#that was an incredibly fun lil romance they had

[thespacelizard]

There’s only three of them….. all that chaos and there’s only three. Incredible. You said they were super over leveled, what level were they when all this mess was going on? Also, were the Underdark and Nine Hells sections of their story homebrewed stuff, or did you sort of weave from one module to another?

Also, I instantly have more sympathy for the wizard(‘s player) because I, too, have accidentally caused war crimes because I didn’t think through the implications of a particular spell before letting it fly. My condolences. It happens to all of us eventually.

I’ve heard of the Alexandrian Remix! Now that you’ve run it twice, do you think you’d ever run DH differently or is it one of those situations where now the “unmodded” version of the game feels incomplete without the extra content? I understand the desire to run all of the baddies at once, though. Even while planning a mostly vanilla DH game, I’m struggling to stick to just one. I’m thinking Manshoon is gonna be the final BBEG because we love evil wizards in this house, but I couldn’t resist throwing Jarlaxle in there as a faction ally (he’s been my Blorbo too since I first read the books as a teenager) and the Xanathar Guild as early game fake-out villains until Manshoon starts making big moves. 

Which means we’re also going to be seeing a lot of the Blackstaff! Even if the party ends up siding with other factions, our genasi wizard is under her supervision and she works closely with one of our half-drow’s adopted parents (who is also, maybe, secretly, a masked lord) so she’s gonna be showing up… often. Hopefully my group doesn’t give her quite as many headaches as OSHA, but I wouldn’t be surprised because every D&D party is its own brand of chaos. 

Re: the half-drow kids, honestly, Jax is (Jerry Springer voice) NOT the father, but they’re not gonna know that at first. I’m planting red herrings that point towards him because one of the half-drow kids (Dorea, ranger) is on a Mamma Mia style mission to find her bio dad and I know she’s going to latch onto him. The other one (Senzo, paladin of Eilistraee) is less worried about figuring that out because he’s already a Dad himself and mostly focused on trying to get his kid out of Menzoberranzan. I imagine though, that even Jarlaxle had to do some quick math in his head like “wait…” 

Having one of your PCs be a secret Manshoon baby is one of those plot twists that I don’t think anyone would have anticipated. How did that reveal go, and what ended up happening to Manshoon in that game? Did HE know about the kid, maybe try and pull a “join me and we can rule together” etc? Or did the party just skip to clapping a set of magic handcuffs on him? 

I love the shipping notes for Fel and Krebbyg, makes that submarine crushing incident just that little bit more tragic. I want the lieutenants to be more involved in my campaign, so Fel and Kreb are going to take a more active role in helping the party along, getting them information, helping to deal with challenges posed by rival factions, etc… Soluun is doing all of that SOME of the time, but expanding on his “extra-curricular activities" in the background and stalking/harassing the owner of Corellon’s Crown next door. Not going to lie, I asked about Fel first cause he’s my favourite of the three. Personal headcanon is that Jarlaxle gave him such powerful gender envy the first time they met that he quit his old job on the spot (I would have done the same) 

I also really love this side plot of a drow House trying to puppet the Xanathar’s guild, is that a Remix addition or something you cooked up yourself? I know you’ve made a few playlists for a few games you’ve ran or been in, did you make any for either of your DH campaigns?

god, it’s been a while. i think they were around level 10-12? something like that? i waaay over-levelled them in the first campaign arc i did which was all homebrew, and then they did Tomb of Annihilation before i sent them over to Waterdeep.

the Underdark and Nine Hells was 90% homebrew, yes! for the Hells stuff I had my own plotline that i was using, and also borrowing ideas from a 3rd party thing called Hellbound Heists. the plot was basically Glasya (my most special evil princess babydoll) was trying to overthrow her dad, and the Pcs kept getting in the way and got involved in all her plots and shit. god i miss her. she’s permanently trapped/bound in an Infernal mirror now, until she learns her lesson and is really really sorry (or figures out a way to break it. Asmo is betting on the latter. she’s his daughter, after all)

accidental war crimes are like a dnd right of passage tbh. are you even playing a spellcaster if you haven’t tried casting create water inside someone’s lungs.

i would never run DH as not the remix at this point - it really is like the unmodded version feeling incomplete. having all the villains is more work, but it makes the city feel so much more alive, and imo gives the players soooo much more to work with and play with! they have so many more options, and you don’t have to do any railroading to keep the plot intact.

the way you’ve got it set up sounds like a good move, though, to do more villains without necessarily running all of them at once - anything that gives the players More Stuff is always a fave of mine

ouagh it sounds like there’s a lot of potential for juicy juicy drama in that player group (masked lord!! yay!!). make sure Blackstaff has some ibuprofen on hand. she’s gonna need it :p

‘a Mamma Mia style mission to find her bio dad’ oh my GOD i love it. akldaj Jax having to sit there running the numbers like ‘hang on a minute…carry the decade…’

the Manshoon reveal went down SUPER well. the PC was a wizard/fighter, and I knew the player would be into that kind of thing. I had loads of stuff threaded through the campaign for him - Durnan knew his mum went into Undermountain after Manshoon but had sworn never to tell, so the PC wouldn’t go down after her and die. I had Manshoon’s simulacrum be Fem!Shoon and show up as the PC’s ‘aunt’ to try and get intel on the group. and when they confronted him in his sanctum he was absolutely pulling a ‘join me and be more powerful than you could ever grow on your own!!’

and of course the power of friendship won out and they kicked his ass, it was great

oooh, the harassing Corellon’s Crown is a good shout, i may have to steal that if i run DH again. my first lot of players never really got much involved with Solunn, but the second lot did - they had a very cool moment trying to chase him and losing him because of his magical gear - and then getting to catch him at the inn he was hiding in and take all said gear for themselves.

“Personal headcanon is that Jarlaxle gave him such powerful gender envy the first time they met that he quit his old job on the spot (I would have done the same) “ ← honestly if that isn’t the hugest of moods. meet a man too beautiful and full of Gender to comprehend, immediately quit your job to join his emo band.

the drow House puppetting the guild was my own thing! since the players had destroyed the original guild, i was like ‘there’s a power vacuum there, who have i got that would step into it?’ and wove it back into the story. i love doing shit like that in my games, it makes the world feel active and alive beyond what the players are doing. it also lets me re-use NPCs and locations rather than making up new shit all the time, which is very helpful

i don’t have a playlist for my DH campaigns, actually! (not beyond my various standard like. combat mixes for dnd). I do recommend Travis Savoie’s campaign soundtrack though (Adventure Calls | Travis Savoie), it’s soooo fucking good. I used to play it on the splashscreen in foundry whilst my players were arriving, set the mood really well

(ty for letting me ramble about dnd <3)

[changbunnies]

Hopelessly Devoted To You (18+)

♡ Pairing: Greaser!Bang Chan x fem!Reader

♡ Genre: grease inspired 50s au, some angst and fluff, this was supposed to be a long full length fic but it somehow became just porn with plot lol

♡ Word Count: 11.2k

♡ Summary: You were so excited to see him again– the guy you'd spent your entire summer with, entagled in a fleeting but explosively sweet romance. But the Chris you meet again isn't the one you remember, and now if he wants to win you back he's going to have to prove just how devoted to you he really is.

♡ Warnings: chan is referred to as chris, smoking (cigarettes), some misogyny + toxic masculinity + fuck boy behavior, some 50s references and lingo, 1 instance of reader shoving chan in a fit of anger / sadness, jealous and mildly possessive chan, minor appearances from felix, changbin, minho, and hyunjin (who goes by sam)

♡ Smut Warnings: 1 reference to reader losing their virginity to chan, references / flashbacks to other smut scenes before the main scene, light dom/sub dynamics, switch!chan, pet names (doll, sugar, baby), public sex, car sex, exhibitionism, oral (f rec, referenced m rec), fingering (f rec), nipple play, daddy kink, panty stealing (kind of), squirting, 1 mention of reader having pubic hair, maybe a lil breeding kink??, protected piv

♡ Notes: i've had this sitting in my drafts since december and finally got around to finishing it gfdhgfh this is incredibly self indulgent as grease is one of my fave movies ever and chan as danny zuko is constantly rattling around in my brain. the build up is pretty short (by my usual standards) as i moved the plot along a lot quicker than i normally would so idk if it's my best work but hopefully you enjoy it!

♡ Disclaimer: please read responsibly, and remember that this work is fiction and meant strictly for imaginative fun. the idols used in fics are more accurately faceclaims and personality outlines for imaginary characters, and should not be interpreted as factual representations of existing people.

You remember well the first time you met Chris. Lounging aimlessly at the beach with the sunset on the horizon, his feet in the sand with a silver dog tag necklace hanging low over his bare chest, a cigarette from his previously discarded jeans held between his lips. Fresh from the ocean with beads of water still dripping off his toned body, slicking back his damp hair before fumbling through a different pocket for his lighter.

You watched him bring it up to his face after successfully digging it out, cupping his other hand around it to protect the flame as he lit the cigarette in his mouth. You watched him take a long drag, watched him blow the smoke out from the corners of his mouth, watched him sigh before deciding to towel dry his legs enough to wrangle his jeans back on. 

The beach had been quickly growing sparse by the time you spotted him. Groups of friends clearing out to make it to the local diner before all the tables were filled, parents wanting to get their kids to bed before the moon fully rose in the sky, couples on double dates bunching up in one car as they decide to hit the drive-in together.

You yourself were in no rush to leave– you came alone, tired of your parents bickering during what was supposed to be a fun family vacation. You’d stay as long as you could, you’d decided– really soak in the peace the sea brings before returning to your aunt’s beach house, where you were all staying for the summer.

But safe to say, the sight of him enraptured you. He was handsome, devastatingly so– you never expected to see a man with a visage to rival even that of James Dean himself with your own eyes, but there he was before you; and your heart stuttered when he glanced over in your direction.

He had just finished pulling his jeans up and over his haunches when he noticed you, cocking a brow when your eyes met– and you could tell in an instant that he knew you’d been staring at him. His smile made your breath hitch, pretty dimples peeking out on his cheeks as he acknowledged you with a playful wave.

Hesitantly, you lifted your hand and waved back, and he grinned, eyes still locked on yours as he pulled up the zipper of his jeans. He turned back to his belongings on the ground, shook the sand out of his white tee before pulling it on. He grabbed his leather jacket, slung it over his shoulder before turning to look at you once more.

You swallowed, face running hot from his gaze alone– you hoped, as he began walking towards you, that you could play it off as having not put on enough sunscreen before coming here. You were sitting on a towel, legs to your chest with your arms wrapped around them, but you lowered them as he approached you.

He tossed his cigarette to the the side once he was close, letting its flame fizzle out in the sand. He looked you up and down when you stood up, introducing himself with a charismatic smile that made your heart race faster. You stuttered when speaking, and his smile widened, one of his hands going to rest in the pocket of his jeans while the other kept his leather jacket in place over his shoulder. 

Chris was the most, to say the least– and when he asked if he’d see you again tomorrow, you promised him he would. You watched him walk over to a beat up, old top down cadillac, throwing his jacket into the car before jumping in– literally jumping in, hand on top of the closed car door as he hopped over it into the driver's seat. 

He gave you another glance after starting the ignition, and you smiled meekly as you offered him another wave. Chris grinned, raising his hand to say goodbye before putting it back on the wheel and burning rubber out of the parking lot.

You spent nearly every summer day with him after that. Days at the beach spent splashing each other in the water while you giggled, hopping in his cadillac to go catch whatever new flick was showing, or sharing a milkshake at his favorite diner. He’d hold your hand as you walked through the sand, giggled with you over silly inside jokes while eating burgers and fries, hugged you tight after you gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek at the end of the night.

Chris gave you dimes to pick tunes on the jukebox, and would sing along to your selections with the prettiest voice you’d ever heard. He took you to the county fair, would shoot you goofy grins after kissing you with lips sticky from cotton candy, got on the ferris wheel with you and squeezed your hand when the height made you dizzy, kissing away your nerves when you reached the very top.

