the thought of seeing him again makes your head throb. Midterms hell week, the 28th looming, and your overthinking brain are tag-teaming to ruin your sanity.

Why did Jake think it was a good idea to hook up with three girls living in the same dorm? Was he an idiot? What went so wrong in his life that he thought this was smart? And if he is part of the panty-stealing competition... is this his strategy to win?

You sigh loudly, rubbing your face with your palms as your mind spirals. Your gaze flickers to Heesung, who's busy making drinks. You watch as he massages the back of his neck, wincing slightly, probably from standing for hours. Poor guy, you think absentmindedly, then shake it off.

Back at the dorm, you'd assigned tasks to the girls. Karina and Winter had taken on the mission of researching the guys listed on the paper you'd passed around, digging into their backgrounds.

"Lee Heeseung," you remember Karina reading aloud dramatically, like she was narrating a crime documentary. "Student, majoring in Business Management, 21 years old. Used to play basketball in high school. Works at Didi Café."

Then came the kicker: "No girlfriend since birth. Inexperienced in sex."

You'd rolled your eyes so hard you practically saw the back of your skull. "Seriously? That's the information?" you'd snapped, flipping through the papers they'd handed you.

Winter had looked at you, unbothered, while she casually filed her nails. "What? It's important!" she said, like you were the crazy one.

"Important?!" you'd shouted, holding up the paper. "I need to know if they're struggling financially, if they know karate or taekwondo, or if they've taken I.T. classes! Not how many girlfriends they have had!"

Winter shrugged, looking completely unfazed. "What if you need to know how he is in bed?"

Your jaw had nearly hit the floor. "What?!"

Karina had burst out laughing, nudging Winter. "Yeah, for her to know if he's good in bed!"

"For me?!" you'd shouted, completely horrified.

"Yeah," Karina said, grinning mischievously. "He's totally your type. Tall, soft-spoken, a little clueless. Come on."

Your hands had flown up in protest. "I am not interested in him that way!"

Winter had smirked at you, her gaze sharp. "Sure, keep telling yourself that."

You came back from your senses as your gaze drifts to the door just as it swings open, revealing Jake. He steps inside, his eyes scanning the café likely searching for you.

The moment his eyes find yours, he smiles—a soft, disarming grin that once would've made your heart melt. For a split second, you feel yourself faltering, almost forgetting what he did. Almost.

You force your back to straighten, your resolve hardening as you motion for him to come over. He walks toward you, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Hey, baby," Jake says, he leans down to kiss your cheeks, but you dodged. He hide it with a cough, sliding into the seat across from you. His voice is warm, dripping with affection. "Sorry I'm late. What's wrong? You okay?"

You sighed deeply, "What am I to you, Jake?" you asked, you saw how Jake eyes widen.

"What do you mean?" He was caught off guard. He blinks a few times.

"Don't play dumb. Am I your girlfriend? A hookup? Someone you keep around because you're bored?"

Jake leans back, raising his hands like he's surrendering to the police. "Whoa, where's this coming from? You know you're special to me—"

"Special," you repeat with a bitter laugh, cutting him off.

"Special enough to be one of three girls you've been screwing in the same dorm?"

Jake's face drops, his cocky demeanor replaced by panic. His eyes dart around like he's looking for an escape. "Wait, hold on, what are you talking about?"

"Miyoung. Aya. Do those names ring a bell?" you ask sharply, folding your arms as you glare at him.

He freezes like a deer caught in headlights, his jaw working soundlessly for a moment. "I... I don't—It's not like that!"

"Oh?" You tilt your head, your voice dripping with sarcasm. "So you weren't dating Miyoung for a year while hooking up with Aya for three months? Please, enlighten me, Jake. What is it like, then?"

Jake groans, rubbing his face like he's trying to erase the entire situation. "Okay, fine! I admit it! But it's not what you think!"

Your arms tighten across your chest. "Oh, really? Can't wait to hear this one."

Jake huffs, clearly scrambling. "Miyoung and I weren't dating! For fuck's sake, we were in a—a situationship. She's the one who decided to call it dating!"

You raise an eyebrow. "And Aya?"

He hesitates but eventually throws his hands in the air. "Fine! Yes, Aya and I hooked up a few times. But it wasn't anything serious! It didn't mean anything!"

Your laugh is humorless, sharp enough to make him flinch. "Oh, I feel so much better now, Jake. Thank you for clearing that up."

His frustration boils over, and he leans forward, pointing at you. "You're my best friend! We've been close for almost four years! I've been hooking up with other girls this whole time, and you never cared before! Why are you suddenly making such a big deal out of it now?!"

You scoff, your voice rising as anger overtakes you. "Because now I know! I trusted you, Jake! I thought you were better than this. I thought—" You pause, shaking your head. "I thought I was different to you."

Jake stares at you, his mouth opening and closing like he's searching for the right words, but nothing comes out. The frustration on his face is evident, his jaw tightening with every second of silence.

"If this is about the competition—" you start, your voice sharp, but Jake's fist slams down on the table, making you flinch.

"I am not in the fucking competition!" he shouts, his voice loud enough to draw stares from the other café patrons.

You freeze, watching as Jake closes his eyes and sighs deeply, rubbing his temples as if trying to calm himself.

Jake's thoughts spiral in a whirlwind. He hasn't had a problem keeping things under wraps these past few months. You never cared before when your panties went missing, and he's been getting better at the game—too good, honestly. There's no way he can let this unravel now.

How the hell did you figure it out in just a week?

He clenches his fists, trying to keep his face neutral. He was careful. Miyoung, Aya, and you weren't supposed to cross paths. He made sure of it. You were never supposed to talk to each other, let alone connect the dots about his involvement in the competition.

But now, here you are, piecing everything together. He just needs a solid alibi. That's right.

"Is that how low you think of me?" Jake says finally, his voice quieter but edged with bitterness. He lets out a hollow laugh, his gaze locked on you. "You really think I'd join some panty-stealing competition? We don't even know if it's real!"

You don't say anything, but the tears welling in your eyes and the single tear sliding down your cheek tell him everything. His chest tightens, guilt mixing with anger and panic.

Jake's laugh turns sharp, almost mocking. "I hook up with the three of you—so what? You're acting like it's the end of the world."

Your face hardens at his words, but he presses on, desperate to shift the blame.

"You've hooked up with Felix, Minho, and Hyunjin like some groupie club, but did you hear me complain? Did you see me crying about it?"

He regrets the words the moment they leave his mouth. The change in your expression—a mix of betrayal, hurt, and disgust—sends a stab of pain through his chest.

Jake swallows hard, his mouth opening as if to say something, but the words die on his tongue.

"Ice Vanilla Latte for Y/N?" Heesung's voice interrupts, trembling slightly as he approaches the table. His face is pale, his legs feel like jelly, and he looks like he's on the verge of tears himself after overhearing your argument.

He didn't mean to eavesdrop. Really, he didn't. But standing behind the counter, he couldn't ignore the way Jake's voice rose or the tears streaming down your cheeks. Watching you cry while Jake sat there, made something in Heesung's chest twist.

For the first time in his life, he wanted to throw a punch.

"I'm sorry," Heesung stammers, trying to keep his voice steady. "I, uh—I kept calling your name, but you didn't hear me, so I thought I'd just bring it over." He shifts awkwardly, holding the drink out to you like it's a peace offering.

You sniff, wiping your tears quickly as you glare at Jake. "Groupie club, huh?" you say with a bitter laugh, your voice dripping with sarcasm.

Jake flinches, "Y/N—"

But you cut him off, your next words sharp enough to slice through the tension like a knife.

"I also fucked your best friend Jay. And you know what? It was the best sex I've ever had."

The air leaves the room. Heesung freezes, his eyes going wide, the drink still extended in his hand.

Jake's face turns red—whether from shock, anger, or humiliation, it's hard to tell. He stares at you, speechless for once, as if your words have rendered him completely incapable of forming a coherent thought.

Without even glancing at Heesung, you grab the drink from his hand, drop a tip on the table, and stand.

"Thanks for the drink," you mutter, your tone flat as you walk out of the café without a backward glance.

Heesung stands there for a moment, still holding the tray, his gaze flicking between Jake and the door you just walked through.

Finally, Jake snaps out of it, his jaw tightening as he glares at Heesung. "What are you looking at?" he snaps.

Heesung blinks, his jaw clenching as he clutch the tray on his chest. For a split second, he considers saying something—anything. But instead, he shakes his head and walks away.

"Idiot," Heesung mutters under his breath as he heads back to the counter, already thinking of ways to cheer you up the next time he sees you.

You're a complete mess, your face streaked with tears as you sit cross-legged on the floor. Crumpled tissues are scattered everywhere like the aftermath of an emotional battlefield. Between sobs, you take a sip of the now slightly watered-down Ice Vanilla Latte, the sweetness doing little to soothe your broken heart.

A soft knock at your door pulls your attention, and you look up to see Karina leaning casually against the doorframe, her expression carefully neutral. Behind her, Wonyoung, Giselle, and Chaewon peek over her shoulder, their faces a mixture of concern and curiosity.

"I guess it didn't go well," Karina says, raising an eyebrow.

That's all it takes for the dam to break again. You burst into louder sobs, your cries echoing through the room.

Wonyoung's pout deepens as she steps into the room, wrapping her arms around you. "Oh, Y/N," she coos, holding you tightly as you cry into her shoulder. "What happened? Tell us everything."

"I fucking hate him!" you wail, your voice muffled by Wonyoung's sweater. "I confronted him about three-timing us, and instead of apologizing, he switched the topic on me!"

"What?!" Giselle exclaims, stepping into the room with wide eyes.

You sniff loudly, grabbing another tissue from the pile and blowing your nose aggressively. "He acted like it wasn't a big deal, like I'm the one making it worse. He even brought up me hooking up with the SKZ dance line, saying I was like some groupie club."

The room goes silent for a moment as your words sink in. Then, all at once, Karina's face flushes with anger, and Giselle lets out a string of curses that would make a sailor blush.

"He called you a groupie club?!" Giselle shouts, her fists clenching at her sides. "I swear to God, I'm gonna fucking cut his dick off!"

Chaewon, ever the calm one, looks more horrified than angry. "He actually said that to your face?!"

You nod, hiccupping through your tears. "And—and then I asked him if it had anything to do with the competition because I have a gut feeling, you know? But he gaslit me, saying I'm thinking too low of him and how we don't even know if the game is real!"

Karina throws her hands in the air, pacing back and forth like she's ready to storm out and find Jake herself. "The audacity! The sheer nerve of that asshole!"

"I am 90% sure he's in the competition!" you cry out, your voice breaking as you try to stabilize your breathing, tears streaming down your cheeks. "A-and, honestly... if he just told me the truth, I think... I think I'd forgive him."

Your words make the room fall quiet, your friends exchanging uneasy glances.

"Jake may be an asshole," you continue, your voice wobbling, "and yeah, he's probably fucked half the campus, but he's still my best friend!" Your last words come out in a loud, pitiful whine as you bury your face in your hands.

Wonyoung hugs you tighter, stroking your back gently. "Oh, Y/N..."

Karina sighs, kneeling beside you, her hand resting on your knee. "You're too good for him, you know that, right?"

You sniff loudly, your shoulders shaking as more memories flood your mind—Jake buying you your favorite snacks during exams, Jake making dumb jokes just to cheer you up, Jake letting you nap on his shoulder during long study sessions.

"But... but he was always there for me!" you wail, your voice muffled by your hands. "When I was crying over Minho ghosting me, who bought me ice cream at 2 AM? Jake! When I couldn't figure out my Psych finals, who stayed up all night helping me study? Jake!"

Chaewon crouches beside you, her voice soft. "Y/N, no one's saying he hasn't been a good friend to you... sometimes. But that doesn't erase what he's done. You deserve better."

You lift your head, your tear-streaked face meeting their concerned gazes. "I just don't understand why he couldn't tell me," you whisper. "If he'd just been honest, I would've helped him. I would've..." You trail off, your voice breaking again.

Karina leans closer, squeezing your knee. "You're not wrong to feel hurt, Y/N. He betrayed your trust, and that's on him. But we're here for you now, okay? You don't have to figure this out alone."

You nod quietly, bringing the cup to your lips for another sip of the now lukewarm latte. Your tired eyes catch something unusual as you tilt the cup—a faint smudge of black marker.

Frowning slightly, you turn the cup, squinting to read the handwriting scrawled across it:

Ik it's a bad week, but don't forget to smile, pretty :) – H

You almost laugh at the absurdity of it all. Heesung, the biggest softie in the world. Is he in this competition? The thought feels impossible. If he really is part of it, you're pretty sure you'll never trust men again.

Heesung, meanwhile, is shaking like a leaf. Standing in a dimly lit room with 30 other guys, he feels his legs trembling so hard he might as well sit before he collapses. His grip on the armchair is so tight his knuckles are white, sweat beading on his forehead. It's already three days before the competition begins.

What am I doing here?

Across the room, Beomgyu sits casually, leaning back, chatting with Yang Jeongin from Math. Nearby, Han Jisung from Chemistry cracks jokes with Huening Kai from Psychology. Huang Renjun from Nursing looks unbothered as he flips through the terms and conditions paper that was just handed out.

Heesung's stomach churns. This is real. This is actually happening.

"Good morning, boys!" Lee Jeno's voice booms through the mic at the front of the room, his grin wide and confident. "Are you all excited for the 7th Annual Panty Stealing Competition?"

Heesung gulps hard as the room erupts into cheers and laughter. His eyes dart nervously around the room. Why are they so hyped about this?

Jeno gestures toward the large projector screen behind him as a presentation flickers to life. "Alright, let's go over the terms and conditions. Grab the paper in front of you and follow along."

Heesung's hands tremble as he looks down at the paper. The bold title reads:

Terms and Conditions: 7th Annual Panty Stealing Competition

"No. 1," Jeno begins, pacing across the stage. "You don't get to keep the panties you steal."

