#thank you for enjoying my tor gifs <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[clairedaring]

if its not too much trouble i would love to be tagged in ur tor gifs <3 okay love ya bye

omg ಥ_ಥ and here i was thinking i have no audience for my "tor thanapob in hetero lakorn" gifs 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 here's an exclusive tor thanapob gif for you, five (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

[twig-tea]

Thai QL Favorites Tag Game

Tagged by @telomeke and @waitmyturtles, thank you both for the tag!

Credit: this game was created by @thatgirl4815 as Thai BL Favorites Tag Game.

I want you all to know before I start that asking for favourites is biphobic so you're going to have to ignore the places where I bent/ignored the rules about how many choices I was allowed to have. Also, this is so long, and took forever, I'm so sorry:

Favorite Thai QL:

I could caveat this until the end of time, but I'm going to go with the definition of "favourite" that's "has a special place in my heart" rather than necessarily "best"; and that's undoubtedly Until We Meet Again. I got very not normal about this show. When it was airing, I used to rewatch every episode before the new episode, and then rewatch the newly aired episode at least once before binging the show to date again. And I've binged it several times since. Sometimes if I need to cry, I'll put on the first 10 minutes and ugly-sob. This show felt like an apology and catharsis for years of built-up bury-your-gays induced trauma from queer media, in addition to a balm for all of the external relationship drama tropes in BL. I think I've talked about it around here somewhere before, how this show sets up all of the tropes for things that go wrong for couples in BL, and then everything is fine, over and over? And it was airing during the very start of the pandemic before the world was calling it a pandemic, when I was so worried about everything and governments hadn't caught up to being afraid yet, and I felt so alone, and this show over and over again said "it'll be ok", at a time I really needed to hear that. Plus it's got the whole epic-love-story-across-lives and the family acceptance redemption arc that as a still-only-partially-out-to-my-family-in-my-30s queer absolutely destroys me. Anyway, there are other shows that I would agree are as good or better (shout out to He's Coming to Me, I Told Sunset about You, Bad Buddy, Not Me, The Eclipse), but UWMA remains my fave (and gets two gifs for being top spot).

Favorite Pairing: I have seen this interpreted as branded pairs & as fictional couple, so I'm going to take that excuse to answer both questions. I'm honestly not a fan branded pairs as a thing and agree with @lurkingshan's comments on this, I tend to prefer it when people continuously work with different actors. That being said, JoongDunk seem to be having a lot of fun with the whole fanservice game, which is fun to watch for as long as they're enjoying themselves and continue to be in on the joke, which seems to be the case.

Fictional couple? Right at this moment I am still thinking about Khatha and Dome from Midnight Museum. I think this one hit me in my Chinese epics button, because the story felt a lot like a danmei (not the least because you could argue it reads as censored bromance). But this show asks questions about fate, God, the devil, multiverses, and then has its characters choosing to reject all of the above in order to choose each other? SIGN ME UP. Legitimately it's the most fun I've had watching a tv show in awhile, it was bananas, and I loved the journey of Khatha figuring out who Dome was in relationship to Chan, and deciding to love Dome as Dome, at the same time that Dome was also figuring out who he was, and deciding he preferred who he was when he was with Khatha. But also just Tor + Gun are incredible actors (Tor having been a stand-out since Hormones and Gun of course since The Blue Hour) and I would watch either of them in anything, but together they were magnetic (and evidence for my earlier point re: branded pairs, as much as I enjoy Off & Gun together!).

Most underrated actor: I'm going to say James Teeradon. He had a few small roles in Hormones 2 & 3, Diary of Tootsies, and The Stranded, and he had the main role in Project S: Skate our Souls and in Great Men Academy. First, I should say, you could argue none of these classify as BLs. Second, all of these have trigger warnings, so please take care of yourself and feel free to ask if you want content warnings. But he's one of those actors who never looks like the same person in each role he's playing, and he absolutely gives me shivers. His performance as Boo in Skate our Souls was legitimately chill-inducing--this one in particular has serious trigger warnings, I put off watching it for a long time because I knew about the warnings and waited until I was in the right headspace, and it still messed with me for weeks. But oh man, oh man that show, it rewrote part of my DNA. I don't even know that under-rated is fair to say since there was buzz around him when he was in these shows a few years ago, but he was trying to make it as part of a band for awhile and he hasn't been in much since. If there's one person I want to see in something else who a lot of other people don't talk about these days, it's James.

Cheating and taking the opportunity to choose a second actor from definitely-a-BL series: Fluke Chinnathan from Second Chance the Series. While Second Chance had a lot of flaws, the acting by Fluke and Tong was stellar. Their micro-expressions and body language was unreal. I feel strongly enough about this that I wrote an ode to it as part of the BL-Bracket for best kiss scene. No idea what Fluke is up to or if he even wants to keep acting, but I'd love to see him in something else--he's one of the only other actors (than James, mentioned above) that I'll go in to MyDramaList occasionally just to check to see if they're in anything new. PS if you do give Second Chance a shot, please know going in that Run and Games, real life brothers who are both actors, are both in this series but never in a scene together, and their characters are similar, so a lot of people have trouble telling them apart without knowing there are two different characters in the show.

(Also, I 100% would have said Suar for this question before La Pluie, because he did not get enough credit for You're My Sky and I think he was incredible).

Favorite Character: Honestly, I've deleted my answer to this so many times now. Choosing one is so hard! I'm going to go with White from Not Me. Incredibly loyal, strong moral values (but willing to break the rules/law to fulfil those values because he understands that law ≠ morality), self-sacrificing, extremely competent in some ways, but also has serious blind spots in others that leads to him making very silly choices especially around who they trust, lacking in self esteem especially around whether or not people will want him around. The way he chooses to give up his privilege--not for his brother, because he could have found a way to go back to his old life after everything if he wanted--because he saw what was wrong with all of it and decided to do what he could to help fix it (and not participate in it) is something that really resonated with me. I also love that he is an absolute marshmallow who cannot hide that fact. Plus White being a disaster bi who wanted Sean from the beginning endeared him to me forever. And it doesn't hurt that he's played by Gun Atthaphan

Favorite Side Character: I have also started and stopped this section so many times. Natty and her absolutely terrible taste in women from Diary of Tootsies, Na being at some points the only reason I kept watching Tonhon Chonlatee, Namo being smart enough to know to pretend she doesn't know what's going on in Not Me, Tong the ecovillage owner from Bad Buddy, Daisy and their incredible gender and mix of self esteem + self esteem issues in Secret Crush on You.

Alright I'm giving it to Dream in Something in My Room. I don't have good reasons for this; her character was artistic, had supernatural powers, green asymmetrical hair, and was stoic with a hidden dark past, and I am a simple woman. I wanted to know everything about her.

Favorite scene in a QL: How can I choose just one?! I'm choosing three and you can't stop me.

Third place, Not Me, with Sean and White under the pride flag. It has everything: It's iconic, it's cinematic, it's cathartic, it's political, it's a critical character moment, it has great music, it's full of queer joy, and it brings me so much happiness every time I see it.

Second: Dean and Pharm in front of the Pra Aphai Mani & sea ogress sculptures in the aquarium in Until We Meet Again. Partially because I love aquariums so much, partially because this sequence is one of the first ones we really get to see the hints of Intouch in Pharm. The way he moves around that aquarium is nothing like how he moves at school or his condo, and it's one of the things that struck me so hard on rewatch; while that scene did so much work towards establishing their characters the first time around, the second+ time it has so much more meaning. The throwaway line by Pharm about relating to the ogress now gives me chills.

Plus the way the aquarium scene got called back in I Promise You the Moon makes me really happy.

But first and top, the one that will forever live in my mind for the way it made me feel in my body: Teh and Oh-Aew on the rug in I Told Sunset About You. That moment, my god. Butterflies. Chills. Chewing glass. Devastation. I don't know that I've ever felt any other scene so viscerally; it transported me back to being a teenager and cuddling in clearly non-platonic ways with my bestie and wondering what was happening. Thinking about it now still gives me goosebumps. Maybe a bit of a weird choice because of the pain but I don't shy away from some pain in my faves!

Favorite line in a QL: Honestly I could put one of several meaningful quotes in here, probably the ones I've thought about most being the one from Bad Buddy that a few other folks have noted ("I may not be able to change the world but the world can't change me either"); and "can't we just get a little bit of space?" from The Warp Effect that I mentioned in my Silvy appreciation post. but the first thing that came to mind was this cracktastic banger moment from En of Love: This is Love Story that runs through my head every time a character P-Nong's someone when they don't mean it like that (and especially when newbies get confused about whether characters are actually related):

"'P' but not brothers; the way 'daddy' [said in English] doesn't really mean father. You get it?"

--Param, being a little shit (affectionate)

But also I think special mention needs to go to this new and immediate classic by Tien in La Pluie:

Most Anticipated QL (& why): I am very excited for 23.5 and Only Friends, also WuJu Bakery (does that count if it's Korean but starring Thai actors?) but....This is niche and might never happen, but MindTrio announced awhile ago that they were going to put out Chemistry in Love, which was either a sequel or related to Calculating Love? Listen, this is a low-budget production company making a slightly quirky trope-filled shorts that tend to have pretty cinematography but falter a bit on plot and pacing, and in Calculating Love the main character hits on his love interest with a series of math/graphing equations and coffee. I fully acknowledge that I am a particular kind of nerd, but I just really, really want to see people flirting with their Extremely Geeky special interests. Some sort of of follow-up to Calculating Love has been a maybe-thing since 2020, so it's most anticipated by amount of time I've been waiting. I have a list of 290 "upcoming" shows that may or may not ever happen so I'll stop there.

Healthiest relationship in a QL: I was very persuaded by @waitmyturtles' arguments re: King and Uea, and I thought about My Only 12% and even wrote a whole thing about Tinn and Gun from MSP before deleting it.

But I'm going to use this soapbox to give a hot take and say, by the end of the series, that it's Nuea and Toh from Secret Crush on You. Both of them have secretly loved each other for the whole series, and shown it in their own very unhealthy ways: Toh by keeping a collection of everything that reminds him of Nuea, and Nuea by being extremely cool-guy persona around Toh. But by the end, both of them have aired their insecurities about their relationship, and have committed to working on their relationship together. Toh stops assuming that they will break up (which Nuea explained was hurtful to him) and declares he'll fight for their relationship in front of Nuea's parents, and Nuea allows himself to be seen as very uncool through his vulnerability, and is more open about his uncool thoughts and feelings. I remember them being surprisingly healthy about jealousy too, once they're together, showing trust in one another when that photography club kid shows up. Nuea also makes a really sweet gesture that I think gets misunderstood at the end of the show; Toh explains that his collection makes him happy, that Nuea is more important so he'll give it up if he has to but he really, really does not want to. So Nuea finds a way to make the collection about them rather than about him, so that he can embrace it too and be less discomfited by it. I feel like there's not enough "meeting people where they are", and too many makeover fantasies in romance for my tastes. Instead, Secret Crush on You said listen, people are weird, and we all just need to find the other weirdos whose jagged edges fit with ours. And it's work figuring out together how they will fit, and they won't fit perfectly, but that's ok. As long as everyone is comfortable, it can be a little weird. It may be less realistic than say the way similar themes are handled in Utsukushii Kare, because behavioural change (especially around self-worth) is hard irl, but the question wasn't about which relationship is most realistic lol SCOY also said embrace cringe culture and I am here for it even if it is sometimes hard to watch because it is SO CRINGE; but I respect it for living its truth.