He won you a teddy bear from the soda toss, put his leather jacket over your shoulders when the sun set and the air began to chill, wrapped his arm around your shoulder while you were waiting in line to buy some popcorn. He’d lean down to whisper a joke in your ear, and you’d slap his arm with a giggle while he squeezed you closer.

You watched him soup up the engine of his car, and he’d take your hand after a long day of working on it, pull you in to dance with him while the radio blared the hippest tunes. When he was satisfied with the restoration of his cadillac, he started taking you out on long drives, wind whipping through your hair as he drove fast through the back streets of the city.

He’d drive you to secluded hills overlooking the city, where you’d make out until he had to drive you home in time for curfew. He’d park his car far down the street, away from where your family could see him dropping you off– because Lord knows your mother's heart would give out if she saw you spending your vacation with a guy that looked like him.

And through it all, days spent back at the beach where you first met him were always your favorite. You would let Chris lay you down on a towel in the sand and kiss you over and over, until you were both heaving and hot. You lost your virginity to him like that– alone on the beach, towels laid down and moon high in the sky after having snuck out of the window of your guest bedroom to meet him.

He’d whisper sweet words in your ear, make you fall apart with deft fingers and an equally deft tongue. Sometimes, instead of sneaking out to see him, he’d be the one showing up at your guest room's window, grinning at you as you opened it to let him in. He’d fuck you there, in the bed with his hand clamped over your mouth to muffle your moans of pleasure, lest your family discover what it is you’re really up to while "alone" in your room. 

Chris would crawl over to you in the passenger seat at the drive-in, sink to his knees and dip his head underneath your long poodle skirt, the flick on screen long forgotten as he pulled your panties to the side to kiss and lick your dripping pussy. Sometimes he’d fuck you there too, parked all the way in back with the windows and hood of the car up to hide what you were doing (as if the rocking didn’t give it away to anyone who happened to look.)

Sometimes, when he parked up the street to drop you off after sharing ice cream at the drive thru malt shop, you’d lean over the gear shift, taking his cock out of his jeans and sucking him off right there, with not nearly enough care for who could possibly see you. He’d give you the sweetest kiss before helping you out of the car, promising he’d see you tomorrow too, and the day after, and the day after that, until eventually your family’s summer vacation had to come to an end.

Chris was a dreamboat that day, as he always was– hair greased back with a few curly strands left over his forehead, loose black tee tucked into his jeans, leather jacket on with its collar ever so slightly popped, his dog tag necklace sparkling when the sun hit it just right. He was leaning against the door of his newly souped up cadillac with a lit cigarette resting between his lips, though he promptly threw it to the ground when he saw you walking over.

“There’s my girl! And ain’t she a doll,” he grinned as he pulled you to his body, kissing you sweetly as you blushed. You weren’t wearing anything he hadn’t seen you in before– just one of your usual white blouses and pretty pink skirts, but he always made sure to tell you that he thought you were the absolute most.

He walked around to the other side of the car, opened the door for you and closed it shut behind you when you got in. He hopped into the driver’s seat after, starting the ignition and turning to you with that beaming smile that made your stomach flip. “What’s the plan today, sugar?” he asked, throwing his arm around you while leaving one hand on the steering wheel.

In the end, you spent the day as you had many times before– driving through the city, hitting up the diner to split a strawberry milkshake, and watching the sunset at the beach; the same beach where you met him, and where the house you were staying in lied just a couple hundred yards away. You were sitting on the rocks, his leather jacket off and resting behind you, his arm curled around your waist. 

His jeans were filthy with sand, as was your skirt, but neither of you cared– you just stayed there together, watching the sun sink lower and the waves crash against the shore. Chris kissed you when you looked up at him with watery eyes, agonized over the idea of never seeing him again. He’d given you the best summer of your entire life, and all you wanted was to stay– but you couldn’t. And though he comforted you the best he could, you both knew it was the end.

Chris held your hand to help you off the rocks, gave you a kiss before you turned away to make the walk to your aunt’s beach house. And you both knew it was the end– but not just yet. He came to your window later that night, and you let him in, bringing your hands to his face and eagerly pressing your lips to his.

He walked you back to the bed as you kissed him, laid you back gently and crawled between your legs. He made you cum on his fingers before reaching into the pocket of his jeans, pulling out a condom and tearing it open with his teeth. He rolled it easily down his cock, his jeans having fallen down his legs just enough to let him fuck you.

You reached your hands underneath his shirt, hungrily tracing your hands over every inch of his skin. Your nightgown was bunched above your thighs, legs spread wide to accommodate him. He eventually pulled the top of it down too, exposing your chest to him and leaving your stomach as the only covered part of your body.

Sweat dripped from his brow, his normally perfectly slicked hair tousled from your fingers sliding through it– and you didn't care that the pomade in his hair dirtied your fingers; in fact, it made it feel nicer when you brought your hand to one of your breasts, and rolled your nipples between them. Your stomach flipped when he grinned and called you a dirty girl, running a hand through his hair to grease up his fingers too and tweak the other nipple not being played with by your own.

He kissed you to muffle your moans and desperate whines, and it was nowhere near as effective as when it was his hand clamped over your mouth, but it was better. He had to slow down when fucking you fast unintentionally made your bedframe slam against the wall, and you gasped, praying no one woke up from the sound.

Thankfully, no one came knocking on your door– and though you were both desperate, clinging to one another hard and sliding your tongues around each other’s with fervor, he fucked you slow and deep after that. "Chris, daddy, please– 'm gonna cum," you moaned when he brought his slicked up fingers to your clit. 

Chris groaned before kissing you again, and you came with a muffled cry, your nails digging desperately into his biceps. He kept rolling his hips into you through it, your body trembling with sensitivity until he eventually came too, all his cum spilling into the condom. 

He stayed for a while after that, holding you close and wiping tears from your eyes with his thumbs. He snuck out in the middle of the night, promised you despite it all that it wasn’t the end– you’d see each other again someday, he just knew it; he wanted you to believe it too.

You got a couple of hours of sleep before morning, and gave your family the best smile you could manage as you tossed your luggage in the trunk of your dad's chevy bel air. You slouched in the back seat, trying not to cry and wishing more than anything you were in Chris’ old cadillac instead.

The Chris you reunited with wasn’t yours, and if it was, then fate was cruel for bringing you back to him.

The Chris you knew wouldn’t have looked at you like that– like you’re a desperate and fast girl, or an overly smitten near stranger hoping to get her kicks from him one last time while his friends snickered behind him. The Chris you knew wouldn’t join in on their snickering, tilting his head with an amused expression, tongue poking his cheek as he combs his fingers through his slicked back hair.

The Chris you reunited with wasn't yours, and the realization that you didn't really know him the way you thought you did utterly broke your heart.

You were back in the city– your parents, after having settled whatever marital disputes they were having, decided to settle down here. They loved their time together in the city when all their little tiffs were said and done, and they could tell you loved it here too.

They thought it’d benefit everyone to set up shop somewhere new, where everyone could reset. Plus, your mom wanted to be close to her sister again– and you certainly wouldn’t complain about spending more time at your aunt’s beach house.

You desperately wanted to see Chris again, and you knew it’d only be a matter of time before you did– unlike you, he grew up in the city, lived here his entire life. And while it’d been months since you parted at the end of summer considering your parents had to do a lot of work to shift the family business to a new location while also looking for a decent house up for sale, it would happen eventually– you were certain of it.

And soon enough you did see him, knew in an instant it was him even at a distance– because you’d recognize his restored cadillac anywhere. He was leaning against the car door like usual, cigarette in his mouth and leather jacket on his back, with a circle of friends around him. You never met his friends– he told you they were pigs, said that you wouldn’t like them much.

Besides, you were only going to be in town a few short months– why waste your precious few days hanging around with other people when you could be alone? That’s what he always told you– and as you tentatively began to walk up the street closer to them, you could tell they certainly did talk more vulgarly than you were used to hearing.

“C���mon man, you gotta let me borrow her,” one of his friends begged in reference to his car, “she’s a real pussy wagon. My chick’ll cream if I pick her up in it.” “Get your own wheels, bozo,” Chris shoved him with a laugh, “I ain’t lettin’ you take my girl on any joyrides.”

“What if you come too? Make it a double date, you know– and nobody’s got bigger tits than Annette. I got dibs, but she’ll be real nice eye candy for you,” his friend persuaded and Chris hummed, as if seriously considering it. Would he really go?

“Mm, maybe,” he grinned, tossing his cigarette to the ground and digging it into the gravel with his foot, “You do got a point. Tell her to bring a pretty friend, and I’ll think about it.” You blinked, stopped walking and simply stared at him. Had he moved on already? It’d only been a few months, but maybe you fell for him harder than he fell for you; the thought of it made your heart sink to your stomach.

His friend cheered and hugged him tight, and Chris pushed him away with another laugh, running a hand through his hair to fix it up as he characteristically did whenever it got even the slightest bit out of shape. In that same moment is when he glanced over in your direction, catching sight of you by pure coincidence.

His eyes widened when he saw you, mouth gaping open for a split second before he called your name in a mix of utter shock and joy. That was more like the Chris you knew– and it gave you hope. You ran up to him, and he to you, bringing his hands to your shoulders and touching you up and down your arms– truly, he couldn’t believe you were here, and he had to touch you to be certain it was real. 

“What– what are you doing here? I-I thought you went back home with your folks, I thought–” he was smiling, entirely giddy as he looked you up and down. “We moved! I’m here to stay,” you told him excitedly, bouncing on your heels as you stared up at him.

It made you so, so happy; to the point that the contents of his prior conversation entirely lifted from your mind. It pains you thinking back to how naive and lovesick for him you were– you wish you'd have known better. 

“I can’t believe it! I–” he started to exclaim, but then realized his friends followed him, crowding around his back while shooting him inquisitive looks, and he quickly took his hands off you.

He cleared his throat, tucked his hands in his pockets in a gesture meant to bring him back to his aloof state of being, and he grinned– not that pretty grin that made your heart flutter, but a wicked one. “I mean– that’s cool, baby.”

You didn’t like it, your brows furrowing at the change in his demeanor. “Christopher–” you started, but one of his friends spoke up before you could talk much more. “Who’s the chick?” he asked as he looked you up and down, and Chris hesitated. “Oh, uh–”

“Oh, I know!” the friend suddenly exclaimed, hit by an epiphany, “the one from the beach you wouldn’t let us meet– the one who puts out. This her? It is, isn’t it?”

Your face burned red, unpleasant heat crawling over your body as the rest of his friends snickered. He told them you put out? Why would he do that? Your expression crumbled, body trembling with embarrassment and grief, but Chris kept his own cool.

“Don’t worry, doll, I didn’t tell them all the horny details,” he smirked, and his friends' snickers erupted into full on laughs as they slapped his back in amusement. Your body burned hot with indignation, eyes welling with tears as your frustration and anguish boiled over. You shoved him as hard as you could, though it hardly even caused him to take a step back.

“I wish I’d never laid eyes on you, you– you creep!” you cried before turning away, ready to run back home to throw the teddy bear he won you in the trash and sob into your pillows. “That’s not all she laid on him,” one of his friends commented under his breath, the rest laughing and hooting as you sprinted away from them, back down the street.

Chris just watched, body tense and face sullen, heart twisting in his chest. He watched you turn the corner, wiping tears from your eyes before you disappeared entirely out of view, his friends still laughing and giving him pats on the back.

But when he turned to them, he put the smirk back on, and they all hopped into his car to hit the drive-in as if he didn't care about what just happened with you, as if the guilt wasn't going to eat away at him every night.

The next time Chris sees you is weeks later, at a new mom-and-pop shop freshly opened on the edge of the city. He’s there with his friends, all of them jumping out his cadillac before he’s even fully parked, rushing inside to grab a good table.

And when he walks in, it’s not his friends that he sees first but you– sitting at a booth with another guy across from you. There's an empty plate with tiny remnants of ketchup still left behind that he just knows you used for your french fries, and a milkshake between you with two straws stuck in it.