Heesung blinks. That's... oddly specific.

Jeno continues, his voice sharp and authoritative. "This isn't some free-for-all, boys. The goal is to collect as many panties as possible and return them for points. Everything you collect must be placed in the plastic bags we'll provide. No exceptions."

Heesung's grip on the paper tightens as Jeno's next words make his blood run cold.

"No. 2. The competition area is limited to the campus dorms, nearby apartments, and the XO Street perimeter. That's it. Don't even think about venturing outside this zone. If you do, you're out. Simple."

Jeno's eyes scan the room as he pauses for effect. "No. 3. The competition starts strictly at 2 AM and ends at 4 AM. Two hours. That's all you get. You'll return to this room to hand over your bags. Each bag will be inspected, so don't try to cheat by hiding or keeping anything for yourself."

Heesung's heart races as Jeno raises an eyebrow, his tone growing sharper. "And just so you know, we'll be monitoring you with drones. That's right—every move you make, we'll see it. If we catch you hiding panties or breaking any rules? You'll be fined $5,000. Got it?"

The room murmurs in agreement. Heesung gulps, his palms sweaty.

"No. 4. You cannot tell anyone of the opposite gender about this competition," Jeno continues, his voice dropping to emphasize the point. "You tell a girl, you're disqualified—and fined."

Heesung glances up, his eyes darting toward Jake, who looks annoyingly miserable as he twirls a pen in his fingers.

"No. 5," Jeno announces, "every participant will be given earpods with trackers. Keep them on you at all times during the game. And no funny business, or we'll know."

Heesung's breathing quickens as he stares at the absurd list of rules, his mind screaming at him to leave. But then Jeno says something that makes his stomach turn.

"No. 6. Used panties are worth 10 points. Clean ones? Only 5. You want to win, you go for the higher-value targets."

The room erupts in laughter and murmurs, but Heesung feels like he's about to vomit.

"Last rule," Jeno says, his grin turning sharp. "This isn't just about the panties. It's about strategy, finesse, and guts. If you're too soft for this game, there's the door. Walk out now, no shame."

Heesung's eyes flick to the door, the only escape route. His legs twitch, ready to bolt. But then he sees Beomgyu smirk at him from across the room, mouthing, "Don't chicken out."

Heesung's fists clench. What the hell did I get myself into?

The ramen shop is quiet, the faint hum of the vending machine the only sound in the open-air space. You lean against the counter, watching the water flow into the bowl from the machine as your instant noodles cook.

"Hey, can I smoke here?" you ask the shop owner, who's wiping down a table nearby.

She looks up and shrugs. "Fine. You're the only one here, anyway."

Grinning, you pull out a cigarette, place it between your lips, and light it with a flick of your lighter. The first inhale is smooth, calming your nerves as you exhale the smoke into the night air. Your fingers flick the ash to the side as you glance at the bubbling noodles in front of you.

The soft hiss of the water boiling is oddly soothing. You take another drag, the smoke curling in front of your face, blending with the faint steam from your food.

The shop owner passes by you on her way to the door, leaning closer to whisper as she goes. "Stop smoking right now, girl," she mutters under her breath,

Before you can respond, she beams, opening her arms. "Oh, it's been a while, Heesung!"

You glance up, cigarette still in hand, as the shop owner gives a warm hug to a familiar figure.

Heesung.

He stands there awkwardly, returning the hug with a sheepish smile. "Hi, ma'am. It's been a while," he says softly.

The shop owner releases him and turns to the counter. "Your usual? I'll get it ready for you."

"Thank you," Heesung replies, bowing slightly. As his gaze shifts, his eyes land on you, sitting there casually with a cigarette between your fingers.

You raise an eyebrow at Heesung, taking another drag from your cigarette before blowing the smoke to the side. "Heesung," you greet, your tone neutral, trying to gauge his mood.

His face flushes slightly, and he quickly looks away, as if caught off guard. "Uh... Y/N. Hi," he stammers.

That's when you notice it—the way he subtly shifts, tucking an envelope behind his back. Your eyes narrow for a second, but you don't press.

"Half expected I'd run into you here," you chuckle, your voice light.

He scratches the back of his neck, his gaze darting to the shop owner, who's busy in the kitchen. "Yeah, I come here sometimes," he mutters, clearly nervous.

"Here, Heesung! Shin Ramen with eggs! Want pork enoki rolls, too?" the shop owner calls out, placing the a tray with ingredients bowl on the counter.

Heesung quickly waves her off. "No, no, this is good. Thanks!" He grabs the bowl and moves to stand beside you, setting it down near the machine.

You watch as he pours the broth into the bowl and places it under the dispenser, letting the hot water fill it. "How you holding up so far?" you ask, exhaling smoke. "Getting any sleep?"

He glances at you, your question catching him off guard. Your eyes are a little swollen, but nowhere near as bad as before. You're standing there in a simple sweater and pants, your hair falling loose around your shoulders. To him, you still look effortlessly beautiful.

"U-uh, yeah," he stammers, focusing back on his ramen. "Exams are done, so... less stress. But, you know, still stress."

You chuckle, the sound light and genuine. "Mood."

He hesitates, his hands fidgeting with the chopsticks. "Y-you? The t-thing between you and Jake... if you don't mind me asking?"

His voice is soft, almost unsure. You glance at him, holding your cigarette between two fingers, studying his face.

"Nah," you say finally, your tone dismissive. "I'm hurt, but it's fine. It already happened." You shrug, clearly avoiding digging into it.

Heesung swallows, hesitating again. "Uh... do you like him?"

A smirk tugs at your lips. "Not romantically," you reply, your tone teasing. "Though I did consider dating him. I treat him like my super-duper best friend. Your answer."

He blinks, his expression slightly confused. "My... answer?"

"You asked the question. Do you think I should have liked him?" you ask playfully, tapping the edge of your cigarette on the ashtray.

Before he can respond, the timer on the machine beeps.

"Oh, it's done," you say, smiling as you gesture toward his ramen. You grab your own chopsticks, stirring your noodles with casual ease.

Heesung's gaze lingers on you, his soft eyes tracing the way your hair moves as you lean forward slightly, your focus on the bowl.

"I'll wait for you," you say suddenly, your grin mischievous as you gesture toward the door. "Let me finish this off outside."

You hold up the cigarette briefly before heading toward the open seating area, leaving him standing there, still holding his bowl of ramen.

Heesung watched as you flicked your cigarette to the ground, stepping on it with a deliberate twist of your foot before sitting down. You tilted your head slightly to blow on your ramen, the steam curling around your face as you took a sip.

Heesung followed you, carefully setting his bowl on the table before sitting beside you. With a quick, almost suspicious motion, he slid the envelope onto his chair and promptly sat on it, clearly trying to keep it hidden.

The silence that followed was deafening. The only sound was the occasional slurp of soup and noodles as the two of you ate, neither saying a word.

Finally, you broke the tension. "So, Heesung, what's your interest?" you asked, leaning forward slightly, resting your chin on your hand as you stared at him.

Heesung's eyes darted everywhere but at you, and you almost burst out laughing at how badly he avoided eye contact. "Uh... collecting keyboards?"

"Like, instruments?" you asked, genuinely confused.

"No," he said, shaking his head quickly. "Like... computer keyboards."

You couldn't hold it in anymore. You burst into laughter, clapping your hands like it was the funniest thing you'd heard all week.

"That's so cute!" you exclaimed, leaning into his shoulder as you tried to catch your breath. Heesung froze like a statue, his entire body tensing at the unexpected contact.

You grinned, wiping a tear from your eye. "So, do you play games because of the collection?"

He nodded shyly, stirring his ramen to keep his hands busy. "Yeah. Helps me unwind, you know?"

You twirled your noodles around your chopsticks, your tone teasing. "A-huh. I thought eating ramen was the solution."

"That too," he replied, his lips quirking into a small smile, making you chuckle.

You leaned back slightly, pointing your chopsticks at him. "Woah, if it were any other guy, they'd probably say they fuck when they're stressed." You looked at him, your eyes playful. "You don't do that?"

Heesung choked on his noodles, coughing into his hand as his ears turned a deep shade of red. "Uh—uh, no! Not my thing," he stammered, scratching the back of his neck as he avoided your gaze again.

Heesung's face turned a shade of red so deep it could rival a tomato. His doe eyes widened, his brain clearly short-circuiting. "W-why? Girls do it too when they're stressed?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, his innocence shining through.

You couldn't help but stare at him longer, your grin widening. His wide, nervous eyes glinted under the warm shop lights, making your chest flutter just slightly. "I do it sometimes," you admitted with a playful smirk, leaning forward just enough to close the space between you.

"When I'm stressed with developmental psychology, I masturbate," you said, watching with satisfaction as his jaw dropped slightly, his cheeks burning even brighter.

"It's the scientific study," you added casually, as if you hadn't just dropped the boldest statement of the night, "of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across their lives."

Heesung's lips parted, but no sound came out. He just nodded dumbly, as if you'd asked him to solve a complex equation on the spot.

"Kinda stressed me out, so I'm glad it's done," you continued, leaning even closer, your voice dropping to a low, sultry tone. His eyes flicked to your lips before darting back up to meet your gaze.

"And when exams are done..." You paused, letting your words hang in the air, watching as Heesung practically stopped breathing. "I fuck. Because finally, it's done."

Your voice was barely above a whisper now, your eyes locked on his lips. Heesung swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously as you leaned in, close enough that you could feel the heat radiating off his face.

"My exams are done, Heesung," you murmured, your breath brushing against his skin. "But I have no one to call. Are you interested?"

He stared at you, his lips parting slightly as if to respond, but instead of answering, he closed the remaining distance. His lips crashed against yours, hesitant at first, but the desperation in the kiss was undeniable.

Your fingers slid into his hair, gripping gently, pulling him closer as your lips met again. The kiss started slow, but it quickly deepened, the heat between you building with every passing second. His lips were soft but eager, moving against yours like he couldn't get enough.

His hands hesitated for a moment before finding your waist, his grip tightening. The way he pulled you closer, his fingers pressing into your sides, sent a rush of heat through you, and your heart pounded in your chest.

You tilted your head, parting your lips slightly, and he took the opportunity. His tongue brushed against yours, hesitant at first, but when you met him halfway, the kiss turned hungrier. The wet slide of his tongue against yours made your breath hitch, and a soft moan escaped you before you could stop it.

You reached down, guiding one of his hands up to your chest. His fingers stiffened for a second before he squeezed, his touch clumsy but firm, pulling a louder moan from you. The sound seemed to spur him on, his lips moving with more confidence, his tongue exploring deeper, his breaths growing heavier.

You pressed your chest against him, feeling the way his body tensed beneath your touch. He was inexperienced, but he wasn't holding back now. You smirked against his lips, the thought making your heart race. Inexperience my ass.

When you shifted, grinding slightly against him, his grip on your waist tightened even more. His hand stayed on your chest, squeezing and kneading as the kiss became messier, more desperate.

You don't care if you are in an open area, your focus narrowing to the way his lips moved against yours, the soft groans that escaped him, and the way his hand trembled slightly as he tried to match your intensity.

When Heesung finally pulled back, both of you were breathless, your lips swollen and tingling. His eyes were wide, his chest heaving as he stared at you like he couldn't believe what had just happened.

Your smirk returned as you leaned in close, brushing your forehead against his. "Your place?" you whispered, your voice soft but teasing.

For a second, he didn't respond, his gaze flicking to your lips again as though tempted to keep going. But then, like a switch flipping, he pulled back, his hand slipping out of your chest.

"I-I'm sorry," he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper. "I shouldn't have kissed you. I didn't mean to—"

You blinked, confusion flickering across your face. "Why? Because I'm a groupie club?"

"No! That's not it at all!" Heesung blurted out, his voice sharp with protest. "I don't think of you like that—it's just..." He trailed off, his hand running through his hair as though searching for the right words. "I don't do this."

Your brow furrowed, hurt and confusion mixing in your chest. "Do what?"

He sighed, his shoulders slumping. "This. Hooking up, acting like it's nothing. Having sex and pretending it doesn't mean anything after." He looked at you then, his gaze conflicted, torn. "I'm just... not that guy. I'm sorry, but I'm probably not what you're looking for."

Before you could respond, he turned away, leaving you.

"Heesung, wait!" you called after him, but he didn't glance back.

Heesung wasn't like other guys—he'd made that clear, not just with his words but in the way he carried himself. He wasn't the type to jump headfirst into something without thinking it through. He was careful, deliberate, and in his own way, sweet. He was a date before sex kind of guy, and here you were, dragging him into something more intimate without even considering how he felt about it.

Your shoulders sagged as the realization hit you. He wasn't running because he didn't want you. He was running because he didn't know how to handle the whirlwind you'd pulled him into.

"Can't handle it, huh?" you muttered under your breath, the words dripping with frustration as you stabbed at the bowl of ramen in front of you. "Guess I scared him off."

"God, I'm such an idiot," you muttered, shaking your head. You weren't just frustrated with him—you were frustrated with yourself. Frustrated for not seeing it sooner, for misreading the signals and pushing too far too fast.

Your gaze shifted to Heesung's empty seat, then to the envelope resting on the chair he'd just vacated. Curiosity flickered, though guilt tugged at the edges of your mind.

You hesitated, your chopsticks pausing midair. Opening the envelope felt wrong, an invasion of privacy—but curiosity burned too brightly to ignore. Slowly, you reached for it, your fingers brushing over the worn edges as you slid out a sheet of paper.

The thought nagged at you, but your fingers had already reached for the envelope, as you opened it and pulled out the paper inside, the words at the top made your blood run cold.

Terms and Conditions: 7th Annual Panty Stealing Competition.

Your eyes scanned the page, disbelief turning to simmering anger as the details unfolded before you. The absurdity of it all—the rules, the prize money.

The paper crumpled slightly in your tightening grip, your knuckles white with fury.

"Motherfucker," you hissed.

Sitting back, your mind began to race. If they wanted to play games, fine. But they had no idea who they were messing with.