Most toxic relationship in a QL: Oof. I am a strong believer in "if it works for them, that's their business", as is probably evident from above, but the reveal of what was going on with King and Peat in Love Area (parts 1 & 2) was really next level BS and managed to be both toxic and ableist, so it gets a special mention and no gif.

Guilty pleasure series: I don't really subscribe to feeling guilty about liking things, but I have a bunch that don't get a lot of love and I fully understand why lol In addition to the example of Calculating Love above (which is like, a 6 on MDL, and TBH harsh but fair), I really enjoyed I Will Knock You. Maybe it was just the novelty but I loved the character of Noey so much, his vintage aesthetic, the amount of time spent around and in temples, and the most adorable closing credit sequence of all time (shows that have closing credit sequences that reflect the main relationship in the show is one of my favourite tropes!). The criticisms about it, especially the ones about the Thi character, are fully valid and I would not actually recommend it without a lot of caveats (e.g. warnings for blushing virgin trope + age gap, and sooort of glorification of gang membership?), but I had a great time.

Also maybe Y-Destiny episodes 9 & 10? Tohru and First as Kaeng and Puth, whew. I have a special place in my heart for storylines where the characters sleep together as friends with benefits and then have to renegotiate those boundaries because I've lived it more than once lol (Only Friends when?!). But the ending episode for the series was actually so offensively bad, I like to forget it exists.

Most underrated series: You're My Sky and He's Coming to Me have already gotten a lot of love so I'll just say YES to those. Would have said My Ride before this recent release to YT. Does Triage count if it's nominated for awards but nobody ever talks about it (probably because the distribution was so messy)? I think My Only 12% doesn't get enough love because of the pacing of the last episodes, but the rest of the show was SO good.

But I'm going to take this opportunity to get on a sandbox about Diary of Tootsies (spanning S1, S2, and the movie sequel Tootsies and the Fake).

This show is not BL; it is decidedly queer. There is no single love story, and if there is, it's undermined. And yet, because it's a comedy, it also gets overlooked in the lists of Important Queer Viewing (which is fair, honestly, that is not a read). But it means my blorbo of a show often doesn't get hyped up, so I'm taking the opportunity.

This show I would argue sits squarely in the by/for/about queers category as per @wen-kexing-apologist’s by/for/about Venn diagram. Watching it feels like a group hug; it's so very clearly written by actual queer people (even if this wasn't confirmed everywhere online, the screenwriter is out and speaks about this, but it's also just obvious) and I recognize so much of my friends and people I've known in these messy queers. It deals with casual sex, drug use, HIV, adoption, being closeted at work, and more.

It is also so funny. I didn't think I liked toilet humour until Make it Right and Diary of Tootsies proved me wrong. I honestly think about the scene with Natty and the handbag in the car approximately once a month. And the opening sequence of the sequel film!! What a choice for opening credits. And these queer friends are mean to one another, even in the moments they're being supportive of one another, and it is both familiar and delightful (also reminds me of this post by @bengiyo about whether viewers still love us when we're mean). The found family tropes are STRONG in this one, friends.

There is some fatphobia, though I always struggle with how much to warn for that because this show also has one of the only fat characters in QL who gets a character arc, a love interest, and to be a whole person. And to dance! The dance sequencesssss especially in S2, oh my heart. So much queer joy in this show in general!

Last thing I'll say about this show is that it also gets left off people's lists because the "main couple" if you can say there is one is not the one most fans were rooting for--I will admit, myself included. But the narrative convinced me to be satisfied with what we got, which is honestly to its credit!

Anyway TL;DR Diary of Tootsies makes me extremely happy and I'm glad it exists.

OMG ok I am letting this go now. Tagging @redxblueihateloveyou because you've not been active for awhile so this way you'll see this whenever you come back, and @formayhem because we are newly buds and I'd be curious about your answers! At this point everyone else must have been tagged by now, so please just consider yourself tagged if you haven't done this yet and tag me so I see it! I've been loving reading everyone's answers.

[namtanlovesfilm]

Can you list the best straight couples in Thai movies or dramas in terms of chemistry?

sure :)

MY FAVE THAI DRAMA STRAIGHT SHIPS

KRATHING & DUCHESS (GIRL NEXT ROOM: RICHY RICH)

these two are just my faves, not just bc I love offmild, but also bc their story is simple, fun & wholesome, while still having some depth about generational poverty & superficiality. the chemistry is top-tier & this two are forever my fave thai straight pairing :)

ZEN & YUI (FABULOUS 30)

another off ship, shhhh I'm not biased he just slays so much it's not my fault! zen & yui are quite similar to krathingduchess in the sense that they're generally a very funny couple, yet they actually tackle a lot of issues about self confidence, appearances, intimacy, etc. they're not perfect but they're ADORABLE & I love them sm!

SOMCHAI & LINN (ANGEL BESIDE ME)

angel beside me is my fave straight thai drama bc somchai & linn are SO beautiful & wholesome. but similarly to the other previous ships, this show deals with a lot of deep issues related to poverty, toxic family members, etc. it's truly such a beautiful underrated show & absolutely deserved to pop off when it was released!

MEW & NEO (3 WILL BE FREE)

despite being the most underrated relationship in the 3wbf throuple, mew & neo are extremely iconic! first of all, yes mild lapassalan & joss wayar are two of the hottest people I know, thanks for asking, they make my bi heart very happy 😌 but also I love the evolution they have from enemies to lovers, and being both sex workers means they understand each other very well! they're just very cute together & I love them :)

SILA & MEEN (HUA JAI SILA)

not only is hua jai sila my favorite lakorn, but it's mostly bc of the pairing. I don't usually love pairings where the man is tortured & cold while the woman is perpetually kind & loving, but here it really worked for me. the chemistry is straight up FIRE, and you truly come to believe these two are such a beautiful & powerful team together. absolute cuties, and the fact that the female lead was a tor fan before that lakorn??? ADORABLE!

TANNAM & TEE (HAPPY BIRTHDAY)

to talk about a tragic couple (which also contains mild bc she owns this list lmao), we have happy birthday. mild & push are not only INCREDIBLY good looking together on top of being ABSOLUTELY TOP TIER actors, but the whole writing of this show will take your heart & play squash with it lmao. the chemistry is truly out of this world, and I cherish this show so much. the side ship of tonmai & his best friend (pluem purim & jan ployshompoo) is also ADORABLE!!!

VEE & KATE (THE REVENGE)

with how much I always scream about my love for this show, I hope that everyone knows by now that the revenge is one of the best thai dramas EVER MADE. one reason why I enjoyed this show so much, is that it balances legit the most gruesome murder story with a very cute & wholesome love story, AND IT WORKS. with mook worranit & non chanon being multiple times in this list which makes them thai romances experts, they really deliver a beautiful chemistry & love story. watch after the ending credits of the last episode, though!

BADZ & SMILE (BOY FOR RENT)

there is a reason boy for rent is one of the only straight gmmtv shows to have amassed so many millions of views, and it's that, on top of the hot shirtless men, badz & smile are absolutely one of the cutest pairings ever! their love story is a bit complicated but mond & fon's effortless chemistry really makes every viewer get attached to them immediately!

ANNIE & CHEN (MAMA GOGO)

here we have a very unexpected ship but SUCH a goodie! annie & chen are a funny, opposites-attract kind of ship but their chemistry is fire & they were just absolutely adorable! a truly wholesome pairing that will always put a smile on my face :)

AOM-AM & MIKE (FULL HOUSE)

now bringing it back to an OG iconic thai couple, we have full house! while this show has a lot of flaws, its pairing ISN'T one of them! the chemistry is top-tier, the story very touching & you spend so long with these characters you truly get so attached to them. absolutely adorable pairing :)

YING-YING & KORN / PAT & NOINA (46 DAYS)

now we have three recurring actors on this list at once! 46 days is such a cute show, it's chaotic, a bit surface-level, yet SO much fun! the main pairing composed of baifern & non is chemistry-central and absolutely great, but of course the side pairing of offmild (again! can't believe they got 2 shows together, it was such a slay!) stole my heart :)

KIEW & CHOMPOO (TO ME, IT'S SIMPLY YOU)

here we have another lakorn, that is this time barely a romance & more about a tight-knit community working together for a common goal & being cute, but the ship truly is TOP-TIER! one of the least problematic & toxic, and probably the most wholesome pairing I've ever seen! they're just too pure for this world & I absolutely love them :) (also green (kiew) & pink (chompoo) is my fave color combo hehe <3)

KLUAY & PUP (LOVE AT FIRST HATE)

you want chemistry?? YOU GOT IT! this is a pretty classic enemies to lovers thai story, very reminiscent of lakorns, but made better by the incredible male lead (I fell in love with him during this show, man's HOT!) & the really great chemistry between the actors! truly one of the best thai dramas for it, and even though I wasn't a big fan of all the tropes, this is one of the best thai straight dramas in my eyes!

BANK & LIN (BAD GENIUS)

even though I already loved the non x aokbab ship in the movie, in terms of series, jaonaay & juné were so good together! they even made a song together afterwards hehe, so cute! bad genius is such a good movie & it's also an amazing series, and even though there's a lot going on the brewing romance between bank & lin is SO GOOD! truly a show I'd recommend no matter what anyway :)

MIELLE & KIM (SENIOR SECRET LOVE: BAKE ME LOVE)

on the theme of chemistry, here we have a show that isn't exceptional but is absolutely CARRIED by its pairing! loving both actors from this pairing, it's no surprise they put their whole USSY in the chemistry, like I genuinely love this show bc they're too fucking cute!!! would recommend for a short, wholesome & easy watch :)

PHAT & CHER (CATCH ME BABY)

with the same female lead as the previous ship, we have my favorite straight recent pairing! not only is catch me baby such a fun show that I tremendously enjoyed, but the romance aspect is so cute & the chemistry??? PALPABLE! really such a lovely pairing I swear!

TEE & EL (BANGKOK LOVE STORIES 2: PLEAD)

once again our king non chanon is back, and here we have a story that did kinda disappoint me towards the end but is mostly amazing with a very powerful couple! emotions are high in that series, & I'm also so glad we get to see a really beautiful sex scene between them where usually thai dramas are more conservative, mostly regarding women. the cinematography of this show is also absolutely beautiful!

KRAAM & MAY (THE STRANDED)

I'm gonna try not to cry even though this makes me think of beam papangkorn's death, but the stranded truly was such a special thai show that deserved so much better. this pairing is a bit cliche but made better by the beautiful acting & chemistry beam & pat presented, as well as the beyond perfect cinematography (I think about the firefly scene shown above approximately once a week!) in my opinion, this is one of the most important thai dramas that is a must watch, so I would absolutely recommend it!