Part of him is relieved you aren’t sharing a single straw with the man like you would’ve done with him, but his gut still twists from the sight regardless. And when you giggle at something indiscernible the guy says, Chris feels liquid hot envy boil in his blood, jaw tightening and fists clenching as he cracks his neck. 

“Chris, over here!” his best pal, Felix, calls from across the shop, and that’s when you see him too. You can’t help but look when you hear his name called, eyes widening when they land on him. He tenses, eyes lingering on you for a few seconds longer before he inevitably joins his friends at the table they scouted out in the middle of the room.

He can't focus on anything his friends are saying– the only thing he vaguely hears through the fog in his brain is Changbin begging the others for spare nickels so he can afford the dog-sled delight. It all becomes tuned out noise, because all he can think about is how much he missed you, and how much it pisses him off that you're here with someone else.

It's Chris' own fault, he knows that, and that makes the feeling even worse– like bile in his throat that he can't swallow down. It doesn’t take Minho, the most perceptive of his friend group, to notice that he’s staring at you and to comment on it.

“What, you still hung up on that chick?” he questions, and Chris scoffs as he snaps out of his fog, leaning back in his chair and acting as aloof as he can bring himself to. “What? No, of course not,” he says, but his eyes still linger on you, fingers twitching with irritation when he hears you laugh again, and watches you playfully slap the man’s arm like you would do to his.

Eventually, you hold out your palm to your date, and he watches the guy dig through his pockets to give you something. Chris knows immediately what's happening– you’re waiting to be given a dime or two, and you’ll saunter off to the jukebox to pick a new tune once they’re in hand.

He watches you rise from the booth, waits until you’ve made the walk over to rise from his table, muttering to his friends that he needs to hit the can real quick. He takes a few steps in the direction of the bathroom, and then immediately turns, going straight to you instead.

He props an arm on the jukebox after he approaches, leans against it and looks down at you as you cycle through the record choices. “Hey baby,” he tries, but you ignore him, don’t even spare him a glance as you continue to give the jukebox your full attention.

“Listen– I’m sorry,” he tries again, and you just hum in acknowledgement, still not turning your gaze to look at him. He swallows, glances back at his friends who are perfectly oblivious to what he’s doing, and then back to you. “I just– you know how it is, right? The guys, they expect me to act a certain way, and–”

“That’s why I’m so glad I met Sam,” you interrupt, turning around to look at your date and offer him a sweet wave. Chris hates it, but at least you’re talking to him now– he’ll take what he can get. He still ends up scowling however when your date waves back, and you turn back to the jukebox, still without glancing up at Chris himself.

“What, you like that square?” he scoffs as he looks your date up and down. He’s smartly dressed; pristine khaki slacks and a brown sweater vest pulled over his white button up, his hair in a neatly styled, respectable crew cut– but that’s not your type.

At least, he hopes it's not; because that would make Chris the outlier, and that’s not what he wants to be. He’ll also be damned if he ends up losing you to a goody two shoes like that.

“He’s sweet to me. And I don’t have to question what his intentions are, unlike with you,” you reply, and the emphasis put on 'you' makes his heart sink. While he certainly deserves to hear it, it doesn’t make him any less upset– not with you, but with himself. He really let his pride and reputation get in the way, and he knows he fucked up. But he wants you, and surely you know that, right?

You finally settle on a tune; Those Magic Changes– the one he knows is your absolute favorite. The one he even used to serenade you with once whilst dancing, you giggling away with a cute blush on your cheeks whilst he twirled you around. He sang it more exaggeratedly towards the end, purposely putting on a goofy voice to make you laugh harder as he dipped you down.

He kissed you before lifting you back up, and then again when you were completely upright, your hand on his shoulder and his arm around your waist, your other free hands intertwined. The way you looked at him when he pulled back from the kiss made his heart pound, but he played it cool– shot you that grin that always made your legs feel like jelly, kissing your cheeks when it made your blush deepen.

Chris liked feeling the heat of your blush against his lips, liked having your hands on him even when it was in the purest of ways, liked the way you giggled and smiled at him when he playfully winked at you. The memory strikes him hard when you press the play button to start the song, and he takes a step back from the jukebox, fists clenched at his side.

You look at him then– really look at him. Instantly he feels small, your gaze that once held so much love for him now meeting him with the utmost scrutiny. He fucked up, he knows he did– but what does he do now? He can’t even trust himself to say something without fucking it up even worse. 

And the pain of it all hits you too– he can see it in your eyes just before you steel your expression, and do your best to act unaffected. "See you around, Christopher," you mutter as you turn away from him and the jukebox.

You walk back to the booth where Sam awaits your return with a smile, while Chris just stands there, your favorite song blaring painfully loud in his ears as he stares at your back. "..begs you please, come back to me, please return to me, don't go away again," the lyrics mock him harshly.

He doesn't know what to do, but he knows he has to do something, anything, to show you he’s sincerely sorry. He needs to show you he still wants you, needs you to give him another chance– more than he’s ever needed anything.

The next time Chris sees you is once again by coincidence, while he’s sitting alone in the parking lot of the sock hop his little sister just begged him to take her to. He was trying to decide what to do with his time– if he left, he’d have to come back in a couple hours to pick her up, but surely it was better than sitting around outside, bored out of his mind while he waited for her.

He could go in, but sock hops aren’t really his thing– the only time he ever danced was with you, and he didn’t plan on changing that. All he’d do inside is stand on the edge of the room and watch his sister dance, and he didn’t much feel like doing that either. Besides, his little sister was a good girl, and she didn’t need, nor want, his constant supervision.

And he’s just about to turn the key in his ignition and burn rubber when he sees you, arm linked with stupid fucking Sam as he opens the door for you with his free hand. And fuck, he doesn't even care that he's about to crash your date– he just needs to talk you. He jumps out of his car in a rush, pulling open the door to the building and heading straight to the line leading to the dance floor.

Chris’ jaw tenses when he sees you– Sam is leaning down to whisper something in your ear while you wait in the line, and you cover your mouth as you giggle. He hates how similar it is to the days he spent with you at the fair, waiting in line for rides and popcorn. The envy bubbling in his gut makes him feel sick, and he has to take a breath to calm himself down before he approaches you.

He steps to where you are in the line when he feels mellowed out enough, you and your date turning around curiously when they hear his voice call your name. Your eyes widen when you see it's him, but you’re quick to correct your expression before your date notices anything off about you. “Can I talk to you?” Chris asks, not at all acknowledging Sam’s presence beside you.

Even when you divert your gaze to glance at your date’s reaction, Chris’ eyes stay firmly on you, awaiting your answer. “Please?” he follows up, and it makes you swallow. It’s the first time he’s ever taken a pleading, desperate tone with you, and he can tell rejecting him isn’t going to come easily to you– it gives him hope that you'll finally hear him out, maybe even take him back.

“I–” you hesitate a moment, and just as Chris’ new, shiny hope begins to dim, you unlink your arm from your date. “I’ll be right back, just stay in the line,” you tell Sam before shooting Chris a look and walking past him. He follows you back outside, and you cross your arms as you stand against the cold brick of the exterior.

“What do you want?” you cut straight to the point. There’s a million things he wants to say, but his built up jealousy causes him to ask the stupid, burning question first and foremost. “Since when do you go to sock hops?” he questions, and it almost makes you laugh– he’s unbelievable, breaking your heart like that and then pulling stunts like this. 

“Since nice boys ask me to go with them. Why, you jealous?” you accuse him and he scoffs, trying once again to play off what he feels. “Me? Jealous? Don’t make me laugh,” he says, unable to help the instinctive reaction to being called out. And he instantly regrets it, but it’s too late to take it back.

“Oh, so you won’t mind if I go back inside then?” you ask as you step away from the wall, starting to walk past Chris and back to the doors. He grabs your arm to stop you, and you look up at him expectantly. “Don’t, I–” he grits his teeth, hesitates for a moment, but ultimately decides to be honest, “I am, okay? So don’t.”

He lets your arm go, and his admission thankfully proves enough to make you stay. You settle back against the brick wall, but you don’t look at him after– instead you look down at the ground, staring at your sleek, black and white saddle shoes instead of meeting his gaze.

It’s silent for a moment, with Chris wracking his brain as he tries to figure out the right thing to say to you. “What you did was terrible, you know,” you end up breaking the silence first, your voice soft.

“I know, I– I meant it when I said I was sorry,” Chris says while moving a step closer to you, and still you hesitate to look at him. “I didn’t believe you. Still don’t,” you reply, and honestly, he can’t blame you– he should’ve been more sincere when he approached you.

But he was being a fucking idiot, still trying to play it cool even though it was just the two of you standing there by the jukebox. And who gave a fuck if his friends happened to look over and saw him talking to you? Why should he care? Is it really so wrong for him to be whipped for you?

Even the first time he saw you again, he should've done all the things he really wanted to do. He should've kissed you and hugged you tight, should've told you how happy he was to know you’re here to stay, should’ve flipped his friends the bird and told them to fuck off if they questioned him. But he didn’t– he cracked under the expectations, and you suffered for it.

There’s a lot he wants to say, but he doesn’t know how to say it– he’s never been vulnerable about his feelings before you, but he wants to try. Even if he screws up over and over again, he’ll keep trying– because you deserve it. And he should apologize again, sincerely, but there’s another question burning in his blood that he has to ask.

“Do you really like that guy? You’re not, like– going steady, are you?” Chris questions and you shrug, finally looking up from the ground to meet his eyes. “That depends,” you tell him, peeling your back away from the wall to stand directly in front of him, holding your hands behind your back.

“On what?” he follows up, and you smile– a small one, but it’s enough for him. “On you,” you answer, and the hope flares back up, drowning out the envy and shame in veins and replacing it with pure, unfiltered glee.

“Yeah?” he grins as he tilts his head, and your smile grows the tiniest bit more as you nod. You may still have your doubts about his sincerity, but the fact that you’re willing to give him a chance is all he needs– he’ll use the time you give him to prove it to you, to make sure you’re left with no doubts that you’re the one that he wants, to promise that he'll never break your heart again.

“Come with me then, back inside– you’re gonna be my date,” he says as he holds out his hand to you. Sock hops may not have been his style before, but they can be for you. “What about Sam?” you question, but still take his hand regardless.

“He can stag it the rest of the night for all I care. You’re mine, sugar,” Chris replies, and it sends butterflies sweeping through your stomach as you giggle in delight. “And your friends?” you ask next, knowing it’s very well possible he’ll crack under the expectations of his rep with them again if they see you together.

“Fuck ‘em,” he replies easily; and you’re both sure it’ll be easier said than done for him to not give a shit what they think, but he’ll do his best. He doesn’t want to do anything to make you regret giving him another chance. “Let’s dance, baby,” he grins at you, pulling you along with him as he steps back inside the building with you in tow.

There’s a thought in Chris’ head that he never before thought he’d ever have– the sock hop was perfect. And well, maybe it’s not the sock hop itself necessarily that he enjoyed, but you– yes, it was most certainly you. The time spent with you was everything he’d been missing, everything he could’ve ever hoped for following your departure from the city and his subsequent abysmal fuck up. 

He knew he didn’t deserve any of it– and he was certain you were going to share a more serious talk about it all later, but he couldn’t deny the satisfaction he felt walking back into the building and seeing Sam utterly bewildered that his date was now clinging to his own arm instead.

And he won’t shirk his responsibility to do better by you– he’ll own up to his mistakes, he’ll change, be someone deserving of you. It may take a lot of time and effort to unlearn all the dumb shit he’s taken in over the years, but he swears he’ll try– tonight is just the start of a lifetime of proving to you that he’ll do anything to keep you.

All night, you’ve been positively radiant– and truly, Chris has never felt luckier in all his life. He delighted in the way you smiled at him while dancing, enjoyed the way you squealed in excitement and bounced on your heels when the live band decided to play a cover of your favorite tune, couldn’t help the way a goofy grin spread over his face when you pecked him on the cheek following a slow dance.