Plans formed, solidifying like steel as your anger fed your resolve.

They'd regret ever joining this competition.

- end of the chapter -

a/n: are you ready for the competition👀

#enhypen fanfic #enhypen fic #heesung x reader #heesung #jake #heesung smut #jake smut #sunoo #jay #beomgyu #jake x reader #enhypen

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mcrololo · 2 days ago

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Bechloe fic recs

(in no particular order)

You Make Me Believe In Magic by @shikariix

In the opening stood a woman with a tiny frame, bending forward slightly and breathing heavily. The light pouring in from behind her made it hard to see just how dirty and scratched up her clothing was. “Hey, uh,” she started loudly, still panting, “not to freak anyone out or whatever, but there's kind of a dragon on the loose. You all gotta evacuate.”

What can I say? It's got magic, it's got dragons, it's got gay flirting AND a kick-ass moodboard that inspired the whole shebang. Exactly up my alley, and if you said 'hell yeah Rolo, me too!' then what are you waiting for!! (nudges the author to write the soft epilogue i so truly desire) (in the meantime also read this new years one-shot & also this incredible piece of writing by my love and heart)

All is fair in Love and War by @pulledpurplecurtains

It's not about having feelings. It's about what you do with them. There's never a choice where the heart is concerned. The mind, however…the mind always comes up with choices. And sometimes life tends to happen as well.

Honestly I'm due for a reread of this but I remember immensely enjoying this fic. I certainly had a blast getting the go ahead to analyze it, almost as much as Ana probably had writing it! They're in high school, they're in gay love & also they are idiots. What else would you need?

"Something angsty, Rolo," you might say. And boy do I have the fic for you by the same author! (read the tags, be mindful of the warnings)

it takes two (to be santa claus) by @becasbelt

With their marriage on the brink of divorce, Beca and Chloe vow to do whatever it takes to give their daughter one last perfect Christmas- even if it means tracking down a rare American Girl doll two weeks before Christmas.

I know I already recommended this the other day but I just... It's so fucking good. I don't have words. Actually I do, go read it y'all (and when you're done then also read the cream in my coffee by the same author because I'm also still thinking about that one.

i think (s)he knows by @pinkpastels113

The Starbucks espresso machine broke again and Chloe is supposed to be taking care of everything, but the mechanic who showed up to fix it is making her job more difficult than it already was.

I forgot how much I love me a coffeeshop AU until I read this one. I don't often see flustered Chloe Beale in fic but here it's so blatant and I adore it so much!! I need more flustered Chloe Beale in my life pls (also go read this one too it's so fun!)

All I Ask of You by @kailoraurelius

From day one, Beca has always been there for her. If Chloe can count on anything, it's Beca. So now, pacing her kitchen anxiously, she waits for Beca to show up. Chloe has something very important to tell her…

Listen, Stained Glass will always have a special place in my heart, but I think AIAOY actually knocked it off its place because the found family characterization in this one just HITS. It's off the charts!! It's got everything; love, humor, and me on the floor crying (positive!) tears because the writing is so so beautifully descriptive.

naked in manhattan by @afh48

"Hi, it's Chloe! I know you just landed, and I know you're probably busy. But I would love to see you! So call me when you can!"

From the first chapter onwards I was HOOKED. I love experimental works and what is a first ever fic if not finding your writers voice? I enjoyed the journey of unlearning internalized homophobia; of characters clearly making decisions that were bad for them because of fear. But the fluff is the sweet, sweet cherry on top!

those days turned into nights by hedaswolf (the baddestwolf)

Beca kisses Chloe in the heat of the moment after winning Worlds. Of course, she proceeds to avoid the topic altogether. You can imagine Chloe’s surprise when Beca suggests they change their flights so they can drive to Stockholm in search of Swedish Princess Cake. But how long can Chloe go without bringing up the kiss? or, the Denmark to Sweden roadtrip fic that no one asked for

I swooned reading this. It's romantic, it's funny, it's angsty because they're pining idiots.... On top of that it's in 2nd pov and I LOVE 2nd pov <3

Life on Shuffle by @yelena-belover

“I know you don’t know me, Beca. But I’ve basically known you my whole life.” Bechloe // The Time Traveler's Wife AU -- Beca Mitchell suffers from Chrono-Impairment, a rare genetic disorder that causes her to spontaneously and uncontrollably time travel. Living life out of order isn't easy for Beca, and it's just as hard for Chloe, who struggles to cope with her frequent, often dangerous absences.

Chapter 8 and 11 shattered me in all possible ways. The way this fic weaves the timeline together so seamlessly... Time fuckery is hard to write, and it needs to be done right in order to feel satisfying; though still an ongoing fic, this one does it so masterfully that it scratched all of my itches as is.

Forgive Me These November Days by @obstinate-questionings

Why Chloe Beale didn’t graduate—and why she finally did—as told through yearly celebrations of Thanksgiving.

This fic made me take the first step into loving myself. imho it's one of the best Chloe Beale character studies out there and I genuinely can not stop thinking about it. If you're having a rainy day and need a pick-me-up, I definitely recommend reading this!

#i. have to cut myself off lol it's getting a little long #might do another one soon!#pitch perfect #bechloe #bechloe fic rec #rolo posts #is this how you do fic recs idk

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mandy-asimp · 3 days ago

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Wait ok here's the plot to the story (I bet other people have thought of this is a very generic plot) but I won't ever write it because I just wouldn't want to try and figure out butt stuff😭

Uhh proceed with the warnings that there's corse language, very light smut, some fluff, and then some😚

but it starts when they're in the teachers lounge and Jacob mentions Goldilocks and what not and melissa goes "if a girl broke into my house ate my food and slept in my bed, yeah id eat her ass." Or whatever.

so reader, you, is a fucking comedian or whatever so later that night you do exactly that! You quite literally break into Melissa Schemmenti's house!

And so she wakes up once she registers the smell of her leftovers from dinner, and that woman knows her cooking in one whiff. So you though leave the small eaten plate and dance around her, knowing the lay out from the few times you had been over.

Let me clear here though you guys are friends, not close but comfortable. And with a woman like her you obviously caught feels, hence why your breaking in trying to get her to eat your ass.

This was honestly insane if you asked anyone else, you could've easily told her how you felt but this was another way I guess🤷‍♀️

so after managing to get your way up into her room, you had another number planned inside your honestly brilliantly scheme. You untie your black sneaky coat and think Sabrina Carpenter tour outfits. You're basically in one of those cute pieces or whatever you find on Pinterest to help see the vision (it's what I do for everything).

you then crawl to the middle of her bed and wait patiently for her to finish searching her entire home. And when she does she's shocked to see you in her bed. "Hun, what the fuck?!" She shook her head in disbelief. Who wouldn't, you broke in.

Now you're a bold person in this story. You don't back down easily and you get mostly everything you want by your own way. Ava loved you when you mentioned how good you were at it. It's why she hired you, in return you have to do a few things here and there.

Anyways though you look at her and you tell her you wanted to see if she would.

"Would what?"

"Eat the girls ass if she broke in, ate your food, and slept in your bed."

She was dumbfounded in that moment. What the fuck? Was she dreaming? You could see the blankness and decided to fix that. You slipped from the bed, letting her see you in that outfit you chose and so that's when shit clicks.

Y'all are kissin'.

Touchin'.

Basically fuckin'.

And then she does. She eats your ass. And she likes it. And I mean she really likes it. And fuck so do you cus if your reading this knowing it's about butt stuff you gotta either be curious or into it and I guess since I'm writing this a part of me has to be if I'm writing it so actually-

Anyways so you both really fucking like it and it's not until she's fucking you in the ass with a strap. Her fingers reaching around you and fucking you there. Her palm bumping your clit, oooh child you were feeling this. And you guys went for a good minute too like she fucked you like a slut you were for her and same really like same.

So the next morning, she wakes you with soft kisses to your face, completely contrasting the woman she was the night before. "How are you feeling, baby?"

You were confused as to when you went from hun to baby but you assumed it was sometime after you blissed out. "Goldilocks never stood a chance." You groaned, yet your arms slipped around her bare waist and you hurried your head into her chest.

"Well, maybe you'll double think breaking into people's homes."

Your head came back up, "first of all this is the first house I've broken into. I just got lucky the bear was you."

"Yeah, but next time maybe just ring the doorbell instead of making me search my entire home."

"Awfully a lot of complaining for someone who was saying they just couldn't get enough of me last night." You softly laughed under her.

Her eyes narrowed down for a second. "We have work in a few hours. Do you need to go home and get something to wear?" She changed the topic.

"No, as planned I have a bag in my car. I'm very good with making sure things go as planned if you couldn't tell yet." Your lips curled into a cocky smirk.

That morning you both spent together spinning around and getting ready. Passing kisses to bare skin as you left putting on anything more than a bra and underwear till the very end. Neither of you could keep your hands to yourselves. Not after...

To end it, nobody at work had noticed your slight hobble as they were too busy focused on the volunteers.

Another bonus is Deandra had tried to put one single move on you at the end of the day Friday and Melissa had pulled you away almost instantly, throwing the excuse that you had a dinner date to get to together. It ended up being your first date and it's a so forth story😋

#reader insert #melissa schemmenti x reader smut #melissa schemmenti smut #melissa x reader #melissa schemmenti x reader #melissa schemmenti #abbot elementary #abbot

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chippedshake · 2 days ago

Note

prompt request: cherry and bob on their first date WALK WITH ME ON THIS ONE

okay okay so I will definitely be writing this in the near future but for now here's the skeleton of my idea because I'm impatient ok (i've never written either of these characters so bear with me):

we open with a Marcia and Cherry scene

Cherry's getting ready to go on her date with Bob and she's kinda not all that excited because she's gone out with guys before and she always thought they were sweet and smart and nice and whatever but they turned out to just be assholes who were into her because she was pretty and popular

so even though she likes Bob, she can't convince herself that he's different from everyone else

I have developed a whole strategy for how she'll pick out her clothes

I love Marcia so even though she isn't in these bullet points you better believe she's gonna be in the fic

Then Bob appears

Cherry describes like an archetype of what first dates are usually like and Bob will subvert. every. single. point.

like 1st one is the guy always shows up with flowers that are always a pain because they die quickly and Cherry doesn't even like flowers all that much but lo and behold Bob shows up with a chocolate chip cookie from her favourite place

when she asks he says she mentioned once that she doesn't like flowers and finds them depressing and that they ran into each other in the bakery a couple months ago and she said it was her favourite place

Bob is down bad okay

1.5th point because I'm adding this later and don't feel like editing everything: the guy will always say "you look pretty" the moment they see her and Cherry doesn't like it because it feel artificial, like it's just their obligation to say it

Bob trained with Bev (idk if you've seen/heard of the musical but she's a Soc girl they made up to be friends with Cherry and Marcia) about what to say to a girl and compliments her earrings in particular and the colour combination

then the 2nd point is that they always bring her to a way too fancy restaurant that neither of them really like

They go out for a picnic and it's actually a really pretty setting and Bob is a terrible cook so he brought like sandwiches or something that his mom had to help him make

also 3rd point. guaranteed awkward silence when they have nothing to talk about, followed by the guy rambling about himself.

First question Bob asks: what do you wanna work as

and they talk about how Cherry wants to be a kindergarten teacher

then she asks the same question back and he says he wants to be a lawyer

when she asks why he just says his dad's a lawyer

maybe a cute moment where she says he’s his own person? idk

4th point: at some point the guy puts his hand on her thigh or something and she tries to wriggle out as subtly as possible

subverted, as usual

I'm sorry but Bob absolutely will earn the "stood out from the crowd" and "he was sweet" title, okay? In Ponyboy’s words: Cherry's smart. She wouldn't like him just 'cause he's good-looking

5th point: they're ridiculously smooth and are still flirting with her on the date, and it feels like they're trying to conquer her or something and it's incredibly uncomfortable

Bob stutters a bit and messes up and goes back on his words and will accidentally make like fifteen innuendos and apologise each time but Cherry likes it because it makes her feel like he actually likes her and is nervous (that's because it's true mijita)

finally, 6th point: they always try to kiss her goodnight even when she makes it abundantly clear they won't be seeing each other again

Bob actually fucking shakes her hand and goes to head back to his car

They end up hugging goodbye and make sure to coordinate a second date

the end

they're very cute and I love them. I hadn't ever thought about them really so thank you for the ask <3333

#cherry valance #bob sheldon #the outsiders #the outsiders book #the outsiders musical #chippedshake

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ashrayus · 1 day ago

Note

MORE FIC RECOMMENDATIONS DUDE???

DUDE so sorry i kept u waiting for a while XDD here they aree make sure to give them some love <3

also here's part 1 and part 2 of my fic recs as well :p

one of many dreams by sunlitlemonade

On the headstone is a boy.

absolute poetry that sun cooked up based on my drawing?? ToT read it right neowww!!!! <33

Big Brother Big Brother by bloggerspam

“Damian, this is…Robin.” Mother falters over the name, a rare occasion. She looks unsure, which makes him scrutinize the teen harder, “They have just about finished their…training.” Robin looks towards Mother, reacting to the name by getting up and sloping over. They seem to toddle, as if unused to their own limbs, before stopping next to Damian. Robin crouches, staring at Damian with vacant eyes, searching, too big hands reaching over. One gently prods at his neck, where the bruises are no doubt now surfacing. The other cradles his still assuredly small hands, turning them this way and that to inspect the cracked up nails. Robin grunts, scooping Damian up into his arms despite his protests. The teen is strong, holding him tightly and looking at Mother with some kind of expression that causes her to heave a heavy sigh. “Let us get you cleaned up, Habibi. It seems that you will be seeing more of Robin in the future.” Or: I explore the brotherly relationship between Damian and Jason, tracing all the way back to their days at the LoA. Damian POV, Mute+Pre-pit!Jason.

cantt believe this beautiful fic was inspired by my art!! absolutely wonderful jason&damian and talia right here!!!!