MINT & BEBE (MINT TO BE)

mook strikes again, this woman is incapable of having bad chemistry with anyone LMAO. this show is also one of my favorite thai straight series bc it's short, cute & very entertaining. the chemistry between mook & krist is also REALLY good, and the show was quite revolutionary in terms of pda for a gmmtv series at the time. I definitely recommend for a wholesome time :)

SKY & HOSHI (MY DEAR WARRIOR)

idk who thought of pairing up baifern & oab but they ATE! if you like scifi/supernatural shows, this will probably be right up your alley! I personally didn't really love this show even though I enjoyed a lot of aspects, but sky & hoshi truly were a great ship that I remember fondly! the chemistry was amazing & oab looks the hottest he's ever been in that role!

TOEI & TAR (HORMONES)

I couldn't talk about thai straight series without mentioning one of the most iconic ever, hormones! out of all the pairings, there is only one straight one I really loved, and it's toei & tar :) I'm always a sucker for the friends to lovers trope, but I thought this one was especially well done, especially considering toei & tar are some of the least unlikable characters from the show lol. they're very cute & wholesome and I thought I should include a high school love story in this list!

EMMA & PORSCHE (SENIOR SECRET LOVE: PUPPY HONEY)

despite being an offgun stan, I have to admit: I prefered porschemma to pickrome in puppy honey season one lol. despite being ruined in season two, emma & porsche are such a cute & wholesome ship, and them being reunited by dogs, which I'm obsessed with, only made their story cuter!

xxx

[away-ward]

Hey, I'm that anon who sent you that Emmy rambles part 1&2, lets just call me Zee to distinct my posts from others & avoid confusion.

Ok first off, thank you so much for your length reply, like i said, i enjoy having discussions with others who love it as much as i do. Second of all, i'll go about this ask by replying to your comments from my anon posts first and give some clarification to some if needed, starting from part 1 then moving to part 2, before i add some other thoughts below my replies to your comments. Third, if i don't have anything to add to some issues you've mentioned (because some are just random thoughts that i had when i wrote these asks so i dont really remember much now), i won't add in anything, and leave it at your replies.

---------------

-I don’t think Emory ever hated anyone. Not even her brother, in the end. I think she hated her situation, and had the tendency to lash out or direct her anger at people.-

>> I agree with you points and examples here, this was exactly what i felt when i read her story, pov and her character from someone else's eyes. In fact it was so consistent throughout the series too, it made it even unbelievable that "judgemental" was written and seem to be one of her worst traits because of how contradictory the text was to DN characters' observation of Emmy, of course Emmy herself included.

In fact, there were more than three very separate occassion that I'd like to add to prove this weird traits:

1 When Trevor was slandering Michael and the horsemen to Emmy a couple of times (three times to be exact, 3 times!) and was probably hoping she would join him on the Horsemen hate bandwagon and probably do something about it (like what he planned with Damon against Rika or something like that), but unlike what happened with Trevor and Damon in Corrupt, the same colluding acts did not happen between Trevor and Emmy, not even to talk shit about Michael who she never really knew much about even though he had been insufferable (by association) to her before. A worse person would've not just shit on Michael (even anonymously online like those hate messages for Damon, Winter and the Horsemen in Kill Switch), they probably could've used this time to take advantage of his reputation, money or whatever they can get from the Chris, to drag him down further, but Emmy never did any of that. She could've just blindly trusted rumours, especially something coming from a blood brother of Michael, and went after him to "pay back" or whatever for all the things the Horsemen had intentionally or unintentionally did to her, especially when it concerns her Grandmere, but she didn't. In fact, one of the characterisations of Emmy that i remember most was from the after basketball match and blackchurch because she always seek out for answers even if it might not be something she needed tor wanted o hear. She even called out to will about how he never asked for her for truth of the who jail situation, and would rather just bask in the mystery of it and go about things blindly, even if it's not true, rational and could hurt others (hence why they still couldn't justify hurting Rika, because THEY NEVER ASK). Also, wasn't this just like how he thought of his grandpa and Mccallahan's mystery too, no? He didn't want to know because it was comfortable.

Anyway, my conclusion towards this small interaction with Trevor already build up a solid characterisation to go against that "judgmental" thing that PD tried to hammer us down with. If this was Arion, even if she didn't have any evidence against Michael being a shit brother to Trevor (or especially if it concerns Damon and Winter), she probably would've taken the chance to hurt them to get what she wants, and because it's easier to pile on the Horsemen, since they already got an unsavoury reputation, so it's not like it's a far stretch from what people could've thought of them, she wouldn't have been stoned much for she was about to do to them. On the contrast, Emmy felt guilty for whatever things she played apart to. hurt them, even in duress because she knew it was undeserved, but she thought she was alone and had no way put of the situation then. 

2 Her relationship with Damon. Was Damon shitty to her? Kinda, but it was never bad. Shitty to others in that town, especially girls and women? Hell Yeah. Were all of them rumours and were things she heard from people or things she actually saw him do or say? We'll never really know, because it was never much clarified in text how much she saw it happen, or thought of him and his friends enough in Nightfall to have a conclusion about Damon's character. She only knew him as insipid, boring, shallow, and mean but that's about it. Nothing malicious about her observation, even for someone like Damon, who was seen as "evil" in prior books. She only fully judge what she was and heard with her her senses, not through rumours. Damon's character was seem softened in this book, not only because the conflict between him and Will had decreased, and the "amazing" way Will look at him, but also because Damon really had no prior bad relationship with Emmy, AT ALL. If this was Arion, he would've done worse, so it doesn't only show the other side of Damon that seems a bit normal, but it also shows the kind of person Emory was to make Damon react like that towards her, and how Damon & Emory's relationship shifted differently than his relationship with other female characters in this series. I believe this could support that anon's headcanon about Damon & Emory's relationship, because their dynamic didn't just start BECAUSE of will, it already happened prior to that, and i think it's believable that anon's headcanon just flows after my understanding of their relationship as stated here. The "Damon" we saw in Emmy's pov was indeed already very different than at least 4 other female characters' povs in the series: Rika, Banks, Winter, Arion. And surprisingly, it was heavily influenced because of Emmy's treatment and character towards him in general. Which is also why i agree with your reply to that anon that maybe this could be one of the reasons why Damon was forced to be open, honest, kind, sincere and vulnerable with Em, because nothing else that was bad worked with her. It had to be out of something good. I agree with you opinion that Damon's opinion of her changed even more after that second shower.

3 Which brings me to my third point (i might sidetrack a bit here, but there's still correlation to that "judgmental bit, stay with me for a sec lmao) where this might also be one of the easy reasons as to why MIcah, Rory & Aydin's can kinda bond with her, and their dynamics changes when she's in the picture. Wasn't it mentioned before that no one in BC had ever spoken to Aydin rudely, and they always had to wait for his green flag before acting out something? Sure, Aydin could've done something to suppress her or whatever, but it was never mentioned in text how they tried to fight him no? They just were in denial that they had to stay in BC and rot, not because they had to fight the "Alpha". This also is a proof of how they were not the only ones in control, she was too, and I love that in Emory's story, we always see this side of her, be it with Damon, with Martin, Will, Aydin, everyone really, because we were also shown the main reason why people had beef with her is usually because they couldn't control her, and then they lashed out, especially martin and will. In Nightfall, not only we see how the FMC reacted to people and how their dynamics change, but we also see how FMC's demanding character or her narrative and so she was always labelled as "others" or something negative to make it look like she deserves to be treated lesser, or something weird. They could've just given her freedom, but they had to be "dictators" to dictate everything she think, do or say just because they wanted control, and when she doesn't give the reign, she was framed as "bad", and the readers who lacked critical thinking just ran along with this idea.

I really love this part of Emmy where these MMCs were shown many times that they need to adjust their lives to HER instead of always expecting her to go along with whatever things THEY wanted HER to do, say or think. I like it, because it gives us a solid characterisation of what kind of person Emory is, and how does she usually respond in such and such situations. The downside of this though, if she was too prideful, instead of being open about working together on what could've worked, at her lowest, she might not listen and that could result to a bad individual choice that could hurt a a social group especially when things could've been handled better. When Will and even Emmy said something about her not wanting to accept help because she doesn't want to trade one for herself, it's consistent with her already existing fear of being too dependent on someone or something that could've turn out worse, because of her relationship with her brother. I think there was an anon who had talked about this before, the one that post a lengthy reply too about love languages, and I agree with their points of Emmy not being able to always accept acts of service, not always because she was prideful, but because the services always came at the expanse of someone else' safety and happiness, especially herself, her grandmere, the horsemen and other innocents.

Like every architecture books by her brother was a sorry for each time he relapse, every time he brought up about his contribution to her education and career choices, he reminded her how much he's done for her, so in return tried to make her believe that she deserves to be treated like that. Classic domestic violence things, and i'm sure many more scenes could back this up, but i'm gonna leave only these here atm. That's why i thought the undeserved guilt by will to emmy was too much, mainly because of this. Now, if PD used this flaw instead of whatever "judgmental" bullshit they tried to shove down our throats, it would be more believable, because there were many instances where she was prideful, silent and couldn't retort back because she went too far in her critiques or actions, and we can see by the end of Nightfall how she finally just let go, and go all out to accept love and other good things, from Will, and others, with no fear of being used as a weapon against her for their goods offerings. We see her working TOGETHER with them, instead of AGAINST them, and hurting each other again. This flaw would even fit well with and could be related back to the theme of "doing and feeling the most, being whoever you want to be, putting aside shame" blablabla yk. This could be the highlight of her strength and flaws of her character, because you're right, strengths and flaws are like a double edge sword, when it's imbalanced, it can be seen as good or unsavoury depending on context given.

There many other instances where this "judgmental" thing didn't work, but these above are some that immediately came to my mind rn.

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-I don’t know, maybe I’m giving her too much leeway. But I never felt that she was judgmental; I thought that was a defense Will cooked up to comfort himself when in the depth of his heart he knew he was wrong, he just couldn’t get over himself.-

>> I agree with this too, because it was mentioned in the train right, after that orgy? So yeah, thats why i said, a lot things said in this series, if read without much thought, we too, could get swayed with stronger voices. but just because they're louder, doesn't mean they were always right, that's all.

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-Emmy cares so much about people, often to her detriment. It makes sense that she carries guilt, but as I’ve always said, it’s underserved. But that’s who she is, so it came into play. It’s a shame that more readers don’t see that about her. Will’s issues were always about him; what he wanted from her, what he wanted her to think, what he wanted her to do. What he wanted, period. Meanwhile, Emmy wanted him to be happy. She wanted him to move on, because she wasn’t in a place to make him happy, and honestly, she might never be. When she thought she’d betrayed them, she was expecting he’d come for revenge, because she didn’t think he deserved to go to prison for hurting Martin or the gazebo, no matter how it affected her personally. She understood his anger and grief, but couldn’t take it away. What I don’t think though, was that it was hers to bear either.

But she needed to learn how to throw it away and get to a place where she didn’t need her anger to move forward anymore.-

>> This right here is so true, you describe it perfectly how i feel about her character. The main reason why i love her character so much IS because of this (unexpectedly so, we'll get to that soon haha!), especially her caring-ness and resilience in very passionate thing she loves to do and everyone she loves, and came across.