You’re the only one in the world who’s ever seen it, you know– the only one who gets to see his dimples, or to hear him giggle. The only one he’s ever sung to and danced with, the only one he’s ever wanted to stay up all night talking on the phone with, the only one he’s ever taken out for more than a quick and simple joyride in his car.

He could feel the inquisitive, disbelieving stares too– Chris has lived here his entire life, and everyone knows the kind of guy he is. And maybe he’s simply lucky– he knows he’s nothing but a delinquent, knows his reputation precedes him, knows he doesn’t deserve the affection of a good girl like you. 

Regardless of it all, you love him– enough to give him another chance even when he hasn’t yet done enough to earn it. And effortlessly, you unlock the soft part of him– the part of him that desires and yearns and wants. He burns for you, the only girl in the world his heart has ever raced for, the only who knew who he was beyond the rough surface he projected to the rest of the world.

Now you’re outside tentatively standing next to Chris’ car, waiting for him to come back from confirming with his sister that she’ll hitch a ride home from her friends instead of him. It embarrasses him how she grills him with questions about you– and he answers in the vaguest of terms, having to promise that he’ll fill her in on it all in more detail later, but to please just let him go be alone with his girl.

He’s certain that no one else would believe it if he told them, but his intentions to be alone with you are entirely pure. Now that he’s close to having you as his again, he wants to do right by you– take it slow, kiss you soft and tender, touch you light and chaste, respectfully, sweetly. He wants to take you on dates again, wants to save up all his quarters to buy you something special, wants to devote his every moment to showing you how sincerely he loves you.

He wants you to meet his friends properly (after he gives them a stern warning to be gentlemen in front of you), wants you to meet his parents, and he wants to meet yours in turn. He wants to stop playing it cool and aloof and confident when he feels something– doesn’t want to keep pretending that the way you look at him doesn’t drive him wild, not just with lust but with adoration.

And certainly, you know that Chris is softer than he outwardly appears– you’re not blind to the way his cheeks and ears burn when you kiss him sweet and call him that name that makes his heart skip a beat. And unlike you, Chris knew what he was doing– so it was natural for him to always be the one leading your little song and dance, even when on the inside he felt like he was going to positively combust from the way your eyes sparkled at him.

There’s something you’ve been wanting to try– something that you couldn’t before, because your summer together passed by in a blink, and there was so much you didn’t know when your relationship first began. And Chris has taught you a lot in your time together– maybe more than he even realizes.

He may not know it, but he’s made you into a real insatiable minx. And now that you know he’s willing to beg and plead and grovel for you to take him back, oh how it makes your heart race with the possibilities. How far can you take it? How far is he willing to go for you, to prove that he’s devoted to you entirely? Would he really do anything to keep you?

Chris told you, just a few moments ago as the sock hop was coming to an end, that he’ll do anything and everything to make sure you don’t regret giving him another chance with him. He looked you straight in the eyes, vulnerable and entirely sincere, squeezed your hands in his as countless promises left his lips. 

Could he be manipulating you? Is he nothing but a dirty liar? It’s certainly possible– but you’d like to believe the Chris you knew last summer is the truest version of himself. You’d like to believe that the Chris you saw tonight isn’t an act to keep stringing you along. So you want to try something– something bold, something the you of last summer would’ve never thought to do.

You don’t think your shyness will ever entirely evaporate given that Chris is such an utter dreamboat, but he does well enough at playing it cool, so who's to say you can’t do it too? You can be playful and enticing, can play it coy and innocent while you flutter your lashes at him, can smile and pout at him in a way that makes desire spread through his veins like explosive, hot fireworks.

When Chris walks back out of the building you have to make a conscious effort to ignore the butterflies in your stomach– you’ve decided you’re a woman on a mission tonight, after all. The parking lot is sparse now, and the last stragglers from the sock hop all shuffle to their cars, his sister and her group of friends being among them.

Though you only met her briefly, you offer her a pleasant wave goodbye, and she smiles at you as she returns it– though you don’t miss the way she shoots her older brother a look after. A look that says “don’t fuck this up for yourself.” It almost makes you giggle– you like having his sister on your side; you get the impression she’ll chew him out if he doesn’t shape up the way he’s promised to. 

Chris doesn’t turn to you until after his sister and her friends have peeled out of the parking lot– you’re not sure if it’s because he wanted to make sure she was going to be safe, or if it’s because he felt like she’d gotten enough of an eyeful of him being affection with you, and he’d be embarrassed if she saw anymore. You like either answer.

“Hi baby,” he says, soft and sweet as he smiles, and it makes your heart once again skip a beat. Even after hours of dancing, he still looks utterly perfect– not a single piece of his greased up hair out of place. You hope you’re faring the same– you didn’t really get a chance to look at yourself in the mirror at the end of the night to know for certain, but you want Chris to think you look divine.

“Am I taking you straight home?” he asks; it’s dark out now, but you still have a fair amount of time before you’re expected back home. And while he’d love to spend more time with you, he isn’t going to assume– this is a trial period, after all; he still has to earn that, he’s sure.

Calling you his earlier was more hope on his end than confidence– he wants you to be his, but he knows he has to earn your trust back first. And he’s going to be a gentleman– any boundary you have, he’ll adhere to, no matter what. He refuses to fuck up with you again.

“No,” you answer short and simple, smiling up at him as you do. But before he can ask you what you want to do until curfew, you’re speaking again. “My shoe's untied,” you pout, leaning back against his car while gently lifting your foot from the ground to show him, “can you fix it for me, please?”

“You want me to tie it for you, baby?” he laughs a little as he tilts his head to the side, thinking you’re just oh so cute when you keep up the pout as you nod. He gets down on one knee easily, and you put your foot right on his knee, watching as he ties your laces back together. When he’s finished, you don’t put your foot back on the ground– you press it right to the middle of his chest.

“Baby?” Chris looks up at you curiously– and there’s a twinkle in your eye he’s never seen before. He almost thinks you’re going to kick him back on his behind, but you don’t– you take your skirt into your hands, and start to pull it up. Slowly, it rises above your calf, your knee, your thigh, until he can see your pretty white panties, with its precious little pink bow in the center.

“S-Sugar, what– what are you–” he stammers, struggling to form words in a way he never has before. You’ve never exposed yourself to him like this– just out in the open, with no barrier between you and the rest of the world. You aren’t in your bedroom, you aren’t inside the car with the windows and hood up– you’re out, in the middle of the fucking parking lot where anyone could see. 

Fuck, even the times at the beach, when he made love to you in the sand, were much, much more secluded than this– because those excursions were isolated, close to your aunt’s beach house and happening in the dead of night. And this is very much not– it’s barely even 9 o’clock, and you’re at a public venue; anyone could come by, and for any reason.

“I need your help with something else too, daddy,” you say as you pout some more, clearly acting coy, and he swallows as he stares up at you. “Can you do it, daddy? Can you help me?” You take as much of your skirt's fabric into one hand as you can, keeping it lifted above your thigh while you move your other hand between your legs, pulling your panties to the side to show him your pussy.

The action sends all of Chris’ blood careening to his cock– he can’t believe you’re really doing this right now. “Right– right here? N-Now?” he gulps, taking a quick glance around the parking lot. You’re alone now, but still– he never thought you’d do something so bold. Even just fooling around in the back seat of the cadillac with as much privacy as he could give you made you impossibly shy.

“Yes, here, now,” you tell him, keeping your panties hooked to the side with two fingers, while using the other two to spread your folds apart for him the best you can. You’re trying to entice him, and fuck, is it working. He never thought he’d see you this way, and it’s making him feel so utterly electric– he’s a fucking live wire, and he’ll pour his current straight into you.

Anything you want from him, it’s yours– he doesn’t need any convincing, he’s already impossibly ensnared by the rope that is your desire for him. And fuck, he said he wouldn't do this, said he'd be a gentleman, take things slow and build back up to intimacy with you– but if you're practically begging him for it, how can he resist?

Chris takes your foot into his hand, carefully lifts it from his chest and throws your leg over his shoulder before he crawls closer to you. The concrete of the parking lot ground is brutal against his knees, but he doesn’t give a shit– you need him, and that’s all that matters.

He replaces your hand, keeps your panties shoved aside with his own. Now that your hand is free you use it to hold onto the car door and give yourself some extra support as he starts placing kisses to your clit. His lips always feel so perfect– especially when he licks them first, gets them nice and wet for you; the sensation draws out a pleasant sigh, but you both know it isn’t really enough.

Chris likes to tease you, make you wait until you’re squirming and trembling from all his repeated kisses, gets you so worked up you could beg and cry before he finally gives you his tongue. But tonight is about getting what you want, when you want it– so as much as you enjoy his soft little kisses, you’re not going to let him work you up.

He’ll be the one fraying at the edges, the one desperate and pleading, the one who feels like his brain is filled with cotton, looking up at you from down on his knees with glassy eyes full of need. You let go of the car door, bring your hand to his head and thread your fingers through his hair. You pull back just enough to have his head tilting away from your pussy, making his eyes land straight up at you.

“Baby–” he gasps, and again you meet his gaze with that sinfully deceitful pout. “You said you’d do anything for me, daddy,” you say as you shoot him your best doe eyed look, “Did you mean it? Will you do anything for me?” Fuck, you’ve got him throbbing– you can see his erection straining against his jeans, and it nearly makes you grin in delight.

Still, you don’t crack– Chris always does well at only showing you the version of himself he wants you to see, and you will too. You won’t give him your meek looks or timid declarations of desire for more of his touch– he’ll only see a new you; a confident you who knows exactly what she wants. You’ve learned from the best, after all.

“Well?” you demand when he doesn’t immediately answer, and you watch him swallow, swearing you can see the shiver that spreads down his spine and throughout the rest of his body. “Y-Yeah baby, I meant it. I’d do anything for you,” he tells you, hoping you can’t see how red his face and ears are getting in the low light.

“Prove it– prove you want me, prove you’re good for something,” you say, and again he shivers, breath catching in his throat. “Eat it, make me cum.” Fuck, Chris is reeling– he still can’t even believe it’s really you talking to him this way. His brain feels like a faulty circuit board, all his synapses sparking dangerously as they fire off, ready to ignite his blood and engulf him in an uncontrollable flame of desire.

When you let go of his hair, he wastes no time diving right into your pussy, eating you out like a man starved. He brings his free hand to your ass, squeezes and holds you in place while he shakes his head to get more of you on his tongue, his nose bumping your clit and making your legs quiver.

You bite your lip, doing your best to suppress the loud moan he brings out of you by sucking on your clit. His plush lips wrapped around it, the flicks of his tongue, how expertly he sucks– it’s already so overwhelming, in the best way possible. Chris does his best to sink lower, tries to lick at your hole and get his tongue inside, but it’s hard like this– he’s not sure if he can.

“B-Baby, doll, let me lay you down, in the car, let me–” he pulls away from your dripping center to look up at you, and fuck, he looks ruined in the prettiest way imaginable. His eyes are hazy and pleading, glistening with your arousal from the tip of his nose all the way down to his chin, sweat dripping down his brow. “Need to spread you out, I– please? Gotta taste more of you.” 

Shit, you can’t deny you want it– especially not when he’s begging like this. You nod, and he smiles at you in appreciation, a smile that makes your knees even weaker than they already are. You take your leg off his shoulder, and he quickly rises to his feet, giving you a messy kiss before he ushers you away from the car door to open it for you.

You crawl into the back seat, and he follows, slamming the door shut behind him. He waits until you get comfortable, not acting until you're lying propped against the opposite door of the car. Chris hooks your panties in his fingers, pulls them down your legs and tosses them aside into the footwell; it'll be a sweet treat for him when he finds them again later.

He'll keep them, he thinks– stuff ‘em in his pocket and take them back to his room, where they'll lie safe and protected under his pillow. It's a dirty thought, one that'd otherwise fill his gut with shame, but right now all he feels is need– need for you to cum on his tongue, need to give you everything you want and more.