Sickening Succession by Geeves

The stars can be so blinding When you get tired of fighting You know the one you can look to ----- Two scenes where they can't help but push themselves too hard. Two different moments in time and in life where they question if they're loved. Two similar situations that reflect each other like mirrors as their bodies buckle under the weight they're holding. Two brothers being there for the other.

very sick dick and robin jason (and a little bit bruce) lovee this sm i love the way geeves writes them always :)

door, opening by cowboysorceror

It’s barely audible, but he knows what he heard. A short, four-note whistle, chirping down – E, C#, then jumping up to A, F#, a little trill on the finish. He waits a moment, head turned slightly towards the dim shapes of storage containers between him and the ramp, eyes straining against the blackness. Long, stretching seconds. There it is again. His gloved hand, prickling with cold, closes into a fist. It’s a wood thrush. A small North American songbird that doesn’t sing at night, doesn’t live in the city. He knows what it means. It means hold, steady, not yet. It means wait for me, I’m behind you.

I only read the first chapter so far but mindd blown with the writing,,love love loved it. i think its batfam but mostly focusing on dick and jason

No Complaints by couldyoublameme

“Hood?” There’s a dead body on the floor. The boy’s throat is bared open, too many slashes to justify it as impersonal. He has Tim's face, mouth parted in a silently deafening scream, eyes blue and scared and unseeing. Jason squeezes his eyes shut, lets out a breath, and looks away. It’s not real, he repeats to himself. It’s Fear Toxin. It's Crane. It’s something that could’ve happened but didn’t. It's not real, it’s not real, it’s not real. -- Jason gets hit with fear toxin. His older brother is there, for better or for worse.

same writer!! really really good, mind the tags

Miscommunications and Misnomers by JouskaAndVellichor

Buzzing. He shouldn’t be out here, with the buzzing in his veins. He’d not even wanted to go out tonight, couldn’t trust himself to keep his temper on a leash and not hurt someone who didn’t need to be. Fuck Two-Face, for getting his hands on the Man-Bat serum some-fucking-how and deciding to break out and use it tonight. Jason's choices catch up to him, as his family do their best while kept in the dark.

jason and the lazarus healingg!!! loved this, but mind the tags

Stick the Landing by pinstripedJackalope

Roy and Jason are in Belle Reve for a mission when things go fantastically sideways. It's pretty hard to catch a bat off guard, but hey, there's nothing a little appendicitis can't ruin ;)

had me going crazyyy such great jason&roy andd some alfred sprinkled in the end suchhh a good read!!

between a rock and a high place by LadyHaleth

"Let him go!" Nightwing snarls through the com, voice raw and strained. Jason laughs. The modulator of his helmet crackles, and the sound of his laughter echoes cold and cruel. "Are you sure you want me to do that?" During an unplanned and unsupervised encounter with the Red Hood, Tim takes an (also unplanned) dive off the side of a building. As Tim's life hangs by a thread, Red Hood taunts Batman and Nightwing, threatening to drop him. But does he really mean it? Because for someone threatening to let go, Jason's grip is awfully tight.

i wrote down "Tim is here and jason is being an ass XD" to this i guess its pretty accurate. and dick&jason as well :')

Covers by stealthdisaster

Prompt 17: Only One Bed

little then&now fic with dick and jason with suchh great fluff to melt u :')

carry your heart by Aelig

"Dick carefully looks over at Jason, as his concentrated face as the hero confronts the villain on the screen, as his food halfway to his mouth but already forgotten. He looks terribly young, like this - all his thirteen years of life and a relaxed posture he’s still not used to have. Dick kind of wants to ruffle his hair or hugs him casually, like he does with the Titans; but he and Jason still aren’t close enough for that, he thinks. They just start hanging out together, outside of some messages by phone and video calls, and that without counting the two-something patrol they did together. But Dick is already sure of one thing - he really, really likes Jason. He’s a cute kid, full of curiosity and bright intelligence, sharp words and amazed eyes. Dick decided since the beginning that Jason will be his little brother, but it’s more say than done. But now - now, Dick thinks it will be easy to love Jason and see him as his family. He likes the idea even more, too, now that he learns to know Jason." OR: Dick, Jason, and two movie nights at two different point of time.

fluff!!!! safe and warm <3

There You Are by calamityin

Jason Todd is not an idiot and he makes good choices. Most of the time. But occasionally he doesn't and he has to rely on others to get him out of things. This would be manageable if he could just remember to let people help him. And remember they need to know he needs help first.

this one is so,, :(( mind the tags

Fail Safe by Goldmonger

“All good?” asked Jason, who was bouncing in front of him, eagerly watching Clark scrutinise his own body. He looked spooky, all bathed in red light, but Clark had been in photography darkrooms before. This was hardly any different. “All good,” Clark said, smiling. “Just… new.” “Do you feel all weak?” Clark laughed uneasily. “Do you?”

adorable robin jason and clark!!

and lastly guest appearence from wally but such a nice fic <3

déjà vu by Muddell

For a second, it’s déjà vu. The sight of the small, dark-haired, colorful blur that flips through the air. Then, Wally sees the differences. The murderous glare on the kid's face. The variations in his costume, how his hair sits. The knee-jerk expectation of Dick Grayson is replaced by Dick Grayson’s brother. Wally is staring at Damian Wayne. Who just crawled—dressed as Robin, with his hands bound behind his back, blood streaming from a cut on his forehead—free of a van.

#jason todd #dick grayson #dc #fic rec

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lcb-oil · 1 day ago

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Hi! I just wanted to say I really love how you characterize Donqui in your fics, they're all so wonderful to read and feel so true to her + other Sinners' characters!! Do you have any fun don headcanons or thoughts about her character that you'd like to share? No worries if not, and thank you so much for your writing!! ❤️

Hi, and thanks for the ask!

I’m so super excited with the response to my fics, I wasn’t sure how they would land with others since I haven’t really written very much before. There isn’t too much Gen Limbus Company fic out there on the whole, so I set up this little project to fill that gap at least a bit.

Staying as true to the characters as I’m capable of is one of my primary goals, so it gives me so much energy to hear that it feels on target!

For the most part I hope to show my headcannons through my stories so I can give them lots of context.

But this is Tumblr — so I shouldn’t miss out on a chance to have some fun and dive in, right?!

I’d like to share some of my broader thoughts on Don Quixote and why I find her so interesting, but I have a whole lot I need to type up so that’ll take a little time.

Until then, if it’s interesting I’ll share my story notes on a theme I keep coming back to -

Don Quixote and Food

(Full Canto VII spoilers under the cut, of course!)

Don Quixote and Blood

My interpretation from the game is that Don Quixote can go without human blood essentially 100% of the time thanks to the strength of her dream filling the emotional gap. Other speculation from there:

Don Quixote thinks that drinking blood is generally morally wrong and would not casually do it for fun or personal satisfaction. I think she would do it when required to survive, and to have the strength needed to protect those she cares for.

Maybe she would need it to recover from a major injury, but Dante can fix that! So that’s not a major cause of concern for her.

Since hardblood arts are literally made from blood, feeding on blood is needed to continue to employ them. I imagine that some stored blood is lost over time when hardblood arts are used, even though it is mostly reabsorbed.

Experiencing different things, especially novel things, reduces her desire for blood dramatically as it provides emotional enrichment and aligns with her dream of adventure. Faust and Dante keep in mind that exposing Don Quixote to new sights and activities creates an actual direct impact on her wellbeing. This is key to managing her properly!

She currently has a practical mindset about the fact that she fundamentally needs blood to live after the events of La Manchaland.

Her finding a way to contextualize this in a non-self-hating way was the inspiration for Provided Supplies.

In that fic she interprets the way the other sinners feel about her need for blood negatively since that’s the most reasonable expectation of humans - even though that is not what they are trying to communicate with their actions!

Her high level of self discipline and emotional fulfillment makes it possible for her to drink a relatively small amount of blood, like the donated blood in Provided Supplies, and not go wild as other bloodfiends might.

I think a lot about how she will approach and understand other bloodfiends in the future, who may not have the same strength to bridge the gap for blood the way she can...

In early Canto VII, we saw oblivionized Don Quixote (ironically) express a “just don’t drink blood, that’s pathetic, get good” attitude towards the starving bloodfiends that were attacking humans.

After her experience in Canto VII, and seeing the suffering of her withered family members, she certainly won’t think that “just don’t drink blood” is a reasonable solution for all bloodfiend kind. But what can be done? Hmm.

I would like to explore this in some upcoming works.

Not being aware of the difference of individual needs, or not treating it seriously, was a primary flaw of Dad Quixote — and one that she has inherited in interesting ways! We can still see hints of this in her behavior, I think.

I cannot stop thinking about the fact that Project Moon threw in the fact that Rocinante doesn’t suppress the desire for blood. WHAT!?

The implications of this are simply too interesting! Therefore, I have to think that:

Without her memories, oblivion Don Quixote implicitly assumed that everyone has an innate craving to drink blood just like she does.

Why wouldn’t they?

But properly civilized people (and especially noble Fixers) don’t express such thoughts and impulses.

(I think humanity owes Bari a solid for this one…)

Bloodfiends and Sense of Taste

In my stories bloodfiends can eat other foods without negative consequences - but they can’t taste them in the same way humans can and don’t get any energy or nourishment from it.

Most bloodfiends would not bother eating human food since there’s no point.

Don Quixote views eating with the other sinners as a key bonding activity with her companions, so she would not agree that there is no point! She eats every meal with them without complaint regardless of if it does anything for her or not. This idea was the inspiration point for Proper Food.

Most foods taste like nothing or close to nothing, but there are some exceptions.

Only those not informed about bloodfiends would think they can’t taste anything at all, although that is most people in the City.

I’d like to write about those exceptions in the future!

In some parts of the story we see oblivionized Don Quixote commenting on the taste of things, which might seem to go against this headcannon.

No problem! In my stories, the oblivionized Don Quixote’s experiences come from two ideas:

Amnesia Don Quixote can’t properly taste anything, but she doesn’t know that she can’t. She had no idea that her senses could be altered to begin with. When others commented on foods at the start of the journey, she did her best to understand and go with the flow of what others seem to say - learning on the fly.

She had a powerful longing to be included in this group experience that she can’t quite grasp, so she throws herself fully into trying her best at it! Taste all that random stuff as best you can, Don Quixote! Bite those abnormalities!

In The Taste Test I had present day Don Quixote refer to her tasting endeavors as “tasting from the heart”. This is what I was trying to get at with that line, haha.

In Proper Food, I imagined that Dad Quixote would have learned a playbook of food-related adjectives that he’s actively learning to use to fit in with humans during their adventure - so Our Don Quixote would have subconsciously picked up on this goal.

Fun to imagine: Dad Quixote and Sancho inadvertently eat a super spicy pepper that no one would ever consider eating whole — seeds and all. They can’t tell the difference and Dad Quixote complements it like any other food.

Manchegan food must be really, really, really spicy, onlookers think to themselves…

———

Anyway, I hope you found some of this interesting!

I’ll write more about Don Quixote in general in the future.

(I will use the tag #lcb-oil-table-talk when posting about my headcannons / story notes in the future.)

...and of course, thank you for reading!

#limbus company #don quixote lcb #project moon #canto 7 spoilers #canto vii spoilers #headcanon #ask-lcb-oil #lcb-oil-table-talk

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separatist-apologist · 15 hours ago

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I don’t think I’ll ever sent my money to her again. I‘ll either just support my local library and read the upcoming books from there or download pdf.

Sjm and Bloomsbury clearly don’t gaf about her fans and I‘m not going to waste my money just for her books to come out mediocre. Hofas was absolutely stupid and I‘m still mad about the fact that I wasted money on that crap. And all these ridiculous bonus chapters? There was absolutely no need to include that many bonus chapters, except they just wanted more money.

Anyway, I‘d love to pay you instead.

I keep trying not to sound bitter and exhausted but like...I guess maybe I am a little bitter and exhausted.

My hater opinion under the cut. Read at your own hater risk

I don't think SJM enjoys this series anymore, and nothing and no one can convince me she does. ACOSF was...I mean, she said it herself, she was not in a good place when she wrote it and I think going back and re-reading, you get the sense that she was not as in love with those characters/stories like maybe she was, once.

Ultimately I'll never know because I don't pretend to have any insight into SJM's emotional/mental well-being. I could speculate all day long on why things are done the way they're done.

What I do know is that publishing is a dying business and SJM brings Bloomsbury a TON of money. People are always talking about ACOTAR, doing free advertising in a multitude of ways (discussing theories, posting tiktoks, commissioning art- all of that is free advertising for the books/publisher), and I think they're going to ride the runaway success of the series for as long as they can. People will buy anything with SJM's name printed on it- why not these lazy "nightcourt editions" too?

And look what happened. They post them and it reignites the arguments, the theories, the excitement that I thought was dying down a little. It also silenced some of the criticism (or, at least, drowned it out). Now people are back to passionately arguing what the bonus chapters mean (nothing other than $$$), what nightcourt means (nothing- they're just black), theorizing the next couple, when the books will drop, and being overall excited about just the possibility of something new.

And I am personally just very tired of all of it. I've said for a long time SJM's fanbase is far more passionate than she is, that they (we) do a lot of work on the backend to make these stories make coherent sense, and are generally exceptionally passionate in a way that, for example, allows SJM to sweep the Goodreads Choice Awards despite writing what was, in my opinion, a very sloppy conclusion to a series people were incredibly excited about.

I have no interest in a gwynriel/elucien book, personally, which I don't think we'll be getting in 2025. I haven't really enjoyed one of her books since ACOMAF/Crown of Midnight- you can see the decline in quality despite the ballooning word count. And I know someone is gonna show up/vague me about how HOFAS was a masterpiece and like. Whatever, I guess, you can gaslight yourself but you can't gaslight me.