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One other thing I like about Emmy's character was that she never made weird assumptions about BC's men's sexualities and thought if these BC men might be attracted to her or like her, like how a lot of reverse harem books were always implied and written. There wasn't much explanation to this, but I just wanna add this because it was refreshing to see it in this book (and maybe it was the same in the previous ones too but i don't really remember) where the FMC were just minding her own business and didn't think much about whether or not she was attractive to them whatsoever or overthinking about their sexual presence in her life now because "oh what happens when a male meets female in a secluded area" heterosexual romance cliche bullshit yk. and I love Em's character even more when she was very accepting of Micah & Rory's gay relationship from the get go, as if it was a normal thing to her, and not something that should be labelled as "other", and was respectful of their relationship, not be THE Other Woman in their little gay love story. It's such a small thing, but i love this choice of narrative very much. And this too might be one the reasons why Micah & Rory can accept her into their little group too, because she was very respectful and accepting of them, apart from being kind and caring towards them afterwards. A shittier writer could've used this as a plot device to bait reader for a reverse harem book, or worse, a love triangle between a gay couple with a strange woman, just to add some unnecessary heterosexual drama into a happy gay love, but thankfully, it never happened in Nightfall, especially not in Emory's arc. 

I remember her judging Aydin for swimming naked and laughing at her comments, because if it was some other FMCs, they probably would've reacted differently and made this about straight couple's insta-love-lust meet cute. The same goes when Will was eating out Emmy in that drawing room with MicahRory beside them, and when Rory approached her after, instead of being about the whole thing, she was only just minding her own business mooning over Will, then accepting Rory's clothes to change into like a normal wednesday for her, lmao! I just knew if this was Bella from Twilight, she would not react like Emmy, AT ALL HAHAHA! The pairing would be All x Bella instead, Not just BellaEdwards. So yeah, other than to show that Em's not a narcissist homewrecker, or a bigot, it also shows how she too, just like them, were a but desentisized with a lot of socially "shameful" things. She's kinda coo-coo in the head too, because no "normal" people would do that, definitely not Misha and Ryen.

Have you noticed this before too?

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-Another reason why it bothers me that blackchurch happened towards the end of the series is that we don’t really get to see Emory act in normal circumstances. In Nightfall, she’s always stressed. She’s either dealing with her life as a teenager or she’s literally been kidnapped and dragged to an island to be threatened by men who are so bad, their families don’t want anything to do with them (at least as far as she knows). Like, we can agree that being judgmental is not the fatal flaw that the narrative makes it out to be, but then… what are Emmy’s real flaws? It can be a little difficult to determine because she’s always reacting from the gut in NF, not making decisions how she’d normally make them. And while I love that she’s quick and decisive enough to protect herself and deal with the situation, I’m kind of left wondering.-

>> EXACTLY!!! What are Emmy's real flaws??? That's her arc was flat to me. Even if I unexpectedly came to love her character, my unsatisfaction was exactly as you describe, and especially as a critical reader and a writer myself, we naturally gravitate to think about these things before we even realise them, so i cannot for the life of me unsee this flaw in PD's writing. Especially not something as big as a character's strength and flaw. It was never said that this book or series only explored characters' arc, ONLY when they're stressed either, so was it wrong for us to expect an arc when they were at peace with themselves too, when we were also shown snippets of how they live when they weren't killing each other? Weren't they also just literally living their life to the fullest when it's peaceful, with no immediate threats in sight? So how come we don't get to see as much arc of these characters when they were not stressed out, when the main theme of the whole series is to always live to the fullest every second?

I think some of the flaws you mentioned and guessed are interesting and could really be used for Emmy's further characterisation and make her a more fleshed out character too. I also agree with everything else you said about Damon and Winter. In fact, I love the acknowledgement that Winter wasn't this innocent little lamb that she always paint herself to be, because I imagine if it was Emmy, she wouldn't have thought like what Winter thought in that situation. Banks, maybe because of her attachment towards Damon, Rika too because she was still trying to understand him. It feels a bit weird, and lacked a sense of accountability from Winter to me. I don't hate it though, I love that she had ACTUAL flaws, because this flaw happens a couple of times throughout the book, and it had hurt Damon a couple of times outside of the time that he wasn't going after her, and they happen for absolutely no reason, but by the time Damon was about to die, you can see Winter's slow but steady shift and character growth and by the end of firenight, we saw how her character was transformed after all of that. Still didn't make her my fav character or anything, but i kinda like her arc.

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-So I don’t want seem weird or anything (here on the being openly weird site) but sometimes I notice that people who are Emory fans tend to also like Nesta. Never having read the series, I’m not sure what the correlation is. Does anyone wanna feel me in?-

>> I honestly didn't know much about this because i don't interact a lot with fans of this series or SJM's or any writers's tbh, I found your tumblr while browsing contents for other fandoms' contents, but for me, at least, Emory or Nesta wasn't excactly similar or different with and from each other. Listing some points below. WillxEmmy, NestaxCassian for canon pairing clarification.

Similarities:

> both stories are grumpy girls x sweet sunshine guys

> poor girls with a mean streak

> hot golden retriever guys

That's where the similarity starts and ends, at least to me.

Difference: TOO MANY LMAO

> Cassian was WAY nicer, kinder, caring, sincere, honest, and in general just way better than Will, lmao!

> Will was literally a bad guy yeah, he wasn't a good bad guy, but Cassian was one

> Nesta was an ACTUAL bitch, like, AN ACTUAL BITCH (but i still love her character though, same with will but will can get a dropkick to his head sometimes, because they both grew up drastically different)

> nesta wasn't even as half as kind and caring towards her loved ones like Emmy was, and when she went against others, it's to put them down, not to solve the problem like Em. There's an underlying of cruelty behind her character, and while she was sorry for some, she wasn't really for others. And unlike Damon, she stayed that way for the rest of the series. Truly a win for me, lmao

> I would even go so far to say, Will was Cassian if he was a bitch, and Nesta was Emmy if she was a bitch. Basically, just Will and Nesta are more like the nastier version of each other. I cannot for the life of me imagine Cassian and Emmy do or say even 50% of what Will and Nesta did

Basically, that's my general opinion of them, but some others who have read them before might disagree, so to each their own.

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-This took me a minute, but I eventually got it. So you were hoping for someone sarcastic and mean to put these men in their place, and instead you got compassionate and kind, and yet still put them in their place? But because her story was so genuine you still came to love her?? If so, I get it. I don’t know what I was expecting from Emory, but I wasn’t disappointed. However, I was a little shocked to see all the Emory hate. How could anyone hate someone so sincere as Emmy? But to each their own, I guess.-

Yeah, hahaha! I thought I would get someone even bitchier than Banks, but Emmy was just so... Emmy? And became my favourite #1 character of the whole series instead. In fact, one of the biggest reason why Em's being my fav was so confusing to me was because I expected to see a very big flaw in her character, but her genuineness sidetracked me from it instead. That's why even though i love her character, i still wished she had a more believable flaw rather than just a minor one. But then there a  lot of people and characters in this world who had lesser flaw than others, so if that's how it's going to be, i'm fine with it too. 

Like you, i thought i might have given Em too much leeway, or overpraise her, but the more i put deeper thoughts into her characterisation, it's because her character lack heavy flaws, something that can be heavily and negatively criticised about, that's why i felt like i overpraised her. But like i said, i don't mind reading characters with lesser flaws, i just wished that lesser made sense, that's all. Not all of my fav books and chars have heavy flaws, but they made, iykwim.

I was also shocked to see Emory hate too, especially if they've read the book from book 1, but these kind of people do exist, but whatever, like you said, to each their own. 

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-They saw the truth of her character and I think at that point, it wouldn’t have mattered what anyone said about her, they were convinced of the type of person she was. Like when they fell from the balcony and she had the mind to protect his head? I'm not sure I could have reacted so quickly and thoughtfully. And then to not doubt herself that she just saved his life when he could turn around a hurt her? She did the right thing because it was the right thing to do. And that speaks volumes.-

>> Spot on! and I never made the connection of Rory warming up to Emmy because of Micah before, but i like that, it's very much a Rory thing to do since they both trust each other the most in BC.

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-I forgot about that, but it is really funny. It’s hard to take him seriously when I’m reminded that he threw his entire life away for Alex. I mean, I’m happy they’re happy and all that, but come on, man? You got sent away for refusing to marry the woman you don’t want, okay fine. That’s an okay hill to die on. But kidnapping another girl because yours is busy sleeping with everyone but you, almost intentionally avoiding you? Seriously??-

>> Exactly! They never even kissed! Gods, they're insufferable. They're literally the cheating and lust at first sight tropes, and maybe if they're expended well, it could've been done differently, but it wasn't so yeah. 

-And why did not one person apologize to Emmy? She forgave them, sure. But still. No, I'm not over it.-

>> EXCACTLY, ESPECIALLY MARTIN, WILL, ALEX, AND AYDIN. Fuck them all, tbh.

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-Right, we all make assumptions or judgments based on prior information. That’s just how humans work. But Emory also adjusted when new information became available. That’s why I don’t think she deserves to be labeled judgmental. She works off information and evidence she already has, not what she assumes to be true.-

>> EXACTLY, JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE IN THIS SERIES. But unlike Emmy, or even Will, they always were resistant to change, or even admitting their fault, out of pride, or it's not something the bother too much about, because it doesn't serve them any significant purpose, even when those things could be very significant to others.

and I agree with your opinions about Damon's arc too.

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I don't have much to add about that POC conversation, because i agree with your opinion and some from others. Tbh, maybe because i've been a write and reader for a very long time, so while this issue might be new to some, it has been something that I've long thought of and probably internally resolved myself, so apart from already giving my two cents, suggestions and responding to anon and your discussion, i don't really have much else to add.

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-Same. I think the moment Winter lost me was when she did the dance to Mister Grinch. One, why are you using Michael and Rika’s engagement party for this, though I’m sure Rika loved it. And two, if you’re so scared of Damon, why are you mocking him publicly? It sort of ruined her story for me. From that point forward, I felt like she was always crying crocodile tears. I couldn’t take anything she said or did seriously after that because like... are you just lying to get your way?-

>> OHMYGOD THAT FUCKING CRINGE ASS GRINCH SCENE. Literally the train orgy equivalent! I'm sorry, winterdamon was so dull then especially cringe here that i didn't even think much about this says about their character. Like!! and damon was turned by her legs then no? ughh i wanna bleach my brain!! ick. We could've had a pole dance or something like in corrupt, privately between damon and winter, with winter torturing and teasing damon, putting herself on display for him, and him for her, but noooo, a fucking grinch dance was the reason he was turned on, ughhhh

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-I hadn’t thought about that, but you’re right. What was all “this is red” “this is how black feels” who are you, tswift? Regardless, I felt nothing.-

>> HAHAHAH had to put this one in, because, same. And you know, it could literally slap!!! They could literally go over the edge together, and we can see them feel everything, but there were just red and black.... and it's all from damon??? Can't winter teach him other sense or something? she was literally the polar opposite of him, she could pull him into HER world, you know. That's why i think their epilogue of winter telling him the scent of the wrapper was kinda cute, because for once, at least non-sexually, she showed him something too.