He settles on his stomach between your legs, and it’s certainly not easy, but he manages well enough. One of your legs ends up over his shoulder again while the other stays spread out with the help of his hand holding you under the knee. And finally, his tongue dips into your hole, and it’s pure bliss– maybe even more so for him than you. He’s hungry, utterly ravenous; all he can think, breath, and taste is you, you, you.

“Chris– your fingers, need your fingers,” you whine more shamelessly than you would've otherwise liked, but you know he enjoys it. He separates from you long enough to run his fingers between your folds, making sure they’re nice and slick for you before he presses them to your hole. 

He slides one finger in first, bringing his mouth back to your clit while you adjust to the feeling. Your legs are already trembling by the time he adds another finger, and when he starts curling his fingers to hit your most sensitive spot while flicking his tongue against your clit you can hardly even breathe– it’s just so, so good.

Your stomach is clenching, thighs and legs shaking hard, your release building up with an intensity you’ve never felt before. “Oh, fuck, Chris–” you cry when he presses the tips of his fingers into your spot harder. You’re certain that if it wasn’t for the fact that you’re still wearing your shoes, your toes would be curling from the pleasure.

Your pussy sounds so sloppy and messy, and Chris himself isn’t making it any better– he’s drooling so much, his saliva drenching you just as much as your own dripping arousal. You’re breathing hard, and even your hands are shaking as they continue to hold up your skirt to watch him devour you.

“Oh my god, ‘m gonna cum, I’m gonna– fuck, gonna cum for you daddy, please don’t stop,” you’re crying loud– and you know you should at least try to be quieter considering how out in the open you are, but you’re too far gone to care. With your head thrown back, you whimper and moan, high pitched and loud, eyes rolling back as your orgasm takes you.

It feels like it’s endless, the waves of pleasure ceaselessly jolting your body as your vision blurs white; and you feel wet; so, so wet. It’s only when you finally come down from the high and lift your head back up from where it thunked against the car door to look at Chris that you realize why you feel so drenched.

It’s not just your thighs that are dampened– it’s your skirt, Chris’ face and shirt, the leather of his seats; all of it is soaked with your cum. Your face starts to burn hot, and you swallow as Chris stares at you, almost bewildered. “Baby– did you just..?” You squirted for him, because of him– he doesn’t even fucking care how much of a nightmare it’s going to be to clean his car, all he can think about is how fucking sexy it is.

You simply nod, because it’s all you can think to do– you really weren’t expecting this to happen. “Oh my god, baby, you have to do it again, please, you have to,” he practically whines, and his enthusiasm over it makes you giggle. You honestly feel more than a little shy about it, but Chris’s apparent elation makes it worth the tinge of embarrassment.

You reach out for him, take the necklace dangling from his neck into your hands and pull, urging him to come closer to you. He crawls up your body, and you kiss him, sliping your tongue into his mouth and tasting yourself all over him. “Fuck, you’re so dirty baby,” he groans when you pull away, “what are we going to do, huh?”

It makes you giggle again, a soft thing full of mischievous delight. He basks in it, giggles with you before he kisses you again. “Need your cock now,” you tell him when he pulls away, and shit, he’d nearly forgotten how fucking hard he is whilst wrapped up in pleasuring you. He can feel it straining against his jeans, desperate for stimulation of its own.

“Yeah? Want my cock baby?” he asks, grinning at you the way he always had before; you tug on his silver chain again in response. “Don’t forget, you’re giving me everything I want. Everything, okay?” you say once his face is mere inches from yours again, making him look you closely in the eyes. Chris swallows as he nods, the smile you offer him once again making his brain feel fuzzy and floaty.

He looks you over once more, really takes it all in before he scrambles over the front seat, reaching for the glove box where he still has some spares from your time together over the summer. Condom in hand, he settles back over you, and you help him with his jeans while he tears the package open. He spreads it quickly down his length, and you take your legs in hand, holding them under your knees to keep yourself open for him. 

The sight of you like that is dizzying– legs open, skirt bunched up all the way to your stomach, pussy wet and glistening, with the hair there matting from how wet you are; you’re perfect. So fucking perfect. He moans as he pushes into you, so slick that you take him with ease. You take his face in one of your hands and pull him down to kiss you, a desperate one that makes pleasure lick over every inch of his skin.

Chris rolls his hips into you slowly to start, while you let go of the leg you're still holding to wrap your limbs around him, keeping him pressed close. He grabs onto the car door, uses it to keep himself steady when he starts to pick up the pace of his hips, harsh breaths and low moans leaving him freely. Neither of you are trying to be quiet, the street lights are burning bright, the hood of his car and the windows are down, anyone could hear you or see you– and the excitement of it all makes the pleasure he feels all the more intense.

“Baby, your tits– let me see ‘em, please, can I see ‘em?” he asks between labored breaths– he needs to see them, has missed them more than is probably allowed. You quickly do as he asks, fumbling with the top few buttons of your blouse to expose yourself to him. You tug down your bra so he can see your breasts bare, and again he groans, bringing his free hand to one of them to brush his thumb over your hardened nipple.

“Oh, you’re so pretty– so, so pretty baby,” he says, groaning when the words make you clench harder around him. It doesn’t take long for the car to start rocking with the motion of his thrusts, his rhythm quickly growing sloppier. He’s been so worked up, and believe it or not, he hasn’t actually fucked anyone since you– he feels so high strung and on edge, and he doesn’t know how much longer he can hold out.

He just hopes he can make you cum again before he does, or at least make you cum with him– he needs you to be happy with him. You can feel his cock twitching and throbbing, you can tell that he’s already impossibly close– so, like the little minx you are, you talk dirty to him, wanting to see him utterly unravel at the seams. “You gonna fill me up, daddy? Make this pussy all yours?”

Chris gasps and shudders, goosebumps erupting all over his impossibly hot skin. He knows he can’t actually– all he’s going to really fill up with his cum is the condom, but fuck, the thought of it is making his head swim. “Y-Yeah, gonna fill you up baby, daddy’s gonna make you so full,” he breathes, and God, that really does it for you.

You bring your fingers to your clit, rubbing in quick, practiced circles. Even through the condom he can feel you gushing and soaking his cock, and it sends him over the edge– as do the sounds of your incredibly pretty whimpers and moans of pleasure. His hips still when he cums, his bottom lip tucked between his teeth as his eyes roll back, head thrown back in utmost bliss.

It takes Chris a few moments to recollect himself and catch his breath, and he slowly slips out of you when does. He tucks his softening length back in his jeans before he helps you fix your bra, and smoothes your skirt out over your legs while you button your blouse back up. “You feeling okay, baby?” he asks, wiping messy strands of hair out of your face.

You’re both covered in a sheen of sweat, faces flushed and hot, hair utterly a mess– it’s obvious, even with your clothes fixed up, what you’ve been doing. “Mhm, are you?” you ask, and he smiles, giving you a quick peck on the lips. “I’m peachy keen, jelly bean,” he replies and you giggle, kissing him once more.

He looks at himself in his rearview mirror when he pulls away, does his best to fix his messy hair while you lift yourself up from your propped position and stretch out your aching limbs. He then takes another glance around the parking lot, and notes that you’re still the only ones here– thank God. He was too enraptured by you to check earlier, and he’s grateful that no one else has showed up.

“Should probably get you home now, yeah?” Chris asks, looking at the clock on his dashboard and noticing it’s now getting dangerously close to your 10 o’clock curfew. He helps you get into the passenger seat when you nod, and you smile at him when he settles in beside you. He turns the key in the ignition, one hand resting on your thigh while the other stays on the wheel, and he drives you home.

Chris parks up the street, like he did all those times at your aunt’s beach house. He watches you walk over to your house, and he smiles when you turn around to blow him a kiss. At 11 he leaves his car, walks up the street to your home, and approaches the only window with a light still on– the window to your new bedroom. And you smile as you open it for him, letting him crawl his way inside.

He sees the teddy bear he won you at the fair sitting right in the middle of your bed, nestled against your pillows, and he smiles, delighted that you still kept it even after he broke your heart. “I love you, baby,” he tells you in a whisper after a sweet kiss, “never gonna hurt you again, I promise.”

“You better keep that promise, mister. Or I might just have to make you jealous again,” you warn and tease him with a cheeky little smile. He strips out of his jeans and tee shirt as you turn off your lamp, lies down beside you after you settle into your bed, runs his hand up and down your back as you press yourself against him. Head on his chest, with your arm and leg tossed over him, he kisses your head and smiles once more– because as he promised, this is just the start of a lifetime.

network tags: @ksmutsociety @skzstarnet

[a-cloud-for-dreams]

Okay, I caved and downloaded Romance Club😭😭 Does anyone have any good story recommendations? I'm still gonna be on Choices and post Choices content (and finish off the books on my reading list). I just feel like I need to stop relying on one storytelling app

Ugh, this is such a weird feeling! It reminds me of when I switched from Episode to Choices and I had to acclimate to the better quality of stories imao. I just wanna ✨expose myself✨ to more interactive apps and since Storyscape or wtvr doesn't exist anymore this is the closest I can get

And The Haze Will Take Us (UP TO DATE)

Kali: Flame of Samsara (UP TO DATE)

Astrea's Broken Heart (UP TO DATE)

Heaven's Secret: Requiem (UP TO DATE)

Chasing You 2 (UP TO DATE)

W: Time Catcher (UP TO DATE)

Love, Sin, and Evil Vol. 1 (UP TO DATE)

Garden of Eden (UP TO DATE)

Soulless (UP TO DATE)

7 Brothers (UP TO DATE)

Song of the Crimson Nile (UP TO DATE)

Legend of the Willow (NEXT DIAMOND RUSH)

Heart of Trespia (NEXT DIAMOND RUSH)

Psi (NEXT DIAMOND RUSH)

Chasing You (STARTED...)

Sails in the Fog (STARTED...)

Dracula: A Love Story (STARTED...)

Rage of the Titans (STARTED...)

Hell and Highwater (STARTED...)

Shadows of Saintfour

COMPLETED

Kali: Call of Darkness: 9/10; love the MC, the characters, the story progression, the Dozen lore, replayability, etc. but gets a point off for its problematic depiction of Indian culture and Hinduism) tbh it deserves an extra point or two off because I despise the way Remy clearly wrote from a Eurocentric perspective, but this is also the first RC book I read after the slew of mid Choices books so I got attached unfortunately

Theodora: 9.6/10; I got the ending where I was only able to save my soul and it made me sad 😭 the story was well written but there were parts where I was just a lil bored. At least, that’s how I felt initially before I became obsessed with the book. It's objectively amazing etc. but I feel kinda robbed from screentime with the OG characters if that makes sense? Either way the writer did a great job writing them into the plot in later seasons and the MC is so amazing I love her <3 it’s not easy to write the progression of multiple relationships already but to have a different set of likable LIs every season is incredible!

Arcanum: 9.8/10; THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD omg I love how the plot came full circle and the MC was interesting and well-written (her character design was also top tier). It's such a unique concept for a book I love it. I feel like S3 could have gone by a lil quicker (along with a couple of other nitpicky things) but that could just be because S2 was so full of action

Heaven's Secret: 9.9/10; I just started its sequel, but I was pleasantly surprised at how engaging this book was! I like the gradual progression from being a new student to slowly learning the truth behind your death and about the academy. The final battle scene was super cool, and I feel like everything had a logical explanation (ex. Shepha only having power over light). I also like the different pathways of being an Angel, Demon, or Harmony Bearer (which I was!) it was really fun and seems like a replayable book <3

The Desert Rose: [review pending, check later]

The One Volume 2: [review pending, check later]

Vying for Versailles: [review pending, check later]

Sins of London: [review pending, check later]

Heaven's Secret 2: [review pending, check later]

[celestie0]

Best way to start off 2025 is with a new chapter of IHM 🥹 I hope you’re feeling much better btw! Food poisoning is a bitch to deal with so I hope the recovery is going well 🥹

I DID NOT except THAT being the Gojo family lore drop holy shit. There’s so much to unpack that even the Gojo’s haven’t started on and it breaks my heart seeing how they tip toe around the topic. The vibes I got are: plaster that smile on your face and keep the convos cute which… yeah it be like that for a lot of us 😭

Sana get behind me, PLEASE. I love that reader was her anchor throughout the evening keeping her sane. It’s miserable feeling like you’re the only person in your own corner so I can’t imagine what she’s been feeling like every gathering before now. I’m hoping that reader and Sana develop a good friendship because I think the two of them could really be good for each other and I love women supporting women 🥰 and Sana needs someone in her corner if reader’s intuition is correct (and we know it is 😭).