#haters bookclub #i'm just exhausted- its been four years of this #i think the fans absolutely contribute to the environment #like not to lay all the blame at her feet but like #i dont know

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hollowed-theory-hall · 2 days ago

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hi hi hi!! first of all, i'm so fascinated with how your mind works. seeing your theories, metas, and explanations actually inspired me to read the books (even if they're off of this slightly dodgy website lol). i've read some of your thoughts on harry's love interests / possible li's for him (the theo posts too), and i wondered what sort of love interest would be fitting for him if they were a girl. would they be like luna or any other existing character, how would they meet (ideally), what house or personality traits, etc.

Thank you!! 💛

Holy shit, it's insane you enjoyed my writing so much even without reading the books and that I got you to read the HP books but please be careful not to download malware on your PC. Stay safe out there.

Honestly, I can see a lot of different types of characters working as a love interest for Harry, but there are some common denominators for characters I think would work with him better. That being said, shipping is very subjective, and I think any character could be written in a compelling romance with any character by a talented enough writer, so these are mostly my preferences for Harry's dynamics in a romance with how I see his character.

Someone like Luna definitely could work. I like their dynamic and under the right circumstances, I think it could work. She's blunt, and straightforward in a way Harry respects, she can call out his bullshit and isn't scared of being herself. Harry's also open-minded enough to let Luna believe whatever she wants and would probably not mind a Sweaden vacation even if he doesn't believe they'd actually find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack.

Personally, I was always under the impression that if Harry and Susan Bones actually talked they would've gotten along really well due to Susan's, like, 3 lines:

“Not with the dragon, you didn’t,” said Michael Corner at once. “That was a seriously cool bit of flying. . . .” “Yeah, well —” said Harry, feeling it would be churlish to disagree. “And nobody helped you get rid of those dementors this summer,” said Susan Bones.

(OotP, Ch16)

She clearly sees Hary's accomplishments for what they are and calls out his unfounded self-doubts (Harry needs someone who can do that without making him feel stupid).

Hogwarts students, who now found themselves the unwilling objects of a gruesome sort of reflected fame as they walked the corridors: Susan Bones, who had an uncle, aunt, and cousins who had all died at the hands of one of the ten, said miserably during Herbology that she now had a good idea what it felt like to be Harry. “And I don’t know how you stand it, it’s horrible,” she said bluntly, dumping far too much dragon manure on her tray of Screechsnap seedlings, causing them to wriggle and squeak in discomfort.

(OotP, Ch25)

She's straightforward and chill with a few of her own demons and she dislikes public attention as much as Harry. Even if Susan had ways less time with Harry, she understands he doesn't like the attention. She asks "how you stand it?" she thinks he must hate it as much as she does. I just find it interesting a random Hufflepuff girl who has 2 lines knows and understands Harry better than his love interest who thinks he likes getting attention and going after Voldemort.

Basically, a blunt, chill Hufflepuff that treats him like just Harry and not the Boy-Who-Lived would work too, is what I'm saying. Like a younger Tonks-like character who's a bit more serious and responsible (which is how I imagine Susan, except, less punk) could work with Harry. (though Harry thinks anyone who looks a little punk looks cool... He thinks Tonks is cool, and Kingsly and Bill are instantly cool in Harry's opinion for having an earring, so maybe give him a punk girlfriend. I think he'd be into it)

A Gryffindor girl who likes Quidditch (like Ginny) could've worked too. My problem with Ginny is that JKR tried to make her too perfect in the later books. Like, a Gryffindor girl who's confident and has a sense of humor could've been a good match for Harry. Just give her some actual insecurities and the willingness to be emotionally vulnerable with Harry and without Ginny's obsession so she'd see Harry as Harry and not as the Boy-Who-Lived — that could've worked. Like, Ginny as a concept could've worked if the character and her romance with Harry were written better. As she is in the books, I don't think it works though, I'd change the character's personality/attitude if I wanted to write her with Harry, so I don't feel like I could really call her "Ginny" you know?

A Ravenclaw like Cho who doesn't expect Harry to be another Cedric and is just more chill and not actively grieving could've worked. Like, as I mentioned Luna (who's a Ravenclaw) could work with Harry, but a sporty, chill, Ravenclaw could've also worked. She just needed to know who Harry is and date him for him and not as a Cedric replacement. Also, I just, don't think Harry would be interested in a girl who's into dragging him to Madam Paddifoots, but, like, a Ravenclaw who plays Quidditch and is, like, idk, obsessed with alchemy and has a bit of a mad scientist vibe going on, could work with Harry. I think his love interest should have interests of her own, basically. I think it adds flavor.

A cunning and intelligent Slytherin girl who isn't Pansy Parkinson (a la Daphne Greengrass or Tracy Davis) could work as well, depending on how you characterize her.

Basically, to ship Harry with a girl, of any house, I'd be looking for a lot of the same traits I look for in guys I ship Harry with:

Treat Harry as Harry and not as the Boy Who Lived — the reason doesn't matter but he/she has to see Harry as his own person and not his scar or fame and understand he hates the attention.

Intelligence — because Harry's actually really smart and he needs someone who could not only keep up with him but also correct and argue with him when the situation calls for it.

Self-confidence but also some insecurities — they need to have a spine to stand their ground and call Harry on his bullshit and his own low self-esteem but they should have their own issues and self-perception problems. I like it when things are fair and a ship helps each other grow together. Also, I don't think Harry would date someone truly arrogant. Arrogant to hide insecurities — that I think could work though under the right conditions.

Wit and humor — Harry is a sarcastic, sassy little shit with a slightly dark sense of humor, I think he needs a partner who can match his sense of humor and not get offended if he makes a comment about wanting to torture Snape.

Chill — Harry is a little emotionally inept, he would probably not manage well with a very emotional partner that requires a lot of attention (like Cho). Don't get me wrong, Harry would care and do his best, and pay attention when needed, but the guy doesn't really know how to deal with crying people. So, his partner should be someone who's fine with Harry's sort of comfort methods. (Some people don't want to talk about it when they're upset, they just want someone to listen to them vent a bit. Which, I think Harry would be great at. And vice versa. Harry, when upset, often just wants someone to be next to him quietly, but he doesn't want to talk about it sometimes). Basically, they need to have matching comfort styles so they could actually communicate when upset.

Chill (p2) — Harry's sort of anger requires someone who'd be able to remain cool once Harry reaches his threshold in year 5 wouldn't get quickly offended, but instead calmly put Harry in his place. Basically, they need to have more emotional intelligence than Harry because someone needs to know how to do emotions in the relationship. (In Ronmione's case, Ron is the more emotionally intelligent one, contrary to what Hermione likes to think. In Hinny's case, neither of them knows how to do emotions somehow, which adds to why they never appealed to me, I think. In Tommary, which I used to read, Harry is the emotionally intelligent one in the relationship, which is why this pairing is only realistic to me when it's a disastrous mess)

Knows to be both blunt and subtle depending on the situation — Harry needs someone to match him, as Harry can be a sneaky Slytherin sometimes, but sometimes, the situations in his life would require his partner to be brave and blunt. I think, regardless of house, his partner should be able to do both.

The capacity to be quiet — Harry is a quiet person overall and I think he'd work better with a partner who can just let him be quiet and not force him to engage in conversation. Ron and Hermione, for example, love bantering and bickering, but Harry finds their sort of bickering infuriating, so, yeah. Like, he can work with a partner who talks more than him, but they need to not always need to talk, yk?

At least a little anti-authority (or a lot) — I don't think Harry could date someone who's perfectly by-the-book and loves the rules and authority. Most of his clashes with Hermione come from a place of her trusting certain authority while Harry doesn't really trust any authority. I think he'd get frustrated dating someone who's too pro-authority (why he and Cho wouldn't have lasted even without Cedric's ghost hanging over them).

Magically talented — Harry's magic is insane, he doesn't need a partner that's on his level, but someone who is capable and skilled enough to hold their own is necessary with how dangerous Harry's life is and for him to be able to treat them seriously.

Brave — there are different kinds and levels of bravery, but at the end of the day, I don't think Harry could date someone who isn't brave enough to deal with all the shit Harry's life throws at him. Like, Harry's partner, I think, should be willing to join the trio on the Horcrux hunt should they be offered to. (I personally portray Theo, for example, as someone who doesn't think he's brave, but when he needs to, he's way braver than he thinks. Luna is brave enough to be herself and damn what anyone thinks. So you can play around with the kinds of bravery). Like, the fact Ginny didn't press him to know more about what they're planning and wanting to join the danger to help protect and defend Harry is insane to me. I think Harry deserves a ride-or-die relationship because he's a very ride-or-die person for the people he loves. (Hence why I love his friendship with Ron and Hermione. The Golden Trio is the definition of ride-or-die)

A bit of a tragic Backstory — this isn't mandatory, per se, but I think Harry would work best with a partner that has some of their own demons in their past. It's a little spice that I love. It's why I like shipping him with Theo (who from the very little we know of him can be read as being abused by his father, plus his mother is dead) or potentially Luna who saw her mother die. I think someone who's suffered some trauma similar to Harry would be better at connecting with Harry and seeing him in a way even Ron and Hermione struggle to do.

So, yeah, this is like, my thoughts on shipping Harry with any character and what's the broad strokes of my recipe for my preferred Harry dynamic in romance.

But, like with most things in fiction, it's all about execution. If you write it well enough, anything will work.

#harry potter #hp #asks #anonymous #hp meta #harry potter meta #harry james potter #ship talk #a bit #anti hinny #so i'll tag it #hollowedrambling

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nightlyrequiem · 2 days ago

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hiya requiem!!!!!

okay wait... im totally zooted rn so this mifht sound like wealy stupid.... but Valeria with writer!reader????!!! ^_^

like... reader is writing a dark novel... and they're like 'hey babe do you know how deep a knife needs to go before it hits a major artery and paralyzes sumone???' and val is like 'be rite back!!!' then an hour later she comes back home covered in a suspicious amount of red goo and shes like 'six inches. thats how deep' SHE CHEKCED!!!! AAAAAAAWWW!!!!!!! SO ROMANTIC RIGHT???!!!! (〃´▽`)

OKAAYYYY!!! soooh... it can be both hcs or a oneshot idm!!!! but i do want it to include either reader knowing vals occupatiom or they're just blissfully stupid clueless!!! 🥳🥳🥳

as always thank u foe ur time ans thanks soso much in advancies if u decide to write this!!! buhbye!!! :33

-🃏🌀⭐️

Hiya!! Omg I love this actually. Lowkey wish I had this IRL... but you're so right there's literally nothing more romantic then your wife stabbing a guy just so you can write about it accurately. True love right there. Just pretend you don't see the bloodstains and all will be good :3

Valeria x Author!Reader

You're working on your novel, and you're just stumped by the this one part. One of your characters gets stabbed but you want it to be accurate. But the internet is kind of useless. It either doesn't give you the information you're looking for, or it gives you that little hotline number.

But hey, your girlfriend was in the military and active combat!!! (Presuming you don't know what she does for a living.) So you ask her. Valeria loves you to pieces and also loves your writing. Of course she'll help you figure out how deep a knife has to go in order to paralyze someone. Just let her go ask some of her old war buddies, 'kay?

And by old war buddies, I mean victims. She already has an idea of where to hit in order to paralyze someone. Around the neck and spine. Each stab wound is measured meticulously and written down so she can bring them back to her precious partner. She finds the perfect reference for you. It was messy and a little hard to do, but stabbing someone under the ear in the neck where it begins to slope towards their shoulder. Roughly 3-4 inches down. The Common Carotid. (I googled it, so you probably could too, but for the sake of this let's pretend there's absolutely no information about it on the interwebs.)

Four corpses and three ruined shirts later, she's back with a sheet of references and even explains the process to you. Valeria is so kind as to even give you a physical demonstration. Not on a real person, she'd hate to frighten you. Though she didn't notice the splatter of blood on the bottom of her shirt. You did, and she had to find a valid reason as to why she had that. It's just jam, sweetheart, nothing to worry about.

Though things would be even easier if you knew about her current job. She'd probably let you sit in on interrogations to take notes or explain how certain mechanics work. It definitely wouldn't be practical or realistic because I'd imagine someone who runs a cartel would want to keep it under wraps. But anyway, she'd let you take notes and watch. If you're okay with it, she'd probably use a person for that physical demonstration.

Now your book has an accurate paralysis scene. Your readers praise you for your attention to detail and the realism. All thinks to your wonderful, murderous wife. Oh, those men that went missing were found with wounds similar to the ones in your book? What a coinky-dink!

#cod mw2 #valeria garza x reader #modern warefare ii #valeria garza x fem!reader #valeria garza cod #valeria garza #cod mwii #cod x reader #valeria garza x you #cod

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r0seb100d · 2 days ago

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Hi could you please make a Dallas x fem!reader smut where they're best friends and he's sleeping over at her house and then they cuddle and it leads to more tysm I love ur writing💗

Thank you for the request! It's finally here, hope you enjoy! Ly <3🤍

Warnings: fem!reader, smut, fingering, pnv sex

Your hands were on my hips, your name was on my lips - Over, over again like my only prayer

“The fuck you doin’ in there for so long?”

Dally’s mildly irritated voice called out from her bedroom, interrupting her evening routine that consisted of various serums and rose-scented lotions that came in pretty packaging.

“Getting ready for bed.”

She called back, laughing at how clingy he sounded despite trying to appear annoyed.

“Well, you’ve been in there forever; hurry up.

Sighing, she patted her face once more and removed her fluffy blue headband from her head, making her way back into her bedroom, only the dim stained glass lamp delicately lighting up the room and reflecting colourful patterns on the wall.

Dallas was lying on her fresh white bed sheets, his arms behind his head with a heart-shaped pillow underneath them; she bit her lip in an attempt to hold back a giggle. It was funny watching him in his worn-out dark jeans and t-shirt in her relatively girlish room. The sight made her want to pull out her Polaroid camera and snap a photo, knowing it would make the perfect blackmail, but she decided against it.

“I’m gettin’ bored waiting here for ya, it's been like 30 minutes. I thought we were going to hang out.”