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-And on that note, as annoyed as I was, it was also like “em was so invisible that she notices everyone else but no one ever noticed her in their story… except for one person.” which was something to think about-

>> This, 100000%! She had the most valid to think that no cared or would've helped her, so it made more baffled when people expect her to just reach out to anyone, when the circumstances was this, and not like Will, where he had a stable support system that he fully believe that he can reach out to, anytime. Even after everything, at 26 years old, his mom still was only "tired" of him, but he was still his Mama's boy, so contrasting to Em's story. Which made me more angry on her behalf when they kept on piling on her as if she hurt them for fun. 

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Thanks for the replies, this was really fun! 

Hey Zee. Thanks for giving me something to call you. I wanted to ask if the anons who are sending multiple messages could give some indication so that I know if I’ve spoken to them before, but it does sort of take away the anonymity. So, if you feel like giving yourself a code name or even just assigning yourself a number or something, please feel free but no pressure.

You never have to doubt that I’ll talk too much.

When Trevor was slandering Michael and the horsemen to Emmy a couple of times (three times to be exact, 3 times!) and was probably hoping she would join him on the Horsemen hate bandwagon and probably do something about it

I never concluded what Trevor’s ultimate motive was. I thought he thought that he found someone like him, who would hate Michael and his friends. I knew he wasn’t interested in Emmy, because his goal was Rika, but then why take the time to single Emmy out. The idea that he might have been trying to garner approval from her or something is an interesting one. I wonder if he had any further plans with that or if it was just in the moment. For at least two of the three, it seemed to be just a momentary, they were in the same place and he thought she was like him. The first one, where he follows her to the bathroom, that’s the one that always stuck out to me because ‘why? What do you want, ya slimy snake???’ But then it never went anywhere so I let it go. Or maybe she has an innate read of people and felt between Michael and Trevor, the latter was the one to avoid despite what was on the surface.

But you’re right; Emmy never joined him. She never even felt the pressure to try and fit in, to be well-liked on the chance that it would improve her situation. She just didn’t want any of it, if it meant talking about things she didn’t know about or needlessly insulting people to feel better about herself.

Emmy felt guilty for whatever things she played apart to. Hurt them, even in duress because she knew it was undeserved, but she thought she was alone and had no way put of the situation then.

This is a good point. You’ve heard the phrase to play the hand you’re dealt? Unlike the other characters that hand the chance to trade cards, lie and cheat to get a better hand, had cards up their sleeves, she played the best hand she could within the circumstances. She felt bad when it negatively affected other people, even though that’s the name of the game really. She didn’t even choose to play the game at first – she was forced to the table.

Damon's character was seem softened in this book, not only because the conflict between him and Will had decreased, and the "amazing" way Will look at him, but also because Damon really had no prior bad relationship with Emmy, AT ALL.

This is an excellent point. I often complain that Damon felt soft because we already know how his story is going to end, so none of his scenes have any bite to them; he’s lost his edge, so to speak. But it can also be because for the first time we’re seeing him from the mind of someone who actually likes him (Kai and Michael liked him, but they were also annoyed with him a lot of the time). Will genuinely liked Damon. And Emmy had no strong opinions. Sure she’s heard things, but probably no worse than the rumors that followed the others around. I remember her saying he smelled like an ashtray and that might have been one of her strongest critiques until he started targeting her. So now we’re seeing Damon in a different light, and it could just be a softer one.

I still think that shower scene would have been so much more tense if we didn’t know what Damon was capable of. KS kinda took that from us by defining his limits. Regardless, I would have liked to see more of Damon and Emmy. To see how they’re dynamic played out and how they relate to each other versus the others.

I love that in Emory's story, we always see this side of her, be it with Damon, with Martin, Will, Aydin, everyone really, because we were also shown the main reason why people had beef with her is usually because they couldn't control her, and then they lashed out

I love this point right here and just want it to stand out on its own.

It does have a lot of merit. Even with Aydin and his whole wanting her to come to him on her own, let him in her head shtick, he only built up her ability to make her own decisions when he was trying to manipulate her into making the decisions he wanted to make. When it started to fail, he ran out of patience and kissed her to get to both Will and Alex. Yes, validating her abuse and her reaction to it was nice, but what was his motive in doing that? Until the hospital scene, everything about Aydin should be questioned.

Now, if PD used this flaw instead of whatever "judgmental" bullshit they tried to shove down our throats, it would be more believable, because there were many instances where she was prideful, silent and couldn't retort back because she went too far in her critiques or actions, and we can see by the end of Nightfall how she finally just let go, and go all out to accept love and other good things, from Will, and others, with no fear of being used

Yes yes!! If her main flaw had been refusing to accept help even when offered sincerely, because of her fear, that would have been really good. It brings to mind all the help the guys offered her in BC, how at times she never questioned it because why would she. But if her biggest flaw had been to always doubt people’s intentions, to refuse help, even when evidence points to the contrary, then watching her get over that fear to accept the hand that’s offered might have been refreshing. I mean, I can see how people might tight that into be judgmental, but I just don’t think it’s the same thing.

A small example of that could have been with Micah. Say if at first, she refused his help when he wanted to talk and wash her hair because letting the strange boy abandoned on the island behind her and give him access to her neck isn’t the best idea, even if up until that point he’s been nothing but kind and speaking out for her, and she’s seen him get the low end of the stick from Aydin and Taylor and he’s offering help, and really she could use an ally, versus a later scene where she dances with him and gets injured and lets him help her walk.

Like… there’s something that could have been done there. That would have been a small sign of personal growth within the narrative.

I’m not sure where I’m going with this. At this point I’m just rambling.

A shittier writer could've used this as a plot device to bait reader for a reverse harem book, or worse, a love triangle between a gay couple with a strange woman, just to add some unnecessary heterosexual drama

I don’t have much to add to this (but watch me end up writing multiple paragraphs anyway) except yeah, PD’s way of writing relationships is very…

What I liked is that it was always clear what the end goal was for the main LI, and they didn’t deviate too far outside the group usually. There were no random side characters to create useless love-triangle-drama (which sidenote: this is why I never understood the people rooting for Alex. That was always a losing battle. It was always going to be Em. From Corrupt, it was going to be Em. There was no love-triangle. Even Will mentioned that he wanted to love Alex that way because it would have just been easier, but it was never like that for him. It was never going to be Alex, why are you mad??? Stop trying to make fetch happen it’s never going to happen! Anyway.).

Even with Michael and Rika and Trevor, we knew from the get that Trevor wasn’t endgame, they made that clear.

So it makes sense that in NF, Emmy – who works in a creative field and has spent almost a decade in SF, knowing the community there – wouldn’t bat at eye at Micah and Rory. It literally was Wednesday for her.

But I also thought it was funny that people kept appearing naked in front of her, when that was the last thing she wanted. First Will in the pool, Damon in the showers, Damon again. Taylor. Aydin. Will again.

Little miss, your people-watching days are over.

And what I mean by that is Emory had a habit of watching people and she got away with it for so long because she was able to go unnoticed by most. She was only ever caught by people who were already aware of her.

No longer! Haha.

It was never said that this book or series only explored characters' arc, ONLY when they're stressed either

 What I meant by that was that unlike with Rika, Banks, and Winter, who’s stories took place in their home town and around people they were familiar with, which could give them a chance to go somewhere to decompress and find balance before going back out to fight, Emmy was thrown into the fire. She had no one. Nothing was familiar, not even the environment. There was no way she could find relief, except for in the people who posed her the most danger. This is not the same as the other girls who had people they could trust in their corner, even when things reached their highest stress point.

I don’t mind that these books only show a certain part of the year or snippets of their lives. I’m realizing the more I think about, I enjoy when media plays with the timeline a little. I liked One Day for the same reason, I enjoyed This is Us because of the past/present narrative similar to Devil’s Night. It’s a thing for me, apparently. I don’t need to know all the surrounding bits to appreciate that this time frame is different. I just… Rika, Banks, and Winter had a place they could retreat too. Emory was literally cornered all the time and cornered people - desperate people - don’t make the same decisions they usually make so the Emmy we met in the narrative isn’t the complete Emmy. It’s difficult to say is she stubborn and argumentative because she’s literally been kidnapped and is trying to stay alive, or is she just stubborn and argumentative because that’s who she is?

Emory or Nesta wasn't excactly similar or different with and from each other.

Ah, okay. I just figured they had a similar story arc or fan-reaction. Like people being upset because Nesta did something they didn’t like, and another set of fans being like ‘but no, she’s right.’ Like what we have with Emory. It seems people always double down when their favs are majority hated instead of simply disliked, so I thought the situation was the same.

OHMYGOD THAT FUCKING CRINGE ASS GRINCH SCENE. Literally the train orgy equivalent!

Thank you for the validation because it’s right up there for me.

And a pole dance would have been great. Like imagine if she got Will and Rika in on it, and one of them invited him to a club, maybe before it opened for the night so there’s only a few employees about. He goes thinking he’s going to have this secret meeting and he’s getting his friend back or something and then they’re talking having drinks and winter comes on stage. Somehow, that would have been less cringe. I think part of it for me was the announcement this is for my sister’s husband. Like… what? And this is supposed to be a classy event. Michael’s parents are right there.

Can't winter teach him other sense or something? she was literally the polar opposite of him, she could pull him into HER world, you know.

Aw yeah, that’s true. We could have had her blindfold him and taught him how to handle touch without freaking out or something. Or listen to the sounds of her breathing and getting the smallest details. Our eyes do so much to feed our brains information. He could deal with having it taken away for a minute. Or even is she put him in a dark room with no way for his eyes to adjust, just so his other senses had to come in. They could have taught each other stuff.

(wait was there a blindfold scene? Now I’m second guessing myself)

She had the most valid to think that no cared or would've helped her, so it made more baffled when people expect her to just reach out to anyone

This is very true. I was more pointing to how we had her running into Banks and how she saw Kai going into the confessional, so we know it matches up for Hideaway. But Banks never thought about ‘the strange girl I ran into’ and Emory noticing Winter and Damon around town. Emory noticing Rika giving Winter the wrong sandwich and trading it out. I don’t remember Winter thinking ‘didn’t Rika say she was getting me chicken?’ or whatever. Emory was there in all their stories. They just never noticed.

If those little moments had been planned (and I don’t blame PD for this. NF was the last book, and she couldn’t retroactively put these scenes in there if they weren’t already planned), then it could have been that Banks comments about the girl, and it’s just a throwaway line for the reader until we get NF and then it’s like “ohhhhhh!”

Winter could have thought about the discrepancy, and it’s maybe she didn’t hear right. Until we get NF, and then we see that Emory was there the entire time. But as it stands, nobody notices her. Nobody remembers her.

And that feels both sad, because it is part of the reason Martin got away with it for so long, and… but Will did. Will always noticed her. He misunderstood a lot. But he always looked for her.

I’m having fun too! Thanks for stopping by to chat!