Gojo has been so reserved this chapter, which is fine considering this is probably the most vulnerable place location wise he has been so far. He’s always been very calm and collected but after this dinner, it definitely makes sense why he’s like that. He reminds me of how I handle things (as the oldest sibling, I’m usually the one that has to have their shit together and keep the peace) so I got those vibes from him (I could also just be projecting lmao). Instead of talking about it, he seems to avoid it altogether. We still don’t have the whole story so I’m making some assumptions about his person as a whole, but it’s been so interesting to see this family dynamic in action.

Reader, hang in there 😭 I remember slipping once and saying something extremely raunchy in front of my in laws and I wanted to bury myself… but it’ll pass and become a cute little anecdote for dinner in the future. It’s also cute seeing her thought process when she’s questioning why she cares about how Gojo perceives her appearance and who the girl he took to homecoming was (that side bangs image is bringing ME back to my school years 😭). It’s little things like these that build up their relationship that make me feel all warm and fuzzy. The small physical things like their bodies gravitating towards each other at dinner (her knee touching his thigh, almost leaning on his shoulder), Gojo placing his hand on her back, etc is absolute PEAK 😩 you apologized for the lack of romance but I’m HERE for the small things.

I’m probably forgetting a couple things but I fear this ask is getting too long and I don’t wanna overwhelm you 😭 I wanna say, I appreciate every word you put out for us and I’ll continue to do so for as long as you’re willing to share with us! Your talent for writing immersive and realistic scenes keeps me afloat and I’m thankful I get to read it. I hope 2025 treats you incredibly well and I cannot wait to see how the rest of this story plays out 🥰

Have a great week and I hope you feel better soon ❤️

HIII makimais dear i’m so sorry for the late response on this :”) but thansk you SO much for the insight ask aaa i look forward to your ihm reviews so much <33

awh in happy you enjoyed the budding friendship btwn sana and reader <3 reader keeps saying she doesnt want to get too involved in the whole marriage yet she’s privy to sana’s feelings! i loved the idea of having that sort of “perfect family” resolve crumble slowly throughout the chap so it was a lot of fun to write :)

oh no you’re absolutely collect, that’s what i was going for w the whole older sibling thing! im a youngest myself but a couple of my close friends are eldest siblings and they have often shared w me the obstacles that comes with…especially when you’ve had to kinda step up into that parental role! he was absolutely reserved in that chapter n for a reason

yippeee im glad you’re enjoying the small lil romances btwn them <3 i LOOOVEEE when characters just gradually get closer together n before they realize it theyre in love 😩😩 that’s that good shit right there

you’re so sweet bb n omg never hesitate to send me stuff i love hearing your insights :””) have a lovely day my dear!

[gizkasparadise]

What are your top five xianxia cdramas? And, on the other end, what are your top five historical kdramas (any time period - I'm not well versed in this to know the various types names yet xD)? Oh, and lastly, your top five drama recs that are the most (generally) underrated? Thanks!

nice!

TOP FIVE XIANXIA (& I'M ALSO GONNA INCLUDE XUANHUAN)

love and redemption. girl meets boy. boy's part of a cursed theatre troupe and part of masochism tango of reincarnation with girl that lasts 10 life times. girl is actually kind of the god of war. crack, gender reversal, gender fuckery at large, feminist and queer friendly. incredible OST. just all-around one of my favorite dramas ever.

lost you forever (part 1). a xuanhuan vs. xianxia, but im not passionate enough about 5 xianxia for this list lol. another drama with gender fuckery. a fantastic FL and beautiful relationship building (and unbuilding) and character-driven story. dont even need the second part for this to be a favorite!!

love between fairy and devil. all those tropes you fucking loved when you were like 13 on ff.net given a lot of heart and near-perfect execution (aside from that ending). awesome characters, beautiful costumes and art direction. super addicting and bingeable

the legends. bai lu playing a powerhungry demoness and acquiring a dysfunctional harem in the process. xu kai looking like a sad blue-haired puppy. a monk that creates an entire demon because he has 1 boner. sismance. i had a lot of fun with this one and pointedly did not watch the last 5 or so eps lol

till the end of the moon. there's parts i genuinely hate and would not watch ever again. there's parts that are fucking incredible. sort of like the main couple, i have a love/hate relationship with this drama but when it hits it really hits

honorable mention: eternal love/10 miles of peach blossoms (xianxia fuckery at its finest weighed down somewhat by tedious side plots and one of the most infuriating 2nd FLs of all time)

TOP FIVE HISTORICAL KDRAMAS

gaksital/bridal mask. set in the 1930s. inverse character arcs between the hero and villain. dysfunctional romance amped up to the nth level. high stakes, high consequences, and a cast full of well-developed and written characters. bring tissues

empress ki. girl crushing and girl bossing her way through two kingdoms, one of the best FLs of all time. with her is a besotted baby enemy emperor and a Noble Good besotted powerless king as she goes from slave to smuggler to concubine to empress. chef's kiss

the princess' man. you want feral wrecks for your male leads? female leads ready to throw down in a parking lot? if you like lovers to enemy (?) lovers and star-crossed romances this one is a must

the king loves. this one's also on my underrated list. the first 4ish eps are a chore, but if you get past them you have the love triangle to end all love triangles, interesting palace politics with a fascinating "evil" empress, and im siwan getting to go a lil unhinged as a treat. it's the definition of an idol drama but gd did i love this and i binged the hell out of it no regrets

mr sunshine. le cinema!!! an interesting time in history (1870s-1880s) with a wide range of flawed but compelling characters centered around one of the most badass FLs of all time. winner of the #1 second lead syndrome contest for me with dong mae. only downfall to this one is i felt negative chemistry with the endgame ship but the show is good enough without it

honorable mention: chicago typewriter isnt on this list because it's only kind of half a historical drama BUT OMG WATCH IT. it's in my top 3 kdrama and while it has a slow build once it kicks off it fucking goes off

TOP FIVE UNDERRATED DRAMAS

the king loves as mentioned above. i think why it has a lower rating is the first handful of eps are kind of a snoozefest and there's a bit of an upset with the romance (which i was 900% for). but it's a fucking fun ride and full of awesome goryeo palace drama adventures

kairos. not underrated, since it has decent scores on reviewer sites, but underhyped? not enough people have seen this one and it's an incredible time-travel thriller that i found way more interesting than other popular dramas of its type like signal

cheese in the trap. the ending's a hot mess, but compared to how some 2020-onward dramas are ending it's poetry. a solid adaptation of a really great webtoon, awesome cinematography, and one of the few dramas ive seen that actually capture the campus/college life experience right

discovery of romance. the emotional cheating element causes a lot of folks to hate it/jump ship, but i love this one (and gd BOTH the fl and ml emotionally cheat ftr he's not innocent in this hot mess). jung yumi + eric mun are one of my favorite kdrama duos and they kill it, and kim seulgi plays an incredible second female lead

when a man falls in love. man people HATED this one but i think it's a blast when you're in the mood for mess + gangsters. if you're into watching fucked up romances with severe power imbalances and the dysfunction that follows, this one's for you. it's not perfect but definitely not deserving of its 6.8 MDL rating (gd!)

[a-blog-for-kat]

So the Inverted Hours talents appear to have changed (apart from Teruko) to something in the same general "category", and I'd like to know if the personalities and/or backstories changed as well?

For the small Teruko bit.. yeah I couldn't find a talent that'd be fit swapped, so I just made her luck super good :3

And to answer the actual question, yes!!! With swapped talents comes swapped personalities and backstories!

Here's it summerized

Teruko: Happy home life, supportive parents, a very happy-go-lucky person who trusts everyone wholeheartedly!

Xander: Someone who despises his parents and siblings to the core and prays they suffer a horrific fate, acts like he's above everyone else since he's royalty, and despises people who go against the rules

Charles: His family wasn't very well off. In fact, he lived in poverty for a good chunk of his life but remembers a lot of his childhood. Especially his older brother. He's a very patient person who listens to everyone's point of view.

Ace: His parents supported him every step of the way with his talent and didn't ever push him to stuff he didn't want to. A very joyous little fellow whose personality is exactly like a puppy. He's very fun to be around and a gem to talk to! Though he can ramble about how much he loves training dogs..

Arei: Her sisters were super friendly with her and always played baseball with her in their backyard. They noticed Arei had immaculate talent in it, so they trained her! She's a very outgoing person who tries to bring everyone up to their full potential!

Ro: Somehow, she was able to secure a deal with a huge t-shirt company and get her designs sent to the masses. She's lucky enough to already be wealthy. She's a ball of energy. Sleep is for the weak, after all! (Note: She goes by Ro --- instead of her full name for reasons :D)

Hu: She was always someone who held onto hope for the world, but as she got older, she lost that hope. So instead, she pours her anger and sadness into playing rock music. She's an easily agitated and always upset person. She'd rather die then defend someone.

Eden: She'd always lived a troubled life, barely making a living in life, but she was an incredible mechanic who got her scouted. She holds resentment to anyone who never helped her and is an angry little fella.

Levi: He lived a really happy home life. Everyone uplifted each other and tried to make the best out of the life they lived. Levi's an extremely emotional person. Even the smallest things can make him excited or sob.

Arturo: Due to his younger sister [REDACTED] because she was immensely ill, he wanted to help other children with the same condition as Felicity so they wouldn't suffer like her. But instead of picking up medine, he went down the spiritual path. Though he doesn't force his beliefs onto others, that'd be rude.

Min: Growing up in a well-off home, she spent a lot of time with other kids, leaning the intricate nature of children before studying history and teaching it to children. She's a very outgoing person who understands just how people work.. though anything outside history and people she fails at.

David: He'd always been someone who saw the world in a black lense, even if he was trying to badly see the good in it for the sake of others. He just couldn't. He's someone who's blunt and honest about how awful the world is and doesn't sugarcoat it.

Veronika: Despite everyone being just fine with her talent, she's so embarrassed to admit she loves romance novels. It makes her seem "geeky" and "weird." She's super shy and doesn't enjoy doing anything outside her comfort zone.

J: He absolutely adores his mother and idolized her. No one actually knows his real name (no it's not Julia :3) so he just goes by J. He's a boisterous and Lil happi fella! He's also super dramatic for funzies :3

Whit: Despite being a Prankster, most of his pranks are sad and pathetic. They really fail to make anyone laugh.. it's a shock he was scouted as the Ultimate Prankster. He's almost always crying and doesn't repress any of his emotions for the fear of himself imploding.

Nico: Loud, confident, and HOLY SHIT THEY'RE AWESOME! Nico was the very first. Ultimate I'm their class to happily come out as Non-Binary and their whole life they've been accepted for that!

Also, MonoToaster is a serious and competent tv show host.