“Jeez, you are so impatient Dal. Give a girl some time, will you?”

She picked out her pyjamas from her cupboard and turned to face him.

“Close your eyes; I need to get changed.”

“I’m good.”

She could only huff in response.

“Dal, I’m being serious.”

He smirked and rolled his eyes playfully, covering his eyes with his hands.

“You’re no fun.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Sliding on her stripey pink shorts, she looked over at him and gasped. His hands were back behind his head.

“Hey! I said no looking!”

“I’m not, I swear! Look, my eyes are completely closed; I just moved my arms is all.”

“Hmm, okay, it better stay that way.”

She decided to trust him for the time being, pulling on her matching top and walking over to her bed to push him gently on his shoulder.

“You can open em’ now.”

Dallas smirked and looked her up and down with an amused look.

“What?”

She couldn’t figure out why he was staring at her like that. Did she put her shirt on inside out?

“Nothin’, you look cute.”

He said casually, and she immediately turned to hide the blush that was beginning to spread on her cheeks. They were really close friends, but sometimes he made small flirty remarks like that just to see her get flustered, to get under her skin and tease her, at least so she thought. Dallas never failed to do so as well; it came so naturally to him. A touch or comment here and there, it was seemingly effortless for him, and it was almost impossible to make him unsteady in any way, his tough exterior impenetrable, unless, of course, he was caught “bein soft” by anyone else other than her.

She folded away her clothes and started fussing with other little trinkets in her room, adjusting her picture frame for the tenth time or rearranging her perfume bottles, anything to keep her hands and head occupied.

“Just wonderin’,” he drawled. “How many other useless things are you going to busy yourself with before you quit and lie down?”

God, he could always see straight through her; his careless attitude was a mask. Dallas noticed a lot more about most than he ever let on; it was one of his traits that she admired and feared both at once.

“M’not I’m just—”

“Getting ready.” He cut her off. “Yeah, I know. Maybe you wanna go clean the whole downstairs too, huh?” He teased.

She sighed, suddenly feeling nervous to be around her best friend. Her head was dizzy, and she couldn’t tell if it was from tiredness or from the way he was starting to make her heart race.

“C’mere.”

Dallas patted the spot beside him, and she finally gave in and lay down, curling up against him as he wrapped one arm around her. He smelled just like he always did; the scent had grown comforting to her, like she could just unwind and forget about everything else as she lay in his arms.

“Relax, okay? It was your idea for me to stay over, you know?”

Her brows furrowed in confusion as she looked up to meet his gaze.

“Was not! You asked if you could come and stay over.”

She scoffed, laughing at his attempt to mess with her.

“That’s not true, and you know it. Doll, you practically begged for me to stay over with you, don’t you remember?”

“You are such a manipulator Dal, afraid to admit that you wanted to spend the night here.”

“What can I say? You have a nice bed, real soft.”

He pulled her in closer as he mumbled the last part of his sentence, and she had to try to hide the way her breath hitched at the obvious double meaning to his words.

“So you admit it?”

She bit the inside of her cheek and raised one brow at him, poking his side.

“I still think it was you who suggested it.”

He grunted at her poke.

“Sure, whatever you say.”

She turned away from him and pressed her back up against his chest, staring at her wall and trying to compose herself. He was becoming increasingly flirty, and despite his playful denial, it had been his idea to stay, and sure she didn’t turn him down, but she was beginning to think that there was something going on.

He cuddled closer to her and pushed a strand of hair away from her face. Whispering into her ear.

“You okay?”

She was startled by his sudden closeness, unsure of what to say or do.

“Yeah, I’m fine; it’s just—”

“Just what? Somethin’ on your mind?”

His warm breath tickled her ear as he spoke softly, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She turned around in his arms so she was facing him again and took a deep breath.

“Are you just messing with me?”

He looked taken aback as she asked him this, his head cocking to one side.

“What do you mean?”

“Come on Dal, don’t play dumb. I mean the flirting, the pet names, the random touching. Are you doing something, or am I just going crazy?”

Her tone was desperate as she let everything out to him, and she half-expected him to get up and leave, but he just let out a deep breath.

“Course I’m trying to do something Doll; I thought all that would have made it obvious to ya, I never wanted to make you think that I was just messing with you; I wouldn’t do that.”

She could only silently stare at him in shock.

“Oh.”

“Does-does that bother you?' Cause if it does, I promise I can stop right now. I just thought that maybe you would have felt the same.”

He looked at her with a mixture of vulnerability and hesitation, wondering if he had potentially messed things up between them.

The tension was thick, and she finally mustered the strength to reply to him, her voice shaking slightly.

“It doesn’t bother me. And, I do feel, the same.”

Her voice was hushed in the almost dark room as they both stared at each other, both of them afraid to make a move.

“Dal?”

“Yeah?”

“Kiss me.”

He pressed one hand against her lower back and tangled the other in her hair, pulling her in close to him and connecting their lips together in a soft kiss. She immediately melted into him, feeling overwhelmed with the feeling of his lips on hers, sucking on her lower lip as he grunted quietly.

His silent hum sent shivers throughout her body as she continued kissing him, slowly getting more and more passionate, clutching his shirt in her fists. Dallas’ tongue swiped between her lips, seeking entrance, to which she accepted, allowing their tongues to meld together and intensify their connection. She let out an uncontrollable moan, breaking away from the kiss, desperate for a breath.

Dallas panted as he watched her with a lustful gaze before leaning in once more and hooking his arm underneath her and pulling her up onto his lap. Her breath hitched at the new position, and she steadied herself by placing her shaking palms against his chest, kissing him with every feeling she had been withholding for who knows how long.

This time, he pulled away, eliciting a small whine from her, causing him to chuckle and grip the hem of her pyjama top.

“Can I take this off? I wanna see you.”

“Yeah.”

Her voice came out desperate and needy as she looked at him. His eyes were blown wide, and his lips were pink and swollen from kissing, and he pulled her top up over her body, exposing her soft skin to him.

“So beautiful.”

He murmured, leaving little bites down her neck, sucking to mark her up before trailing down her collarbone and down to her chest, taking in her breast in his mouth.

She moaned and clutched his hair, burying her face into his neck as she continued letting out small noises that sent blood rushing down his body.

“Fuck baby, so sweet.”

She couldn’t ignore the heat that was pooling between her legs, and she began grinding against his hardening length, craving some sort of friction.

They both moaned at the same time, and Dallas pulled away from her chest to remove his own shirt, revealing his lean build and skin littered with many scars from rumbles and fights. She traced her fingertips down his torso, taking in the sight of him.

She reached his jeans, and she started to undo the button and zipper, to which Dallas groaned in response, breathing heavily as he watched her begin to free him from the strain of his jeans.

“You don’t—we don’t.”

“Shhh.” She silenced him. “I want this. Been wanting you.”

“Oh yeah?”

His cocky smirk returned, and he flipped them over so he was on top, completely removing his jeans before returning his focus to her.

“Can I take these off?”

He fiddled with the waistband of her shorts, and she nodded, her stomach twisting as he pulled them down, leaving her only in her panties. Dallas pushed her legs apart, making room for himself to settle between them as he rubbed himself against her, only their underwear separating them from touching. Neither of them could hold back the noises that escaped their mouths, and he reconnected their lips together in a sloppy kiss as he continued grinding against her, growing harder with every move of his hips.

“Dal, I can’t take it; I need you to touch me.”

“Yeah, need me baby? Need me to make you feel good?”

He stroked her face as she whimpered, watching her squirm underneath him, desperate for his touch.

“Uh huh.”

He moved his hand over her underwear, stroking her clothed core gently, feeling the warmth build up as she got wetter.

“So wet for me, and I’ve barely even touched you.”

He smiled before pulling her panties down her legs and throwing them somewhere onto the floor, rubbing between her slick folds. She shook slightly as she felt his fingers touch her, wanting to cry out at how good it felt to have him stroke her like that so gently, as if she was made of glass he was afraid of breaking.

Dallas continued rubbing her clit, watching her as her eyes shut from pleasure, her head thrown back against the pillows.

“Feel good, sweetheart?”

“Mhm, don’t stop.”

He smiled and pushed a finger inside of her, curling it and thrusting in and out, drawing more moans out of her as she rocked against his fingers.

“I got ya; just let yourself feel good baby.”

He continued his ministrations, loving the way she looked slowly coming undone on his fingers, and then suddenly, he felt himself take in a sharp breath as he felt her hand reach into his boxers, rubbing her small hand along the length of his cock.

“Fuck, keep goin.”

His voice was strangled, and only their pleasured moans could be heard as they both touched each other so intimately.

After a short while, Dallas pulled away, leading her to whine from the loss of contact.

“Doll, I can’t keep it up like that; I want to be inside you. Can I?”

He glanced up at her with a hopeful expression, and she nodded quickly, wanting to feel him fill her up completely.

Dallas removed his boxers, fully revealing himself before looking up at her once more.

“I, um, I don’t have anything; I didn’t exactly expect for this to happen.”

She chuckled before shaking her head.

“S’okay, I’m on the pill.”

He kissed her again before lining his tip against her entrance, gathering her slick on the head of his cock and pushing inside her slowly. They both gasped as he first slipped in, feeling the way she stretched around him to accommodate his size.

“You okay?”

He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, wanting to make sure she felt alright before she continued.

“I’m okay.” Her voice shook slightly. “You can move.”

Dallas started off with slow thrusts, watching as her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she lost herself in the feeling. He began to pick up the pace, his thrusts becoming rougher and more erratic as he fucked her, hips snapping against hers.

“Dal, yes, just like that.”

She moaned in utter pleasure.

“Wrap your legs around me Doll; trust me, it’ll feel so good.”

She did as he said, and he was able to push much deeper inside her, reaching a spot that had her seeing stars.

He smiled at her reaction and kept going, burying himself inside her to the hilt and leaning in to bite her neck, groaning into her skin as he felt her tighten around him.

“Close baby?”

She whimpered in response, and he reached between them to rub her clit again, wanting to satisfy her before himself, and he knew he wasn’t going to be able to hold on for much longer.

Bucking her hips up against him, the knots in her stomach began to unravel.

“Fuck, Dal I’m gonna cum.”

“Let go for me Doll; c’mon, cum for me sweetheart.”

He whispered to her, thrusting deep inside her, sending her over the edge as she cried out his name.

She arched her back as she felt her orgasm wash over her, her legs shaking and walls fluttering around him. With one final thrust, Dallas followed soon after, releasing inside her, his movements slowing down as he came, almost unable to hold himself up above her, his eyes screwed shut as he held her close against him.

They both finally calmed down, and he collapsed beside her, pulling her into his chest as he kissed the top of her head, the both of them sweaty and breathing heavily.

“You did so good for me, y’know?”

“Yeah?”

He smiled softly at her, her skin glowing in the low, multicoloured light coming from the lamp.

“Mhm, best sex I had in a while.”

She could only laugh at his remark, wrapping an arm around him, feeling comfortable and content in his presence.

“Dal?”

“Hm?”

“What does this mean?”

She asked him with slight uncertainty.

“It means I wanna be with you, to go on dates with you, not just as friends, and of course do this again. Only if you want to.”

She smiled happily.

“Yeah, I do want to.”

♱ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ ♱ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ ♱ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ ♱ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ ♱ . ݁₊ ⊹ .

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stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale · 3 months ago

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Y'know, it's unfortunate more people don't compare Louis and Violet in good faith.

Like, when I do see people compare them, it's usually through the lens of one is good, and the other bad. One is more canon than the other, and here's why. One is objectively better for Clementine, and the other is less impactful, worse written, didn't have chemistry with her, insert several insults here, etc.

I don't think it's inherently bad to express why you might not like one of them, or why you prefer one over the other. That's fine, that's a matter of opinion. It only gets to me when it becomes hostile, or passive aggressive... but even then, I've learned to just roll my eyes and move on. Some people make it very clear that they're not worth having a discussion with.

However, I wish I could read more nuanced comparisons of the two that didn't default to the "and that's why this one is better." At least some are kind enough to tack on a "for my Clementine" at the end.

You know how it goes: Louis is cute and he makes Clementine laugh, whereas Violet's boring, her love is shallow, she's still not over Minerva and she's using Clementine as a rebound. Violentine's a bad ship because Violet's actually a traitor, and they're practically the same person and that's bad.

Violet's loyal and reliable, whereas Louis is annoying, he never takes anything serious, he's a traitor for his vote, and he's nothing but a distraction. Clouis is a bad ship because how could any Clementine possibly like him after he voted her and AJ out? That's bad!

That's always the conclusion, right? One good, one bad.

This is incredibly limiting and it drives me nuts.

They're foils. They contrast one another, highlight each other's strengths and flaws, in such an interesting way that it makes Clementine's choice between them all the more meaningful.

One is not good and the other bad, they're different, and I think that's worth exploring.

Let's start with a common argument: Violet is the more impactful option due to her connection to Minerva.

Now, to be fair, I can understand why someone on Team Violet would believe this. Yes, it's true that the confrontation with Minerva is more impactful for a violentine shipper who has more investment in Violet as a character. Louis doesn't have as strong of a connection to her.

However, what they're failing to recognize is that Minerva isn't the only ghost to haunt this narrative. Violet may have Minerva, yes, but Louis has Marlon... and that doesn't just go away once Marlon's dead.

Violet's route has Minerva as her ex-girlfriend, and her bond with Tenn that all comes to a head on the bridge. Louis' route has Marlon's death and how that specifically impacts his relationship with AJ and Clementine, and the slow burn of forgiveness on all sides.

Marlon and Minerva are also reflective of Clementine's worst outcomes.

Clementine and Marlon were tied together through Brody's blood splattered on their hands and faces. They both killed a part of Brody, but only one of them lies about who killed her first.

After Marlon dies, Clementine gradually replaces him throughout the game; Rosie is her dog now, she uses his bow [which Louis gave her], she becomes the leader. Clementine gets them to fight back, and when three of her people are captured, she doesn't cut her losses. She does what Marlon couldn't; "we're getting them back."