[scarsforsupper]

Glitter & Gold

Viktor x gn! reader

hi hi!! so sorry for not posting in a while, but heres my second request by @hollisek ^^ i really enjoyed writing this but im afraid it might be too bland, so watch out for that!! im still getting used to writing so pls bear w me !! also my “Marry me” songfic is halfway done, so watch out for that as well! i also didnt specify what reader would be wearing bc not everyone wears a gown or a suit, so u can imagine that ur wearing whatever u like! :3 

You despised parties. Big, useless, shiny balls filled with Piltover's finest—it was an absolute nightmare to you. You hated wealthy people; especially the cash-fattened, greasy, thick-skulled ones who knew nothing but to collect trophy wives and get their hands on everything they see. You didn't care, not one bit, about the fun or the expensive Champaign or experiencing being the head-turner of the room, no.

So why exactly were you currently under the shower of your boss's apartment, getting ready for the gala scheduled tonight?

It was all thanks to Mr. Jayce Talis.

---------earlier in the day--------

The lab was crazy busy today. Mentions of exhibitions and innovation reports and displays being strewn across by the two men occupying the lab aside from you, who stood in the door way, pure confusion laced with hints of concern etched on your face.

You had just gotten to the door of the lab when you heard all the ruckus even from outside the door, which, naturally, made you assume Viktor and Jayce were getting into a fight of some sort. You knew Viktor was in no shape to have a physical fight with Jayce, and you cared greatly about the welfare of the lanky scientist. So, you rushed in the lab, ready to soothe the fire out. However; it appeared that no firefighting was needed.

Now that fighting has been ruled out, what’s left for you to do is distinguish why exactly they were acting this way. You let out a cough to announce your presence, successfully gaining the attention of the two scientists, their heads turning to you expectantly.

"Y/N! perfect timing!" Jayce let out.

You made your way to Viktor's side of the lab, reports and papers in your arms, "Perfect timing for what?" arching your brow, you handed Viktor the papers, both his hands reaching towards you while muttering a soft 'Thank you.' You smiled in return.

Jayce hasn't answered you, your question hanging in the air. You turned to Viktor as you sat on his desk—an action only you could do. Were you someone else, he would've freaked and shooed them away. But he didn't do that to you—he wouldn't—he couldn't. He'd be too preoccupied with trying to stay calm with you around. Over the past few weeks, he's deduced that something has gone wrong with him; he's come to realize that the sweaty palms and shortened breaths are not, in fact, normal symptoms that a normal—neutral human being would experience. Spending secret hours in the academy library reading up on these 'symptoms' of his only led to one answer: he was developing a crush, a massive one, at that.

He was falling in love.

He couldn't believe himself; it was extremely unprofessional of him to develop such feelings for his assistant, much less, one of his closest friends.

"-tor? Viktor? You with me?"

He saw what was your hand snapping in front of his face, pulling him out of whatever trance he was in.

"Y-yes. Yes, I am with you," he mumbled, shaking his head. He didn't want to look at you, terrified he might faint at the intensity of your pretty (e/c) eyes staring back at him.

"What was it you needed me for?" he cringed as he almost—he was dangerously close to adding a term of endearment at the end of his statement. 'Get yourself together, Viktor,' he scolded himself.

"Jayce wouldn't answer me, what was he talking about?"

He scrunched his face; he was hesitant to be the deliverer of the news. He didn't want it to appear as if he were asking you out—not that he would mind, but he was terrified that YOU might. He opened his mouth.

"Eh, I-uh, its just-there’s a-" Why the fuck was he stuttering!? He would give himself away immediately if he kept at this!

Your brows furrowed; Viktor has never acted like this before. Well, he has been like this for a few weeks now, but it was never this bad.

"Hey, it’s okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I can go ahead and bother Jayce," placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, you softly told him, trying your best not to appear passive-aggressive; that’s the last thing you want.

His skin seared at the contact, even underneath all those layers of clothing. Oh, what he wouldn’t give to touch and be touched by you.

"No-it’s not that I don't want-its just-just that-" you were off the table before he was able to finish his sentence, "-I can't." he whispered to himself. He knew you hated fancy events.

With a heavy sigh, Viktor went back to work. As much as he longed for your warmth beside him, he guessed that at least, now, he'd be able to pour his focus on his work, in peace.

Or so he thought. After hardly a minute of silence, a shrill voice echoed in the lab.

"What!? No! No way in hell!" you bellowed, tone bordering on menacing.

"Come on Y/N, its only for tonight," Jayce leaned in closer, "Plus, your favorite person would be there, too," he wiggled his brows, eyes shooting to the direction of Viktor. Immediately you reddened, words of denial already tumbling out of your mouth. "Ha, as if. I have no favorite person."

Jayce grinned, "Oh really? Hey, Vi-mph!" As fast as you denied, your hands clamped around his mouth, a desperate attempt to save whatever dignity you had left. No way were you giving yourself away this early.

Narrow eyes stared back at Jayce's face; a silent warning being transferred across. Slowly, you let your hands retract once you were confident he wasn't going to say—or do something reckless. Something that has a potential to destroy the friendship you shared with your other boss.

Jayce let out a little laugh, you cocked your brow at this.

"Okay, okay, my lips are sealed, see?" he pressed his lips into a thin line, reiterating his oath to stay silent. "Seriously though," he leaned in closer, talking in a whisper "Viktor? Jesus, I never even knew! I was just trying to tease you but you ended up exposing yoursel-" his whispering ended, "Agh!" as you jabbed him in the side.

"Shut up! I am not coming." You started making your way back to Viktor, but Jayce let out a laugh. A very, very, suspicious laugh. Halting briefly, you turned your torso to face him halfway.

"Yeah...." he dragged on, "I already had your name signed up.... I-"

"Excuse me!?" You faced him fully now, dread filling your whole body.

"I-I knew you were going to say no! That you hated parties-"

"You know I hate parties-"

"Exactly! Please, it’s just for tonight. One night, then never again," he pleaded.

You held your arm up, pinching your brows, and reminded yourself to breathe.

"Just. For. Tonight." You emphasized with gritted teeth.

Jayce grinned ever so brightly it could blind someone; he couldn't believe he just got you to attend the Hextech gala tonight. He can't wait for Viktor to see you, all dazzled up in shades of gold.

"I swear, you won't regret it."

 -------------------------

 Stepping out of the shower, you hurriedly grabbed for the towel, chilly air brushing past your bare body. You patted yourself dry, your stomach in tiny knots. You've never been to a party—much less a gala—a Hextech gala at that. If only that stupid Jayce didn't write your name on the guest list, then maybe you wouldn't be going through all this trouble now, lounging on your bed, instead.

A tiny voice in your mind, however, told you that at least, Viktor would see you all dolled up. As much as you didn't want to entertain that specific thought, you couldn't help but think about what faces Viktor would make. Would he be astounded? Would he look at you the way he looks at his work, so enthralled and so… in love? Would he stare at you with those golden eyes you so longed for to look at you in a certain way? Would his mouth run dry, would his hands itch to touch you? Hold you? It was when a knock startled you out of your thoughts when you realized you were starting to drown in your thoughts—very inappropriate thoughts for people in a boss-employee relationship. It was hard to remind yourself that you were just his assistant, nothing more, nothing less.

“Y/N? Are you done?” It was Jayce.

“N-no, I haven’t dressed myself.” You yelled back.

“Okay, whenever you’re ready!” His tone was laced with excitement and tease. Well, Jayce was more than excited. On the other side of the door, the two men dressed as they finished showering before you. Not together, of course.

“I don’t understand why you had to force Y/N to come along, Jayce. You know they absolutely despise parties such as this.” Viktor whisper-shouted at his partner.

“Don’t act like you don’t want to see them, Viktor. Especially in tonight’s theme.” Jayce taunted. Viktor visibly reddened, grumbling as he limped away, feigning annoyance as he fixed his tie.

Jayce knew Viktor enough to recognize that he’s becoming a little too immersed in his work, stress accentuating his dark circles and pulling him closer to the verge of insanity. He knew Viktor needed a break—but not just any kind of break. This type of ‘break’ served as a perfect mask for his goal to get his best friend wooed and energized again. Or, even better, laid.

As Viktor adjusted his adjusted his tie, he can’t help but wonder what you were wearing today. It was Jayce who picked the outfits for the three of you, throwing them your way at the last minute—you and Viktor haven’t had the chance to even distinguish what the two of you were about to wear.

Time has never felt so slow for him.

You picked up your outfit, observing the golden accents emblazoned by the hems, the glitters and velvet was a bit too much for you. But it’s not like you had any choice, did you?

Putting on the garments, you felt slightly disgusted at the feeling of sophistication that came with the gold and the texture overall, so you attempted to style your hair in the way that would make you look—and feel—like you.

Turning to the mirror, you barely recognized yourself anymore.

‘Oh well,’ you shrugged, hands reaching for the doorknob, ‘here we go.’

 Viktor couldn’t quell his thoughts anymore, so he made his way to the bathroom door—when it opened. He froze immediately in his tracks, attempting to appear occupied so as to not make it look like he was expecting you. But he couldn’t breathe; it was as if his brain had deleted the simple command of breathing.

There you stood a few feet before him, dressed in the most extravagant yet effortless attire—an attire terribly familiar to him; similar one he had just seen in the mirror moments earlier. Then, it dawned upon him, just as it dawned upon you: you were wearing matching outfits. The golden glitters, the soft velvet, the hems-everything.

‘That jerk,’ he cursed in his mind, all sorts of expletives running through his head. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to look matching with you—he loved it, even—its just that it made him blush so hard he could barely feel both his legs. He might need two canes after this.

Before you, stood Viktor, wrapped up in the most beautiful shades of gold, but the best shade of gold, in your opinion, were his eyes. He looked like a God, forged in the best furnaces ever existed. He had a corsage of around his left wrist, while you had yours in your right. Carnations.  Jayce did not have one.

‘That cheeky little bastard,’ you laughed, gentle smirk resting on your face.

Viktor’s mind went absolutely blank—the only thing registering in his mind was you.

The two of you too caught up staring at each other when Jayce coughed. “I suppose we resume this game of I-want-to-strip-you-naked-and-worship-your-body-to-bits after the party?”

The two of you broke it, seething and furious glares directed at him.

“Shut up!”

“What the fuck!?”

This was going to be one hell of a night.

[thrill-seeker-vn]

I posted 1,090 times in 2022

775 posts created (71%)

315 posts reblogged (29%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@thrill-seeker-if

@manonamora-if

@king-of-autumn

@hauntthebodies

@narrativefoiltrope

I tagged 919 of my posts in 2022

Only 16% of my posts had no tags

#not if related - 424 posts

#thrill seeker if - 133 posts

#ro asks - 101 posts

#ch: n - 96 posts

#ch: oli - 90 posts

#anon - 84 posts

#ch: hannie - 83 posts

#ask aalaa - 74 posts

#lovely anon &lt;3 - 45 posts

#&lt;3 - 42 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#we were like reviewing our tor as we go into another work year and she had been showing our plan for the next year and as we're talking she

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Please don't write another IF. You're already lazy enough writing this one.