:3

[fainlin]

I never really wanted a Gortash romance, like yeah it'd be fun but there's far more things the game needs done to it than adding more content that would just end up being incomplete. And, I think that is what is upsetting me more than the loss of the Franc letters. Act three is still a mess, Wyll still has less content than literally every other companion even his quest in act three isn't even really his it's a Balduran lore dump. Halsin is still pointless past act two and feels like he's just there to bang, and Minthara still is a mess. There's still content from EA just sitting around, voice lines that make no sense, pieces of content that go no where and are entirely pointless and instead of addressing any of that, Larian seems more focused on changing little things and sanding down their own characters. They feel like they don't even have confidence in their own writing anymore, it's not EA so I don't see why these things are really necessary other than to try to please everyone and end up pleasing no one. Removing the lanceboard scene when the guy in question literally only has eyes for himself, to the point I wouldn't be shocked he has a mirror on his ceiling to watch himself get railed by himself. He has no interest in Mol in any way other than to pluck her soul because he's a devil. He's just gross like that. Then to make Lae'zel nicer, like sure I like the changes for approval I guess but certain changes end up feeling more like they're fan servicey and less about actually improving the game. I understand the outcry when people thought Larian had changed Gale for a moment because Larian keeps doing things exactly like that, albeit in small ways. All I really want is for Act three to have impact and not be as flat and pointless as it is, for the main two villains to actually be villains instead of feeling like cheap tiny lil mini bosses when Raphael gets to feel like a real boss and he's not even main content he's entirely optional. Losing the slithering wet malice thing isn't even that big of a deal to me what is though is the fact they're willing to completely give up character personality and not even address that they're making these changes in the patch notes. It feels like I have to go in and take stock of every letter and every book and every dialogue option before it inevitably gets changed because Larian has no spine when it comes to their characters and their writing. It just sucks, it doesn't feel like this is making way for any new grand content it doesn't feel like anything but sanitizing at this point. I don't even really understand what could come from making Gortash bland boring tyrant no.56093 because yeah anyone could write that, it makes him entirely less memorable and I hate that because Orin and Gortash really deserve so much more than that, they deserve to be as fleshed out as Ketheric thorm, but instead they're just fucking jokes. If that was Larian's goal well I think they succeeded. TLDR; Act three is just incredibly unpolished, and I don't see why kissing animations and changing small little flavor letters, and making characters nicer and this and that really solves any of the actual problems the game still has. Sure it's nice, but I'm tired of seeing this be what the game has ultimately devolved to. Really hope I'm wrong, hope there's big content on the horizon, maybe the upper city making a come back, but I'm not gonna hold my breath.

Edit: And to be real here, I still like Gortash, I'd still love a romance if one ever happened. It's just I'd really like it to be thought out and not just well thrown together and spit out really fast. I just really want the game to be complete and it's best cause I really love it.

[storyofmychoices]

Blades 2 Inside Choices Blog: Blades of Light and Shadow 2

We’re so happy to be back in action with the gang we know and love! Where does Blades of Light and Shadow 2 pick up after the first book’s ending?

Emi: I will say that we don't pick up where you're expecting. 

Kathleen: Unless you were expecting to get hucked out the back of the plot truck and onto the action highway at 80mph. (Fury Road theme plays)

Lil: (is overtaken by the Two Towers theme)

Emi: But rest assured, our original four love interests are back and dealing with their own challenges. 

Lil: And they’re definitely going to need help with those challenges whether you’re romancing them or not. Though we support all variations of ‘mancers here. Mono-, multi-, and necro- . 

Emi: Also they get some new looks that can best be described as "sleeves are B.S."

Jay: Don’t forget “badass pirate coat important”.

What kind of new main characters will we meet in the sequel? Or perhaps, any new love interests?

Jay: There is a strange but familiar hooded figure…whose hotness level was of great discussion.

Lil: He’s very constructive with his feedback. And a monster from Book 1 returns, but not in a way you expect. 

Emi: I think we all know I'm obsessed with Valax. I mean, she's a badass purple lady who only has one sleeve. Obviously that makes her my wife.

Tom: EMI YOU HAVE TOO MANY WIVES!!!

Kathleen: Idk I'm still mad that hot scorpion lady didn't win the monster contest.

Lil: Sky whale supremacy how dare. 

Kathleen: Okay I am excited about the dwarves and goblins though. New dwarf friend is just A+ chaos babe and I love her.

Emi: Honestly though, my fave character is the one who's "head empty, no thoughts, falls over a lot."

Making this sequel has been a labor of love. Does the book team have any must-tell stories/bloopers during production?

Jay: There was an accidental floating dwarf? And too many battles with code. Writers, please don’t do it to me again. I cannot take it. The while loop will win.

Kathleen: During one of my editorial passes I had to give Emi a note like "Okay when we first meet the Big Bad maybe we should use that moment to establish that she's really imposing/scary instead of just going off about how hot she is."

Emi: I may have made too many Aerin memes that are now weekly traditions for our team.

Danielle: I was instructed to design a character with “Vision as a hotness bar” as a guide, I ignored them and used Jeff Bridges instead 😏. 

Jay: Danielle also came up with some incredible filenames, my favorite being “tentacle_monster_buff”.

Danielle: It’s accurate, is it not?

Are there any elements that you are particularly proud of?

Tom: The Shadow Realm was fun to make! Think the Upside Down, but more purple. And to make all the awesome new weapons and armor work with the outfits took 150 unique assets! You’re welcome.

Danielle: My first full book!

Lil: The lore guide for Blades was 60 single-spaced pages before we started adding things that came up during active production. I’m really pleased with how much actually ended up being discoverable in the book itself, so be sure to explore every nook and cranny of Morella and beyond! Because they are filled with beauty and chaos. 

Emi: I cannot tell you how many spreadsheets we made to keep track of things. I mean, the outline alone was 100 pages!

Jay: My code built 😭. And that my production planning got it to you a little earlier than y’all had anticipated hehe.

At the end of the first book, we seemed to have wiped out the forces of evil for at least a day or so. What kind of dangers will we face in the second edition?

Lil: Evil never sleeps y’all. It gets its coffee from Aerin. 

Kathleen: (Aerin, walking up to the counter): "I have a large non-fat birthday cake latte with caramel drizzle and four shots of espresso for (squints at label) ...Emile?"

Lil: In all seriousness, you’re really getting it from all sides in this book. There’s rival factions, shifting leadership, societal upheaval, and monsters. So. Many. Monsters. (Thank you for giving us the Shadestalker, by the way. Can’t wait for you to meet the beefy boy.) 

Kathleen: One cool scary thing about book 2 is that THIS TIME, IT'S PERSONAL (like instead of you and your buds racing against bad guys to collect the magic things, you've now got a villain single-mindedly hunting you down so she can steal your <REDACTED> for use in her evil plans).

Emi: Kathleen may have called me out for it but our Big Bad is hot! Both literally and figuratively!

How much do you love QA?

Lil: SO MUCH.

Emi: Pour one out for our poor QA folks who have had to test what is the most complex book we have ever done! You are the real heroes!

Jay: QA peeps are my saviors!! Their work alone cures my anxiety.

Kathleen: Gawd I would be lost without QA my grammar is a disaster

Erin: Everyone on the Blades team is so wonderful to work with. I also tested Book 1, and to be able to contribute to Book 2 means everything to me. It’s absolutely a labor of love.

We know that years of hard work and passion went into this book. What would the Blades team like the readers to take away from this sequel?

Emi: So Kathleen and I actually helped to brainstorm the entire Blades world back when it first came into being, so it felt like coming full circle to be back and expanding it in new and fun ways. I was already in love with all of these characters and they're even closer to my heart now. I can't wait for you all to see what we've come up with!

Jay: Y’all better like it! This book has taken years off my life. *lies down on floor* (But seriously, we’re as excited about Blades 2 as all of you and hope that it brings as much joy to you as it did for us to make. I think the best word to describe the team as we wait for September 1st is giddy.)

Danielle: I hope you like our art :).

Tom: If you don’t, please keep it to yourself, artists are fragile :’} 

Lil: I was one of the few people who was new at Choices when I began working on this book, and it was truly an honor to see this thing come together. These are the minds that brought you The Crown & the Flame, The Cursed Heart, Wake the Dead, and the first Blades. It was amazing to go from watching them work as a fan to taking this epic journey together. 

Kathleen: THE REAL VILLAIN WAS THE IMPERIALISM WE MADE ALONG THE WAY

Lastly, how much does the team love Aerin?

Kathleen: I DON'T love Aerin he KIDNAPPED my WIFE.

Danielle: Which one…

Emi: Aerin is my sweet baby boi with a little dose of evil. He should be protected at all costs but also really needs to go to therapy. I live for the angst of him and Raine though. It's so juicy.

Danielle: Aerin has caused me, personally, a lot of pain.

Lil: Really, one of the fun things about the book is you can decide how much pain Aerin causes you. Unlike us.

Jay: He haunts my dreams and my Wednesdays.

Danielle: Livid and sad and livid and sad

Thank you team for taking us through the fantastical production journey of the Blades of Light and Shadow 2! We can’t wait to dive in and meet up with the gang. Launch day is so close!! 

Thank you, readers, for supporting us and our book teams!

<3 The Choices Community Team

[cryptidcryptic]

1, 2, 5, 11, 17, 20, 26 :)

YES!!! This is gonna be so fun 💛🥹💛 thank you for the asks my friend 🥹

1. what would your tavs greeting be (at different levels of approval)?

Negative

-dismissive infernal grunt-

“Someone better be dead”

“What do you want?”

Neutral

-neutral infernal grunt-

“Mh?”

“…can i help you?”

Positive

-enthusiastic infernal grunt-

“If it’s not my favourite killer”

“What’s up?”

Romanced (in the start)

-flirtatious infernal grunt-

“Hey tiger, need somethin?” (Not spoken in infernal)

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

Romanced (end game)

-bessoted infernal purr-

“Finally, you’re back to my side”

“My love, what do you desire?”

Different variations of: ‘my dove’, ‘my peace’, or ‘light of my life’

2. Describe their tent set up! What’s on the outside? The inside

A Druidic, brown and green, botanical mess of plants, and weapons. The edges frayed from the accidental cuts of paws, claws and teeth. Paw marks from various forms embedded in the ground. Honestly it’s more like the den of a highly disorganised bear than a tent. Complete with a seemingly endlessly dark interior, and enough space to fit Bo’s favourite owlbear form. Where Halsin’s tent is a pretty collection of plants Bo’s more wildflowers, nettles and bramble.

5. Describe their idle animations

-knife held on the tip of their claw, until they accidentally drop it, looks around to see if anyone saw their blunder, covertly kicks the knife into their ‘den’

-wildshapes into a owlbear and can be found playing with baby owlbear and scratch. Usually carrying them around on their back.

-squatting, whatever weapon the player last looted held in their tail, attempts to play the knife game with their toes, on a successful game they’ll gift the weapon back to the player with another found treasure, on a loss they Stab themselves and take actual damage.

11. What is your tavs go-to comfort food?

Mushrooms (bloodshrooms and toad stools specifically), sliced and diced on a nice bed of leafy greens and bark (non of h this is edible but they enjoy the taste). Takes them right backto childhood!

17. Do they have any enemies outside of the main plot? Any friends?

Not that they really remember but they had a band of shadow Druid orphans that came with them to bhaals temple, their own lil group of loyal siblings, the temple eventually drove them all away but most of them are still alive somewhere in the forest. Also an incredibly close bond to Lakrisa, borderline in love with her.

20. What is their relationship to touch? Do they shy away from it? Do they need it to feel present?

It differed by the day, perso and situation! With a background full of beatdowns painful touch is something they’re used too, unflinchingly masochisticly so but outside of painful touch, the base reaction is to freeze from it, be wary of it. The dog that spent its puppyhood being kicked will come to snarl at the touch of man and all that. Usually touch does the opposite of grounding. Bo’s childhood being so neglected and alone was kinda their father’s design.

Those who offered them friendly touch usually wanted something or hurt in someway. Unconditional affection had a negative price, so at first friendly affectionate touch will trigger a dissociative-esc reaction. But with enough exposure that becomes pleased and sleepy instead. But only with a trusted few.

26. Give us one of your Tav’s secrets!

Bo writes poetry to Astarion! Pretty well written, Bo’s penmanship is pretty strong (only the speach part of their brain is problemed). Their Sweet nothings whispered to the wind the last little entry to the never shared book:

‘For you I’d carve hearts from chests with viscera intact, yet you’d never notice the sweetness of that act’

[raayllum]

Sorpeli having a Courtly Love: featured a lady, usually married but always in some way inaccessible, who became the object of a noble knight's devotion, service, and self-sacrifice. Courtly love rules dictated that a knight's purpose was to serve his lady according to the Code of Chivalry. The Code of Chivalry was a set of values that knights saw as law to dictate their actions. Chivalry refers to the qualities expected of a knight such as honor, loyalty, and respect toward their country.