When she chooses Louis, he does for her what he never did for Marlon: he steps up.

Clementine proves she won't become Marlon just as she proves she won't become Minerva.

After getting James to agree to help them, Clementine and AJ talk about what to do if she ever gets bit. AJ says he'd want her to bite him, too. He repeats this sentiment after she's actually bitten, telling her he wants to stay and they could turn together, peacefully.

When Minerva confronts them on the bridge, she's dying... and she wants Tenn to die with her. She doesn't care who she has to kill in the process. She's more monster than human at this point, and most times, she succeeds.

They're both bitten. Clementine could've become a monster like Minerva in the end. She could've killed AJ, and they could've become walkers together. But she didn't. Minerva wanted Tenn to die for her, and Clementine wanted AJ to live for her.

Also, I should mention she has Minerva's axe. She carries the key weapons associated with Marlon and Minerva throughout different points in the game, further solidifying these connections. She uses Marlon's bow to save her friends, and she uses Minerva's axe to save AJ, who in turn uses it to save her.

What's also so interesting about this is how Marlon's alive in episode one, and Minerva is thought to be dead. Louis has his best friend, and Violet's lost hers. But, at the end of the episode, Marlon's dead and Minerva's revealed to be alive.

Marlon becomes the ghost, and Minerva becomes the monster. Clementine becomes to Louis and Violet what Marlon and Minerva never could... how does that not drive anyone else insane?

So, no. One is not objectively better, or more impactful, because of a connection to Marlon or Minerva. They're different. It just depends on which storyline you personally find more compelling.

Actually, let's talk about that a little more.

In my opinion, the most intriguing point of comparison between Louis and Violet stems from their perceptions of survival, and how that impacts Clementine.

An argument I see made against violentine is that Violet's boring because she and Clementine are too similar. This usually comes from clouis shippers who prefer the "opposites attract" dynamic Clementine and Louis have.

On the flip side, there's the counter argument that Louis is reckless, that he doesn't take survival as seriously as he should and Clementine wouldn't want him because of that.

These are interesting to me because I get where they're coming from... but they ultimately miss the point.

The other day, I replayed TFS. Except this time, I did something a little bit differently. I played my usual clouis route, but then I had the violentine route pulled up on my laptop so that I could watch these scenes, comparing them side by side… and something occurred to me.

Louis is about challenging Clementine's perception of survival, and Violet is about validating it.

Louis challenges Clementine from the very moment we meet him—he’s playing music. His initial philosophy on survival butts heads with Clementine’s. The fact that hunting with him and Aasim challenges your perception of “your choices have consequences.” These games have conditioned the player to think along the lines of, “Yeah, Louis is more fun… but if I don’t hunt with Aasim, we won’t have any food.”

Except that’s just it. I hate to say it, Aasim, but in the grand scheme of things… hunting with you doesn’t matter. It's actually less rewarding. You know why? Because in the next section, we get food from the train station. It would’ve been more beneficial to spend time with Louis over hunting, hence how he challenges you.

This then primes you for the choice between choosing to follow Louis or follow Violet. I know people complain about how this is presented with Violet doing something productive [checking the walls] and Louis playing piano… but that’s the point. If you’re going through with Louis’ full route, you need to meet him at his level, and in turn, he will meet you at yours. You need to accept the challenge, the idea that Clementine isn’t entirely right about the way she’s gone about survival.

Oh, and do I even need to mention the vote? The debate over Louis’ vote is exhausting. Often times, people tell on themselves in how they talk about it. It’s not actually about the fact that he voted against them. If it was, these people would have a bigger bone with pick with Mitch, Willy, Ruby, and Omar… and yet Louis is the one who takes all the blame as if he’s the only one personally kicking them out.

Louis is reacting to the death of his best friend, and the complicated feelings that come with it being caused by AJ. He wants accountability, even if he knows something's wrong. You can either agree with him that it was murder, and set AJ on the path of atonement… or, you can double down and tell him to fuck off, AJ was justified.

But here’s the thing… the vote adds to the appeal of Louis’ route. To someone who hates him, or at the very least is critical of his vote, that sounds mad or delusional.

Except it’s really not.

Ever heard of a thing called tension? Because there’s a lot of it in ep2 between clouis + AJ and it’s fantastic.

Yes, Louis voting them out is problematic because we need a problem to solve. We need something to feed the tension between him and Clementine. He stepped in front of a gun held by his best friend in order to protect her, forever changing their relationship… only for that to seemingly be taken away from us the moment AJ shoots Marlon.

Yes, Louis’ route is about being challenged, but it’s also about challenging him. That he’s able to forgive them, that he’s able to question his own survival philosophy and understand theirs, that he’s able to apologize and actually change for the better… that right there is what makes clouis so damn good.

He becomes hardened whereas Clementine softens. By the end of the game, they’re on a similar level now without neglecting their differences, and they can move forward together.

That’s what makes Louis’ route appealing… and it’s also what makes it unappealing to people who prefer Violet.

By contrast, Violet’s already on Clementine’s level when it comes to this perception of survival. She validates that Clementine’s on the right path.

They have other similarities in the way that they’re both female, queer, they both have a kid they look after, they’re not always great with other people, etc.

People who prefer Louis might consider this boring, but I think to Team Violet, it’s comforting. It’s comforting to have a partner who takes this as seriously as you do, who wants to get shit done. They’re playing Clementine with a similar attitude, and don’t believe it needs to be challenged. It’s comforting to feel validated on something you already firmly believe in.

We also see this if we compare the hunting and fishing scenes. You have to make an effort to choose Louis by choosing to neglect hunting, but the game makes you fish with Violet no matter what.

Violet’s prioritizing fishing because they need food. That’s what they’ve set out to do, so let’s do it. The game is letting you know that’s the case, and if you value that, continue pursuing her.

While fishing, they discuss why things are weird with her and Brody. Violet doesn’t take well to Clementine’s blunt, “Because you make it weird. Brody tries and you just make fun of her."

That’s understandable because I think she already kind of knows why and is looking to have her feelings validated. She prefers it when Clementine suggests that it’s because Brody never said sorry for what happened to the twins.

There’s also comfort and validation in the way Violet sides with Clementine and AJ after Marlon’s death. She votes for them to stay, vocalizing how much she disapproves of the results. There’s this feeling that I recognize from a lot of the sapphic romance I read; “it’s you and me against the world, I’ll always have your back, even if you’re in the wrong, I’ll fight for you.”

In our case, it’s violentine + AJ against the rest of Ericson, save Tenn and Aasim. Violet validates that AJ was justified because Marlon was a liar and murderer, claiming that AJ and Clementine did nothing wrong. Violet fights to keep them.

The tension between violentine in ep2 is different because instead of one pushing the other away, they’re being forced apart by the vote and there’s nothing they can do about it. That tension is somewhat released when Clementine comes back and they’re reunited, working out a plan to best defend the school.

It’s also why Violet’s presented as doing something productive when you follow her instead of Louis, and why she asks if you want to hang out after checking the defenses.

All that being said, allow me to reiterate that one is not good and the other bad, they're different. These concepts of challenge and change/validation and comfort exist on a neutral road as diverging paths. It’s up to the player to pick what path they prefer, but that doesn’t mean the other path isn’t worth acknowledging or analyzing.

I should also mention that they’re not exclusive; there is overlap with validation being present in Louis’ route and challenges in Violet’s. They’re just more present in episodes 3 and 4 after we’ve made our decision.

There are several more examples of how this all fits together, buuuuut–

Ya’ll wanna compare some allegories?

Those familiar with my content might already know where I’m going with this as I’ve made a post about Louis and the piano in the past.

You see, I believe that there are allegories for Louis and Violet’s hearts present in their routes: Louis’ piano, and Violet’s pin.

I already have a thorough, in-depth analysis of Louis and the piano that you can read, so all I’ll say about it is that on the night of the raid, he asked Clementine to carve a piece of herself into his heart so that no matter what, their initials will be immortalized together in its wood…

And that makes me fucking feral.

But I'm also so normal about it.

As for Violet, her heart is the star gazing pin she gives to Clementine. She gives it to her so she’ll always remember that night… but she doesn’t give it to her until after Clementine’s saved her, and that fascinates me in the context of it being allegory.

Louis asks Clementine to carve herself into his heart right before the raid, cementing that from that moment on, he is utterly devoted to her. I believe this is part of the reason why Louis is still happy to see her if he’s the one who’s captured. Yes, yes, he’s also incredibly traumatized from having his tongue cut out and he’d be happy to see anyone, yada yada… but listen, if you romance Louis and he’s captured, his heart remains with her—that piano with their intitals is on full display. When he sees her, he’s still so devoted to her that he refuses to accept that it’s at all her fault. Even when she says it is, he shakes his head... and he so easily accepts her when they’re together in the end. From the moment Clementine puts knife to wood, he’s hers.

Now, look… you might think I’m going somewhere not great with this but hear me out.

I think after Clementine’s gone star gazing with her, Violet is fully ready to give her heart to her. Y’know, give her the pin. But, think about what Violet said about how people have left, but Clementine came back. Plus, with the impending raid to think about, maybe Violet should keep the pin until the right moment.

I believe a key difference between her and Louis is that Violet needs one last thing to solidify that Clementine’s the one.

Louis gives her his heart prior to the raid because of everything that’s already gone down between them following Marlon’s death. Violet needs to know that Clementine’s willing to fight for her the way she fought before. When Clementine saves her from the raiders, it’s solidified. Even after she sees Minerva again, it changes nothing.

It’s also worth noting that the pin is something Clementine wears. Like the piano carving, it’s a piece on display for everyone to see, to let them know whose heart Clementine has.

Violet literally handed Clementine her heart as a means of saying, “I’m yours. I’m devoted to you.”

This is why romanced/captured Violet is devastating, and is why she behaves the way she does in the cells. She was so ready to give her heart away and then nope, sorry, Vi! You get knocked unconscious by raiders instead!

If anything, you kind of deserve to be told to fuck off if you romanced her and then let her get captured. Just sayin’.

Look, I have a lot of complicated feelings about the captured violentine route, mostly with Violet being as forgiving as she is after her eyes are burned—yes, yes, I know, her eyes are burned and Minerva messed with her head so of course now she’s not hostile, yada, yada.

But I think it’s rather telling that you don’t get the pin in this route. Sure, Violet’s willing to forgive and possibly pursue this romance in the future… but she’s not ready to hand over her heart, not truly. Not after everything that’s happened.

And if you want to get extra angsty about it, imagine that Violet made the pin right after they parted ways, but before the raiders came. Meaning that if she’s captured, it’s possibly still sitting somewhere, abandoned.

Mmhmmm, very normal about this. I feel normal. My normalness about this continues... normally. I'm not losing my shit thinking about that. Nope. Why would I? I wouldn't! So normal.

Okay just let me talk about their reactions to Tenn's death and then I'll shut up.

This makes me want to gnaw my own foot off, I can barely handle it.

AJ shoots Tenn on the bridge because Clementine trusted him to make the hard calls. This saves Louis or Violet's life.

When Louis jumps across, he's completely silent as he watches Tenn die... and then he's pissed; "What the fuck?! How could you just shoot him like that?!"

AJ explains himself, that he did it for him, and Louis is so upset that he forces AJ to look at what he's done, to watch the walkers eat Tenn; "Tenn's dead. He's dead! Do you realize that?! Look! [...] He's... he's gone, because of you. Just fucking gone."

If Clementine says AJ saved his life, Louis says, "So what, we just cut him loose? Gun him down like he was nothing?"

If Clementine says nothing, Louis says, "Tenn was just a little boy!"

The reason Louis responds this way is because in this moment, he just relived Marlon's death all over again, but worse. So, SO much worse!

When Violet jumps across, she breaks down, begging, "Oh, my God! Oh, my God! No, no! No, no, no..." as she watches Tenn die... and then says to AJ, "No! What the fuck?! How could you do that?!"

AJ explains himself, that he did it for her, and Violet is faaaar from okay; "For me? I can't... Tenn is gone! That soft little boy who liked to draw, he's gone, because of you!"

If Clementine says AJ saved her life, Violet says, "You think that's okay?! Just gunning down one of our own?!"

And there it is.

Louis is hardened in this situation because he already went through this... Violet hasn't, not with AJ. She softened up throughout her route due to her relationships to him and Clementine... but this is the moment where she realizes that maybe AJ wasn't as justified as she believed, and this is the consequence.

This leads us to the ending where AJ asks if they're still mad about him killing Tenn, and I just... I'm biting my foot right now because the script has flipped.

Louis is forgiving and understanding. He's soft, he's sympathetic, he shakes AJ's hand to let him know that all is forgiven and they're okay; "I... AJ, I guess it's like... You saw something I didn't. About the situation, I mean. Minnie and the walkers and Tenn, it's just all this chaos in my head when I think back on it. [...] Clem says you saved my life? Well, then, that's exactly what you did. And how can I stay mad at anyone for doing that?"

Or, alternatively, "He was your friend, AJ. I know you are hurting just as much as I am."

As for Violet? She's understanding, too... but she's not quite ready to forgive yet; "The thing you said on the bridge...that he was messing up all the time. It wasn't something new, you know. Tenn got himself or other people into trouble all the time, long before you guys got here. He was always so lost. He lived in a world that just...isn't there, you know? And that's why I tried to look after him. But when I was pulling him away from the walkers, and Minnie, I could also see...he just wasn't there anymore."

"So you're mad, but sad."

"Can I be that for a while?"

And it's completely understandable that she's hurting and struggling with how she feels about AJ moving forward! She wants to be okay, she wants to forgive him, she just needs time.

Now, because I'm forever bitter, but I'm gonna mention this as well: whenever I see someone point at Violet's scene and say, "See!? This is how LOUIS should've acted in ep2!" like... they're telling on themselves again. Not just that they don't understand Louis as a character or his route, but that they don't fully grasp Violet's part in this either. Or time frames, for that matter.