I don't really know what to say to this one. But, then again, I don't really owe you any sort of explanation. You have no idea who I am or what I've been through these last few months, so I really don't know where you get off of that you can speak to me so harshly.

I have very little time to myself, and I am making this IF for free. Between this, I've been helping my Ukranian family seek refuge here. I am paying for their stay. I'm working and studying, too. I get very little free time for this IF. I understand if you don't want to read it, or any of my other WIPs, but I don't think you have the right to talk to anyone this way regardless. I do not owe my time to you. I am not your personal content machine.

If you think you can do better, I truly encourage you to try. Maybe you can take this stick out of your ass while you're at it.

71 notes - Posted April 18, 2022

#4

I’ve collaborated with the incredible @aikhako again for N’s birthday celebration! They've, of course, blown it out of the water yet again!

One thing I'm excited to announce for this celebration as well... I have finally moved the demo from inkle to twine! I have edited chapter 1, so it should hopefully flow better now!

You can play the game from this link. Hope you guys are having a great day!

Also, make sure to check out Aikhako on insta, they post more often there!

75 notes - Posted April 12, 2022

#3

this is so funny to me.... i love blade so much but he really went out and spoke about their trauma and was like 'and i.... yeah me too i guess!'

91 notes - Posted November 10, 2022

#2

5000 views and 2500 plays celebration!

Hello everyone! I actually can't believe it, but today, we passed 5000 views and 2500 browser plays for Thrill Seeker!!

First of all: thank you guys so much. I literally wouldn't be here without you guys. The support I've gotten from you amazing folks is staggering. I really want to thank ALL of you for supporting Thrill Seeker, you guys are so lovely and to be honest, the love I've gotten here has gotten me through some really tough times. The friends I've made here are absolutely wonderful.

I love talking to you guys, seeing your art and hearing your theories, and I love hearing what you look forward to. Thank you for listening to my ramblings and being so lovely!! I'm so happy to have people like you engaging with Thrill Seeker and I appreciate every single one of you.

So, to thank you all, we're going to have a little celebration!!

Until then I’d just like to do something fun for you all! Ther are three There will be three prizes for everyone who wishes to participate

1st prize: Portrait of your MC and preferred RO & Longer Drabble created with your preferred RO

2nd prize: Medium length drabble written with your character & smaller portrait of your preferred RO

3rd prize: Option to create your own character who, although small, will play a role giving information to the MC & moodboard of preferred character

To win, all you have to do is reblog or comment on this post (not like!!) and you'll be in!!! This will be open to anyone until about mid September, so you all have plenty of time!

I hope you guys enjoy!! Thank you guys so, so much for sticking with me and giving so much love to Thrill Seeker!

See the full post

93 notes - Posted July 26, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Your favorite IFs? I don't remember if you have already answered something like this and I'm looking for something to get addicted to.

I've actually been looking for the post I made about this exactly, but here's a bunch more!

@reincarnation-if - A RESURRECTION STORY, BABY!!! I love the author AND the story, I'm totally obsessed with it!! The demo isn't out yet, but I literally can't wait!!

@manonamora-if - I cannot recommend this author enough. Check out her IFs here. I don't even know how to begin describing how amazing she is-- it seems like she can literally do any genre!

@attollogame - I'm sure everyone knows this incredible if but, if you don't, definitely check them out RIGHT NOW! They're going to celebrate their two year anniversary soon, so this is the perfect chance to read the work and find out more about this awesome game!!

@jaunefleurwrites - another one I mention a lot. But she has so many amazing WIPS and IFs and I'm not sure if all my audience knows about it!! You can check Jaune's masterpost for all their amazing IFs (my favorite is definitely A World Without You!! There's just a certain warmth in Jaune's writing that I absolutely love!)

@magiciansvoyage - Yet again someone who shows up on the blog a lot-- I'm getting my favoritism out of the way, don't worry. Arlo is such a lovely writer and person, and Magician's Voyage is easily one of my favorite ifs. Arlo's writing is so immersive and I love fantasy, so easy rec from me!

@parkerlyn - The Nameless is literally one of the best IFs out there and you are missing out if you're not reading it. They are also celebrating their second anniversary soon so send them some love!!

@anathemafiction - If you're looking to buy an amazing, immersive game, this is the one to get! It's fully released, incredible quality, and you can download it on mobile or desktop. I would definitely recommend checking them out!

@thefallendivine - I love betrayal stories. You play as the heir to heaven and hell, but your family has been killed by your peers. You're in a situation where you're not sure who to trust anymore. I absolutely love these kinds of stories!! I think if you like Thrill Seeker, you'll enjoy this is!

@sevensdeadly-if - You get to interact and romance the seven deadly sins. How much better can it get, man??? Is there anything more I need to say to sell it?? Chapter one was released recently, so an excellent time to read it.

@nextinline-if - Are you looking for an if with DRAMA?? ROYALTY?? A STORY THAT MAKES YOU LOOK WITHIN YOURSELF, THAT MAKES YOU WANT TO BE A GOOD RULER??? then look no further than this amazing game!! Constantine has my heart and I will love him till the end of time, so if you do play, pick someone else, because he is MINE!

@lifesupreme-if - There are defiitely not enough sci-fi if's out there, and this story is based in the world of Cyberpunk 2077, so it was an automatic win in my eyes.

@when-life-gives-you-lemonssss - This is nothing like Thrill Seeker, and I love it. It's a cute slice of life with a bunch of awesome ROs. I love domestic games, and this covers all the boxes in the cute game checklist!

@whenbodiescollide - when i saw the synopsis, it immediately caught my attention. the entire aesthetic of the blog plays in so well with the story that i can't recommend it enough!!

@vendetta-if - another awesome synopsis bro. I love revenge stories, and this is probably the best IF you're gonna find of it, baby!

@lacewing-if - Their if doesn't have a demo yet, but I already love the premise. Keith has my entire heart and I can't wait until I can get to romance him properly LIUHDFSSDFHUI

@thehunt-if - Another concept I love a lot-- you play as a hunter for supernatural beings!! But then!!! YOU GET POSSESSED BY SOMETHING YOU HUNTED, AND NOW YOU HAVE TO WALK A MILE IN THEIR SHOES!! i cannot stress how much I love this hehe

@hummingbird-games - Moreso a VN, but still such a cute game and I just love it sm!!! The art is so gorgeous and it's just so nicely done!!

@if-whenthesunrises & @if-mirrormine - both are excellent stories!! The lovely author is on a hiatus right now, but I would still recommend checking out their work!!

@unwilling-souls-if - The premise is just so insanely good I can't even explain it. Check it out and you'll get it, LMAIUHDSFUHDFIU. Xander-- watch out. I'm coming for you.

There are way too many talented authors to mention in the word limit, so let me know if you want a part three!! Thank you for the ask Eva <3

339 notes - Posted August 23, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[raeandwhatnot]

Crazy Baking- Charlie Gillespie Imagine

Summary: You bake a cake with Charlie and Owen, and it gets a little crazy in the kitchen.

Prompt: "How the hell did you get cake batter on the ceiling?!" "Your guess is as good as mine.”

Warnings: a few minor swear words. (Platonic!Owen)

Words: 1.7k

Requests: open (x) closed ()

A/N: I found the word prompt from @promptsforthestugglingauthor! Also, sorry this one is a little shorter than my other imagines. I’m in the midst of doing finals, but enjoy this cute imagine!

“Hey, babe? Can you get the flour and sugar out for me, please?” I ask Charlie while setting two medium sized bowls on the counter. Charlie, Owen, and I are baking a cake for Madison’s surprise birthday party tonight. Savannah is planning it all, and I have no idea why she had Charlie and Owen in charge of the cake because they are wild animals when they are together. Therefore, I offered to help because I want the cake to turn out good! Also, so that nothing catches on fire!

“Where is that again?” Charlie asks.

I turn my head to see where he was looking. He was just standing in the middle of the kitchen like a lost puppy. “It is in the pantry on the bottom shelf,” I point out. He nods his head and goes to the pantry.

As I was grabbing and plugging in the mixer, I hear the front door open. “Who’s ready to bake a cake!?” the sound of Owen’s voice comes from the living room. “Sorry I’m late, (Y/N)!”

“It’s okay, O. I was beginning to worry you were going to ditch us!” I joke.

“You know, it was really tempting, but I knew you would kill me if I didn’t come help,” Owen said as he set down his backpack on the couch before walking into the kitchen.

“Damn right she would have!” Charlie says, setting down the flower and sugar next to the mixing bowl.

“Alright!” I exclaim while clapping my hands. “Let’s get to baking! We can’t be late bringing in the cake for the party! I will mix the dry ingredients, Owen you will mix the wet ingredients, and Charlie you will put the two together. I will then pour it into the cake pan. Sound good?”

Charlie and Owen in sync solute and say, “Yes, ma’am!”

I chuckle at them being so alike. “Sweet! Let’s do this!” I say enthusiastically! I separated the wet and dry ingredients for Owen and I. “Oh, babe! Can you please preheat the oven to 350 for me, please?” I ask Charlie kindly.

“I sure can!” he says, skipping to the oven.

“Thank you!” I smile and start putting the dry ingredients together.

I suddenly feel big arms wrap around me from behind. “Of course, babe,” Charlie whispers in my ear and kisses my cheek. I blush at his actions. I hear Owen gag beside me as Charlie was being lovey dovey to me.

“Oh, shut up Owen!” I exclaim as I whisk the ingredients.

“Aw, does Owen need some love, too?” Charlie asks in a baby voice, unwrapping his arms around me to wrap his arms around Owen instead.

Owen immediately tries to get Charlie off of him as he is trying to mix his wet ingredients. “Ew, no! Get off of me!” Owen complains.

Charlie laughs as he attempts to hold on to Owen, but he fails as Owen pushed him away. “Fine then!” Charlie scoffs and fold his arms like a child. “I’ll go back to (Y/N). Don’t complain about not getting loves when you don’t want them!” I giggle at them being so dramatic. Charlie walks back to me, wraps his arms around my waist, and snuggles in my neck.

“You guys are ridiculous!” I say. “Are you done with your mixing?” I ask Owen.

“Almost!” Owen replies as he mixes more.

“Sweet,” I whisper. “I’m going to run to the restroom real quick. Once Owen is done mixing, Charlie you can put the dry and wet bowls into the bigger bowel. I’ll be right back. Please, don’t make a mess!” I instruct as I take off the apron that was around my torso.

“Okay, okay!” Charlie says, raising his hands in defense. I grab him by the shoulder and place a kiss on his cheek and walk to the bathroom

“She is quite demanding today,” I hear Owen whisper.

“When is she not?” Charlie whispers back.

I roll my eyes and shout, “I heard that!” I then hear them snicker at my response. I reach the bathroom that was attached to my bedroom and shut the door. I use this time to check my phone and look at my notifications. I saw that Savannah texted that we were going to set up her apartment for the party around 5:30. I looked at the time to see it was 3:00, so thank goodness we have time for the cake to cool down for a bit before we have to leave. Plus, I still have to get ready.

Suddenly, I could hear the boys laughing along with a couple of clanking noises. I can’t help but think they are messing around. I finish up in the bathroom, wash my hands, and walk back to the kitchen. As soon as I walk in, Charlie and Owen were wrestling on the couch in the living room. I notice there were a couple of spills around the large bowl that Charlie used to mix the dry and wet ingredients, and they also poured the batter into the cake pan for me. “Guys!” I shout to get their attention. They both instantly stop at my voice. “Why are you wrestling? You could have put the cake in the oven!”

Owen stands up first, “He started it!”

Charlie slaps Owen’s thigh, “I did not!”

“Yes, you did! You started to attack me when I said I was going to-“ Owen starts to say before Charlie hits him again.

“Dude!” Charlie says through his teeth as he stands up next to Owen.

I place my hands on my hips. “You were going to what?” I ask seriously.

“Nothing!” Owen squeaks and walks back into the kitchen. “Here, let me put the cake in the oven.” He opens the oven door, carefully puts in the cake in the oven, shuts the oven door, and turns on a timer for 35 minutes.

“Owen,” I say as I grab his arm to face me. “What did you guys do?” I ask sternly. Owen then just looks up. I hear Charlie let out a frustrated sigh. I look up as well to see cake batter on the ceiling. "How the hell did you get cake batter on the ceiling?!"

"Your guess is as good as mine,” Charlie sighs.

“Yeah, we were messing around, and next thing we know, there’s batter on the ceiling! I was about to tell you, but then Charlie over here didn’t want to tell you. One of us was going to just clean it up, so we were wrestling to see who would clean it up,” Owen explains.

“We’re sorry, (Y/N),” Charlie apologizes.

“Honestly, it’s okay,” I reassure. “I’m not upset at all! I thought you guys broke something. This is nothing!” Both Charlie and Owen let out a relieved sigh. I grab two rags from a drawer and hand it to the them. “But you guys are both cleaning it up.”

They both chuckle. “I got the ceiling,” Owen says, slapping the rag on Charlie’s shoulder. They wet their rags and soak it in dish soap to clean up their mess.

As they do so, I put away all the ingredients we used as well as put the measuring cups, tablespoons and teaspoons, bowls, and whisks into the sink. I turn towards the boys. Owen got a chair and was wiping the ceiling. Charlie had finished wiping the counters as he was drying them with a paper towel. “Thank you, guys. See how officiant that was without wrestling?” I smile.

“Yeah, yeah,” Owen sighs. “But wrestling is just so fun!”

“Mmm, I don’t know about that. The horseplay made a mess in the first place!” I say.

“Okay? You know wrestling is fun,” Charlie winks as he pinned me against the counter I was leaning on. I shake my head and playfully push his chest. Next thing I know, Charlie picks me up by the waist and throws me over his shoulder. I screeched as I was now upside down! He jogs over to the living room before he throws me on the couch. Through my protests to let me down, I could hear Charlies contagious laugh. He pins me down by straddling my hips and starts to tickle me. I try to kick Charlie off, but it was no use!

“Mercy! Mercy!” I scream through my giggles. “Th-this isn’t wr-wrestling! This i-is tor-rcher!” I could barely speak through my laughter.

Charlie finally stops tickling me before plopping his full body onto mine, his face nuzzling into my neck. “I’m sorry for making a mess in your kitchen. I know you’re stressed about making the cake and wanting the party to be nice,” he whispers.

I move my head to give Charlie a kiss at the top of his head, “It’s okay, babe.”

Suddenly, I feel even more pressure on my body as Owen jumps on top of Charlie. Charlie and I let out a groan because of Owen’s weight.

“Owen! Get your fat ass off of me!” Charlie exclaims right into my ear.

“You’re not the one being squished! I’m under here, too!” I say.

“But you guys are comfy!” Owen whines.

“OWEN!” Charlie and I shout at the same time.

I could physically hear the sound of Owen rolling his eyes. “You guys are no fun,” Owen huffs before getting off of Charlie who then got off of me. I let out a deep breath as I could now breathe properly. Charlie holds out his hand to help me stand up. As I stood up, Charlie pulls me close to him to give me a sweet kiss. I hum in the kiss before I pull away.

“I’m going to let you guys hang out, so I can get ready for the party,” I announce.

“Sounds good, babe,” Charlie smiles. I give him a kiss on the cheek. When I pulled away from Charlie’s grip to walk to my bedroom, he smacks my butt. This causes me to squeal a little bit as I was not expecting him to do that in front of Owen. I could feel my cheeks get warm and I walked faster to my bedroom. Charlie giggled at my reaction. I could hear Owen making a comment at how gross we were.

[mo-mo-and-porkchop]

Our paths will always meet

Vikings Fan Fiction - College AU

Chapter 5 (Chapter 4 here)

*I do not own any part of the Canon Vikings characters. It is simply my interpretation. I make no profit off of this.

**I do own the original characters and everything associated with them.

((A special thanks to @scoundrcls and @theboatbuilderswife for help with the inspiration for this work.))

Prompt: - it’s 3 am and I’m still in the library studying for finals and I’m losing my grip on reality and I think I just saw a ghost —::—

Tagging for updates: @captstefanbrandt , @kenzieam

"Do you think four is enough?" she asked bounding down the stairs, her arms full of blankets for the group.

She mentally counted through the couples, singles, and triples waiting back at the bonfire. Ragnar chuckled at her as her fingers went up and down as she did so.

"Might want one more," he replied taking a couple to help carry the load. "I don't think Lagertha and Aslaug will want to share."

"Shit. You're right." She headed to a hall closet and pulled one last blanket. "Never thought I'd see those two in a room since orientation," she called to him as she made her way back.

Ragnar huffed and hung his head momentarily before rolling it back and grimacing. "That fight was not my fault," he defended.

"Sure heartbreaker," she teased handing him the last blanket.

He gave her an exasperated look.

"Calm down. I was only joking. You're only partially responsible," she laughed.

He growled softly with her remark.

She couldn't help the chuckle that left her. "C'mon Cassanova," she added playfully, leading him from the house.

-----

"So what exciting things will you be doing in India," Siggy asked, sipping her wine cooler.

"Meeting lots of exotic men I hope," Aslaug chimed in, a momentary glance Ragnar's way.

He averted her eyes and drank his beer. O laughed softly at the silent exchange between them before answering. "It's an archeological site, so mostly grunt work.

You know, digging holes and cleaning away dirt. I know it's a far cry from my major, but I couldn't resist the opportunity."

"You always were obsessed with the past," Arne observed.

"That's because she's an old soul," Helga agreed. "Don't deny it," she added with a smirk O's way.

"I won't," she laughed, drinking.

"Three months of playing in the dirt," Ragnar chimed in. His bitterness was less controlled the more he drank. The laughter died down. "Sounds great," he added sarcastically, taking another drink.

"Ragnar," Tor started clearing his throat a bit. "You've been awfully stingy with those beers. Maybe let me and Floki help you out with some of them?" he said only half joking.

He huffed in reply and drank.

Ofreyja silently stopped Torstein from trying to dissuade Ragnar's drunkenness. "Did I ever tell you there's a spot here where you can see the Milky Way?" she offered to Ragnar, wrapping her arm through his and pulling him closer; her fixated gaze forcing his to find hers.

"No. You haven't," he said with a sigh, even drunk knowing what she was trying to do. And knowing it would work as usual.

"Then let's go," she said standing and half pulling him with her.

The blanket around them slipped from his shoulders and he wobbled a bit once he was upright. O reshifted the blanket around her and let her hand slide down his arm into his.

"Hell yeah!" Arne said jumping up.

Torstien immediately grabbed him and forced him to sit back down. He gave O an 'I got you' smirk and nod letting her continue.

"Come on," O said softly, motioning toward the woods with her head and starting off. Ragnar shuffled drunkenly along with her, the voices of their friends fading into silence.

-----

She watched as the stars slowly moved through the velvety black of the sky. Her bare feet moved silently across the soft, forest floor. The colors of the Milky Way popped against the dark, peeking through the trees as they walked.

Ragnar had begun to trail behind.

His inebriated mind could care less about her 'love for the past'. He didn't want her to leave. He wanted her to stay right where she was. With him.

She stopped, taking it all in for one moment longer. She wanted to remember this.

His feet instinctively stopped along with her and caught sight of her. A soft breeze tickled her hair. Fireflies twinkled around them. The stars glimmered off her skin, almost mimicking the ocean's reflection perfectly; everything enhanced thanks to his buzz. Just seeing her there cemented his desire to keep her there. And India could go fuck itself.

He took one more drink before catching up. He was going to make her see how way and change her mind about all of this. Somehow he was going to make her stay.

"Beautiful isn't it?" she asked her her eyes fixated upward.

Her voice broke through his focus and forced him to really see her.

She was happy.

"Yea. She is," he answered quietly, unable to filter his thoughts.

He suddenly felt like a real piece of shit for being such a dick back at the bonfire. This was an amazing opportunity and it was selfish of him to try and derail that.

"Come on," she said with a soft laugh, bringing her gaze to his; "It's even better through here."

She led him toward the clearing just ahead. She wanted to blow his mind, making this his final memory of them before she left. Not some regretful fight.

-----

As they stepped from the treeline, his breath was taken away. Soft purples and blues were splattered with the twinkle of stars - a beautiful scar across the sky. "Wow," he mumbled to himself. It really was better here.

His feet shuffled toward her and he tried to force himself to enjoy his last remaining moments with her, but he couldn't. A thud sounded in the grass and he’d wrapped himself around her - his inhibitions clearly loosened from his alcohol consumption. Beer splashed against her leg. His breath was warm against her skin. The scent of alcohol lingered in the air with each breath he took.

His sudden closeness caught her off guard, but not enough to solicit confusion. O pulled him even closer. Whether night or day, crowded or abandoned, it wouldn’t have mattered. Everything around them disappeared in that moment. She nuzzled herself against him, inhaling deeply. Her fingers entangled themselves in his hair as she held him.

“Ragnar,”she whispered into his ear.

The sound of his name against her lips sent a dagger though his heart and his chest tightened. His eyes dampened. "Please don't go," he said, his voice muffled and cracking.

Her eyes squeezed shut with his words. A few tears fell to her cheeks. Her grip on him tightened. Never had she been forced to leave someone she cared for so deeply. It was horrible. She never wanted to let go. She wished the two of them could just stay right there, in that clearing, and never leave.

But the real world didn’t worked that way.

"I have to,” she said parting from him enough to catch his gaze. A hand went to his cheek, her thumb caressing his skin.

"I know," he sadly admitted, trying his best to gather himself. "Go and see the world," he added dejectedly.

She let her hand slip to his beard and gave it a light, playful tug before falling to his neck. A sad smile pulled itself to her lips when he told her to see the world. Of course she would see it. All of it. Every last corner. Nothing was safe from her desire to explore.

“India first,” she agreed. “Then we will see the world," she said leaning her head against his.

She wouldn’t have it any other way. Even with the sorrow filling her voice, her decision was made and understood. Nothing he could tell her would change her mind.

His fingers wrapped themselves around hers and pulled it from where she held him. "India first," he repeated quietly.

She pulled his hand to her lips. His skin was rough against her soft skin as she nuzzled it against her cheek.