Let me put it to you in simple terms... they react the same.

After Marlon and Tenn die, they're upset. They're pissed. They blame AJ and yell at him. After they've had time to process what happened [Louis after the two week time skip, Violet after time passes between the bridge and the ending] they share the same, "I'm still upset about Marlon/Tenn. Can I be that for a while and still be your friend?" sentiment.

The difference is that Louis is treated poorly for it because of the vote, and because we feel it first hand for longer... Violet got to grieve off screen and come back after she's sorted herself out.

It's a disservice to both of their characters because it's rooted in that same mentality that I criticized at the beginning: "This is why one is better than the other."

Do I need to say it again? I'm gonna say it again.

One is not good and the other bad. They're different.

There are so many fun discussions that could come from putting Louis and Violet side by side, and examining them. I haven't even covered the different ways they're introduced, or compared their ep3 dates to see what it says about them and the overall narratives! What about the cell scenes!? How they react when Dorian's about the cut off their fingers! The way they approach James upon meeting him!

That last one in particular is especially funny! They're all under stress about blending in with a herd of walkers to infiltrate a boat to save their friends, and yet Louis easily saunters up to the guy wearing walker skins with a smile, and makes him laugh by saying, "Functional and fashionable. I'll take two."

Violet approaches James like he's an injured wild animal that's going to bite her, and bless her heart, she tries with, "I, uh… hey. Hey there, James. Sorry about Willy." Then James gives her this judgmental side-eye, like buddy? She's not the weirdo here.

There is so much potential to dissect here, and I want to see people do it... but I want them to do it fairly, in good faith.

I want to get away from the idea of comparing them to "prove" which is better because there is no objective better. There isn't! That's a waste of time!

I'm so done with The Debate™; it's unhelpful, it's annoying, and it's boring as shit. I've heard it all before, and you probably have, too.

I want to put Louis and Violet under a microscope and study them with the thought process of, "one does this and the other does that... what does it mean!? what does it say about the narrative!? Oh my god, they have the same opinion on this thing, WRITE THAT DOWN!"

So yeah, that's my ramble for the night.

I'm gonna go replay TFS for further research.

#twdg #twdg clementine #twdg louis #twdg violet #twdg aj #twdg tenn #twdg marlon #twdg minerva #twdg clouis #twdg violentine #clouis #violentine #i'll be real honest with you--i had a larger essay planned on this topic #that expanded on these ideas i've put forth here; especially the challenge vs validation thing and the allegories #but there were some parts where i could feel my personal bias slipping in too much...#like i had more to say about clouis than violentine at points because i'm more familiar with it #but then it didn't feel fair y'know? that's why i wish more people would talk about them like this #so that i could get different perspectives without having to deal with terrible 'one good one bad' arguments like they're so UNHELPFUL #i don't wanna hear about how much of a bitch you think vi is because she's angry in her cell scene #and i don't wanna hear about how 'well ACTUALLY it doesn't make sense that ANY clementine would romance louis because of the vote' STOP #to be fair tumblr isn't as bad with this. i'm mostly referring to fandom spaces outside of tumblr like reddit insta youtube etc #though tumblr certainly has had its moments #i dunno i'm just gonna throw this out there and then continue to work on the essay i want to and am able to fully write #and if people want to engage with it then fantastic can't wait to see what y'all have to say

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feroluce · 8 months ago

Text

Belobog was my fave main quest but a lot of it is so. Contradictory. It's like they had multiple groups doing different shit and none of them checked in with each other for consistency. And you see this so much in Gepard's profile.

So in the main quest, they made him unfailingly, unquestionably loyal to Cocolia. Gepard's character arc is him learning to question authority etc etc. And this isn't even a bad thing; that's a story worth telling! It makes good conflict between him and Serval! And I love that we got Gepard as a boss battle and I get to see him all the time in SU!

But then you look at his character stories and it's like. The complete opposite.

According to his profile, Gepard has already HAD this awakening, long before the Astral Express, and he'd already decided Cocolia sucks. Even outside of his stories, there's a pretty damning readable between him and Pela.

He even disobeyed direct orders right in front of her- he has been disobeying orders for a while now!

So I've decided I'm marrying the two different sides of this into a 1.5k fic-ish thingy, because I think there's some fun potential there with Gepard not trusting Cocolia, but still having to pretend to be a good obedient little soldier.

Anyway. I love to think of it as like. Gepard knows Cocolia has sunk into her apathy. He can see it in her eyes every time he looks at her. She doesn't care. Not about him, not about Pela, not about all his soldiers on the frontlines giving their lives to protect the citizens. And that's... It makes him bristle a bit, but ok. Gepard can deal with this. Even if Cocolia no longer cares, as long as she does her job then it's fine. Having compassion behind an action doesn't matter as much as the action itself. If Cocolia's heart is no longer swayed, then he'll just have to care twice as hard to pick up the slack. He considers it part of his duty as a captain of the guard anyway. It's fine. Gepard can deal with it.

And then, Cocolia starts coming down to the restricted zone. Issuing direct orders.

And Gepard realizes he is in way over his head.

Because Cocolia orders him to stay back and issue commands from the ramparts, away from all his comrades, away from where he can protect them.

Gepard had thought nothing could be as bad as watching a fellow guard die right next to him. But the first time he watches someone struck by a killing blow, so far away, it hurts. Every defensive scar across his arms itches, his fingers curl in want of a weapon, the cold cannot numb his hands enough as they desperately ache for his shield. It hurts.

Gepard tries to find any reason to stay. Because surely... He knows Cocolia has lost her love for her people, but surely... She wouldn't...

One day, Cocolia orders for their gunners to advance 20 yards. There are no survivors. She almost looks like she smiles.

Gepard doesn't sleep that night.

Pela brings him the report at the end of the first month; and then the month after that, and the month after that. A significant uptick in losses, and all of it started on that first day Cocolia started overriding his authority and issuing her own orders. The ends of Gepard's pens have all been nearly chewed off. Pela outright calls Cocolia an idiot, and Gepard corrects her. Cocolia isn't an idiot. Gepard had known her through Serval, knew her through all her college years and then some, and he knows how intelligent she is. It's not that she's stupid, and it's not that she's inexperienced, it's nothing of the sort.

Cocolia knows exactly what she's doing.

She must, there's no way she could make such a horrible mess of things so badly by accident. And Pela, quick as a whip, sharp as a tack, always too smart for her own good, catches onto the meaning behind Gepard's correction without any further prompting. The tent goes deathly quiet, nothing but the wind howling outside.

"...She's trying to kill us," Pela whispers, her voice swiftly suffocated by the silence.

Gepard swallows. He can't bring himself to correct her this time. There is nothing he could say that he would actually mean.

His gaze drops, back down to his desk and the reports on it. The names aren't listed, just the numbers, but Gepard knows them, knew them, and there must be something wrong, something he's missing, because why, why would she-? What could this possibly accomplish-?

“Gepard! Focus!” Something snaps right under his nose, and Gepard startles, eyes instantly honing in on Pela's irritated face as she leans over his desk. She holds his gaze for a moment before she huffs and begins to pace, wedges a knuckle between her teeth and bites like Gepard hasn't seen her do since cadet school.

Pela angrily strides from one end of his tent to the other, words hissed between her grit teeth. “What are we going to do?” In the dim lighting, Gepard can just barely see the damp spot of blood weeping under her gloves. “We need a plan.”

“A plan?”

“Wh- Yes, a plan! Unless you want more people to die!” Pela rounds on him then, all the wrath of a blizzard, winds roaring and snow sharp enough to cut.

“We don't even know-”

“What does it matter?! She killed-!!” Pela cuts off with a garbled noise when Gepard leaps up from his desk, hastily shoves his hand over her mouth. The prosthetic, not the flesh one, because he knows better than to assume Pela won't seize the opportunity to leave teeth marks in his skin.

“You're right. I'm sorry, I'm sorry; you're right. But you need to keep quiet.” Pela quirks an eyebrow at him and Gepard can read the question in her face. “Because we both saw what she did to Serval,” he hisses.

It's amazing the snow plains haven't thawed out yet, the amount of heat Pela can put behind a glare. The mere mention of Serval, and the smoking ruins Cocolia had made of her life and career, have her bristling up like a riled cat. The sudden hot breath she takes fans fog across his metal skin, and Gepard wisely keeps it in place until Pela finally sighs and reaches up, taps her fingertips against the back of his hand.

The second she's free, Pela bats him away and then her knuckle is right back between her teeth again, Gepard leaning back against his desk with his arms crossed to watch her resume her pacing. “If we spread the word, she'll have us discharged and make sure we can't even touch the frontlines,” Pela's voice seethes like an open sore. Gepard nods but keeps his silence. He knows better than to get in her way.

“And if you and I are both out of the picture, Belobog is fucked.” A little harsher than how he would have put it, but there's no denying that they're both important to the city's survival. Pela has the restricted zone running as efficiently as ever, and Gepard had become the youngest captain on record for a reason. “We need to keep this tight under wraps, at least for now… It can't leak to anyone higher up the chain.” Another nod. “Serval might know other discontents…” Another n-

Gepard's head snaps up. “No.”

“No what?”

“No. We're not involving Serval in this.”

Somehow, even the same tone that leaves entire squadrons shaking in their boots has never worked on her. “You're not deciding that for her, Gepard.”

Pela hadn't seen the worst of it, though, back when his sister had just been banned from the Architects. Serval's pride hadn't allowed it. Pela wasn't the one to find her passed out bottle still in hand, hadn't been the one to wash the sick out of her hair or carry her to bed.

Serval still has trouble thinking clearly when it comes to Cocolia, still can't quite bring herself to be objective. And Gepard maybe doesn't want her to be purely objective- but he would worry a lot less if she thought twice before she acted more often.

“At least let me be the one to bring it up to her.”

“Whatever, fine,” Pela gestures affirmatively at him as she paces past, and Gepard sighs. Good, at least that's one thing he can help.

From there, it's a lot of hemming and hawing and frustration. Cocolia has them under her boot, and Gepard and Pela both know it. Even with the way she's been cracking down on freedoms lately, Cocolia is still, overall, liked by the people. It's unlikely anyone would believe them. They don't even have solid proof, because most people don't know Cocolia as well as they do and won't see the clues in the same light.

The Fragmentum has been ramping up in recent years, too. Everyone is struggling just to survive as is, they can't afford a fight on two fronts. Gepard is a damn good captain, one of the best for that matter. But they're at a massive disadvantage, his experience is narrowed to fighting a defensive battle against monsters, that's all he's ever done. That's all anyone there has ever done. He has no way of finding first-hand knowledge for taking the offensive against a human opponent, and if he goes at this blind, there's no way he'll get everyone out unscathed. He's going to lose people. He's going to lose a lot of people.

He'd never thought before that Cocolia would have it in her to have someone killed. And with this new knowledge, he has no guarantee she won't go after Serval or Lynx if she decides to retaliate.

Gepard has to remind himself to breathe when he realizes this.

Pela writes down every name the two of them can come up with. Lists and lists of names and groups and anyone they can think of who might be an ally in all of this. They memorize every bit of it, make their plans of who to talk to and when. Gepard watches the sparks reflect off Pela's glasses as they burn the evidence together.

Pela finally leaves, far too late to make it home, but says she wants to stay in the restricted zone anyway to investigate. Gepard watches her make her way in the direction of Dunn's tent, watches her back until she's out of his sight and squashes down the urge to follow and keep an eye on her. His tent feels empty.

In the morning, Gepard is up before the wake up bells. He drags himself out of bed, leads his soldiers through their morning training. The same people gravitate to each other everyday. Friend groups and training partners. There's an ongoing rivalry between a few squadrons that everyone bets on. Some of them have lockets around their necks, keepsakes, mementos. Some of them wear wedding rings.

Gepard is suddenly, painfully aware of something acidic clawing at the inside of his throat, of a heavy weight low in his chest that blooms, takes up room until it threatens to spread his ribs. His mouth tastes of bile and blood.

He rearranges the schedules. Puts himself down for every open patrol into the Fragmentum, makes sure he'll be on the frontlines every single time Cocolia visits.

He only hopes that it's enough.

#honkai star rail #gepard landau #hsr gepard #pelageya sergeyevna #hsr pela #hsr #smacking Gepard out of Hoyo's hands and running off with him skzjmdkd #tentatively Figuring Out how to write these two... It feels a little tricky starting out with extreme circumstances like this haha #I feel like a lot of people see Gepard as naive for trusting Cocolia so much but I don't think that's quite it. He's not stupid.#He's not even naive.#He's someone who has been groomed since birth by his own parents to be an obedient Guard and nothing outside of that role.#You are not immune to propaganda etc etc #But even then there are a lot of things like all the included screenshots where he. Doesn't actually seem to like/trust Cocolia much.#I think Serval was a really good influence on him as a kid. He might have turned out much much worse without her.#and even with how I've written him here. I don't think he's normally slow to act or one to stand aside and make other people lead.#it's just that this specifically was a pretty extreme circumstance for him.#and also he openly states elsewhere that Pela is overbearing and he tries not to interfere with her work whenever possible nskzhdjdjd #Pela too. I don't know that I normally see her as someone with a bad temper or quick to anger.#But again; extreme circumstances haha #Bc like. they both would have seen what happened to Serval when she stood up to Cocolia. they know damn well what's going to happen to them.#if they fuck this up and get caught then they're done.#and I mean. What are they supposed to do? they're two people against the highest authority of the entire nation.#regardless I do love Gepard agonizing over this in the future after Bronya takes over and everything has settled down #did he do the right thing? did he make the right choice? if he went vigilante how many soldiers would have died without his protection?#would Belobog have fallen completely? how many people died because he DIDN'T run away? was it actually enough?#I love characters forced between a rock and a hard place. no good options. pick your poison.#no winning- only weighing what you can and cannot bear to lose.#make your choice and decide whether you want to rot or to burn.

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