Oh yeah! Courtly love was something we talked about a lot when I was getting my English degree, mostly proxy to the Petarchan love poetry conventions + medieval era literature - we read some French 1300s courtly love esque stories and I've always had a love of Medieval literature/history so it was a lot of fun. (Kinda why "La Morte D'Arthur" is a tragedy because the courtly love doesn't stay courtly, y'know?) Also talked a lot about knights in - fuck it wasn't my medieval lit class but maybe my pre-Renaissance lit class? We were reading Chaucer and Beowulf so that tracks for time period even if it's still a lil off by a couple centuries, I forget how much time the course covered

Again: totally tracks why little aroace me would've gravitated towards a romance trope that was explicitly about emotional devotion & a lack of acted upon physical desire, tbh. Incredibly on brand

[borom1r]

hmmm 3, 5, 6, 11, 14, 20, 22, 26, 38, 40 for the fun questions meme <3

ooooooo ok these’ll b inchresting :3

3- 3 films you could watch for the rest of your life and not get bored of?

th lotr trilogy (duh), I Saw the TV Glow, The Last Unicorn :3

5- what made you start your blog?

THIS blog? suicide bait on my old blog :3

tumblr in general? a friend showed it to me in high school n i made one n my life was irreversibly changed lmfao

6- what’s the best and worst part of being online/a creator?

ATTENTION. double edged sword. like ok i try not to let myself care abt attention and try to be rlly careful now abt who i interact with but at the same time it rlly is validating when things Get Attention. some of my favorite fics have little to no engagement :( n like yea its not healthy to create FOR engagement (fast track 2 burnout) but its also like very disheartening to put time n effort n passion into sth only for it to fizzle out in the void

but whatever. ill make weird art forever

11- what do you consider to be romance?

THIS IS SO FUNNY 2 GET bc soooo much recently has made me reevaluate like. how I perceive this lollllll

anyways short answer: idfk man!!!!!!! close friendships n romance r incredibly cloudy in my mind cuz ive got a bad case of dogbrain!!

long answer is i just don’t quantify that stuff the way neurotypical ppl do :3 ties into th autism + nonhumanity. i also think cis ppl being attracted to me is gross lol. ideal romance for me is bein held n tended to like a noble knight tends their sword. I feel love like a dog feels abt their human!!! dogbrained!!! romance is being a guard dog, being a Really Good Boy but just soooo disconnected from like. idk allosexual/neurotypical quantifiers of “romance” for me lol

+ i don’t use th label rlly but im def somewhere on th ace spectrum lol like physical intimacy is only rlly “safe” conceptually when its completely disconnected from th realm of possibility. like thirsting over celebrities or like th knight i have a crush on. + cis ppl desiring me is rlly like.. ew 😒 don’t look @ me anymore man

14- what’s something you’ve always wanted to do but maybe been to scared to do?

UM. funnily enough im gonna do th Big Thing this summer :3 im going 2 th renaissance festival shirtless this year now tht im post op

s’gonna be scary showin off my scars but i rlly wanna go all out n celebrate finally havin top surgery. like im alive!! despite everything im alive n im happy ^_^ so cis people be damned, im gonna run around like a lil wolfguy for the first weekend!!!!!

20- favourite things about the night?

i love the moon :3

i also love how still n quiet things get

22- say 3 things about someone you love

ITS SO BRAVE!!!!!!!!! ITS LITERALLY THE FUNNIEST GUY I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! IM SO PROUD OF IT FOR HOW MUCH WORK IT DOES TO BETTER OUR COMMUNITY N PROUD OF IT FOR PURSUING TRANSITION + CANT WAIT TO SHARE MORE TRANS JOY W/ IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(hiiiiiii Ly hehe!!)

26- fave colour and why?

when i was a kid my favorite colors were neon yellow n neon pink :3 they still kinda are but now i usually stick to like lime green or bright red paired w black. forest green + dark blue r gr8 too

38- fave song at the moment?

DONT ASK ME TO PICK JUST ONE???????

here r some I’ve had on loop lately: Far Away (Roadside Ghost), Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl (Broken Social Scene), I’m Already Gone (Baroness), Sex for Homework (MSI)

40- any bad habits?

oh yea i have dermatillomania lol

it doesn’t rlly bother me to talk abt bc i think “gross” stuff like that deserves to be less stigmatized— my shoulders n back are COVERRRRREED in little scars + scabs

[just-jordie-things]

Hello ! Your fiction gojo x reader is incredible, really ⚡⚡ I love it so much 💗 Thank you so much for it 😘 if I had to detail everything I like, it would take hours ! What I appreciate the most in your story is that she finds the Fushiguros children before Satoru, takes care of them as she can and thanks to that she has a very nice relationship of trust with them 😍 This is so beautiful ! This is the only story I've read where this happens. Normally it's always Gojo who finds them first (1)

then shares custody with Reader. But honestly, I am a bit sad that your story ends in three chapters. I wonder if you had planned a season 2 for this fabulous story, please ? where she and gojo can take care of the kids and maybe with some drama with the zenin and gojo clans 😉☺️ I really hope so 💝 take care of you ❤ ___

(put em together so i didn't have to spam on both messages!!)

aaaaAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEEEeeEEE <- me screaming to death bcuz my heart can't take this !!!

when i finally started reading the manga and hit the hidden inventory arc inspiration struck WILD at first i just wanted tbah to be a long angsty fic but i kept goin and goin and hot damn the whole series is a soft 85k :D ... not including some pieces that might come after the series is concluded...

and i love baby gumi (and tsumiki!) writing for them as kiddos was so so fun. as well as writing for my favorite trio (now a quad lol) all around this fic is my everything and i enjoyed every minute of it.

i was a lil nervous when i first started posting it, it's kinda a slow start and i know the romance is a bit less than present. it's a lot of relationship-building between reader and the fushiguros, and honestly she fights with satoru more than anything (and her and shoko prolly have more sweet moments than anyone else so far lmfao) but i wasn't sure if people would stick around for it since it's such a slowburn (85k of slowburn)

en ee wayz for the gazillionth time i am so so so happy to see my close-to-heart series be so loved by others !!! <33

thank you for the messages love !! happy reading !!

[avimour]

What drew Vaz and Crulexs to their love interests? Was there an instant connection between them, or was it more of a gradual build-up? What's their favorite things about their respective LIs?

Bonus question: Is there anything about their romances that went differently in your canon than it did in-game?

love time love time!! very on point seeing which holiday is coming up!

hmm i'll do a little doodle for each of them as well, just for fun. lost the desire to draw my boys.. sad. maybe ill do some other piece this week

everything under the cut!!

Vaz: Well. You see. To say Vaz had an easy time romancing anyone is absolutely mad men talk. Everywhere Vaz went for comfort, he either ended up being used, failure in general, or turned away for another...even before the whole, losing his memories thing.

All my durges have had a fling with Gortash. So Vaz, naturally, had a thing with Gortash for a time. But uh...well. That thing was incredibly one-sided and Gortash would use it for his own benefit. Vaz never got any pussy or kisses from him, to put it frankly. But he did do a lot of lil missions for Gortash anyways.

Vaz's second fling was with a tiefling named Levi. The two were on the nautiloid together and everything. Levi heard him out on his dark urges and ushered him into doing the Right thing instead of what the urges wanted. It was a match made in heaven! ...Until the tiefling party. Where Vaz clumsily wandered around without an idea what to do, and his dear friend Levi slipped away with Gale instead of him. The next morning he saw them kiss and he went into the seven stages of denial immediately. Both of them ended up as cellmates so...yay!

Vaz's third fling was with Halsin. It uh...didn't go too well. Vaz was pulled in by all the druidic talk and he just wanted to feel normal. He just wanted to feel like a normal druid too. But it didn't work out. They partook in one sexual encounter and it ended up with Vaz crying and a bad experience for the both of them. They didn't talk a lot after it and Vaz practically avoided everyone for days afterwards.

And finally... Vaz's last fling. The Emperor. Yeah, you can probably guess how that turned out. They both managed to get through their sexual encounter though! Vaz enjoyed being safe from his urges inside the dream world (??) with the Emperor. The Emperor enjoyed tightening their bond together so Vaz wouldn't turn on him or, really, convince Levi to turn against him. And just to exert a bit more control over Vaz, the Emperor lured several of their companions to see the aftermath. And then willed away their memories of the encounter. Only to send Vaz into a breakdown a few days later with the thoughts of 'Has he ever wiped my memory?'. He didn't go back for seconds with calamari.

The biggest departure from the original questions EVER!!!!! YIPPEE!!

Anyways, next.

Crulexs: His name is an anagram for cruel sex. This was not on purpose, but I've taken it to heart. Everything about him is related to his 'cruel sex'. He is the embodiment of toxic masculinity. And, in that toxic masculinity, certain types of people are drawn into him.

Gortash was incredibly drawn into him. I have a fic in the works (in my mind) of just how drawn into Crulexs this man was. The big burly scaly cleric who looked down on him? Yeah that got him. He had a big stupid crush on Crulexs that wouldn't go away no matter how many times he tried to crush it (ha). Thankfully, it wasn't unrequited. However he found that out in the worse way possible. With Crulexs kidnapping him and taking him into the Bhaalist Temple in order to wed the both of them together. Under the blessing of Bane as well. What's a little bit of tyranny without a forced wedding to strengthen a union? He would've stayed down in that temple if it wasn't for his bodyguard, Karlach, saving him. (This is a retelling of Persephone's Abduction because i am literally insane.)

Of course, Gortash still saw Crulexs. Just, not bound in the Bhaalist temple and having to do weird blood rituals with him. Wasn't his thing, you see. They're still married, in the Bhaalist traditional manner, whatever the fuck that means.

Unfortunately...it all had to end somehow.

After his betrayal to the hands of Orin, after his memories had all left him, Crulexs was a different man. Even Bhaal saw him differently, though he wasn't...practically looking at him. An avenger against all that was evil, Crulexs roamed the land looking for those to strike down. Along the way, he meet a variety of companions, and specifically, he met Wyll Ravengard, the man who could win his heart.

It wasn't a challenge or anything. Most of the people that knew Crulexs weren't...really wanting to kiss him. The others who did were mostly wanting him because he was..a big, burly scaly paladin. Most, however, were put off by the whole silent and toxic masc bit.

Wyll, however, saw in him a lot more than that. He saw someone with similar ideals to him, and someone who was just as devoted. He managed to spring up more...less toxic masculinity into Crulexs as well. Little poems that Wyll would write hidden in his tent. And would do his best into slipping into the silliest places that Crulexs would find them. Into his boots, into his gloves, into his bedroll. In a book he would pick up, because he picked up every book he found, and skim the pages of.

It didn't take a genius to figure out it was Wyll behind them. And the little poems cleared up some of the dark clouds of Crulexs' soul. He started to actively seek out Wyll while at camp, instead of simply staring into the fire. Began to sit with him as the nights wore on. Sometimes even slept outside his tent like the guard dog he is.

[a-cloud-for-dreams]

Ok so I've recently been on a mission to read as much of the Choices catalog as possible since there are so many underrated books on there besides the boring smut ones. I think my last reading list is a lil outdated, inaccurate, and harder to find, so for my convenience I'm making a separate post.

My goal is to knock out the single books before starting the series for efficiency's sake, so most of the books on the priority list are single books

Priority

Kindred (CURRENTLY ON)

The Crown and the Flame (CURRENTLY ON)

Immortal Desires?? I've been curious about it for awhile

It Lives Beneath (ALREADY STARTED...)

A Billionaire's Baby (diamond mining)

Endless Summer (ALREADY STARTED...)

Murder at Homecoming

Secondary

Guinevere

With Every Heartbeat

Laws of Attraction Series

America's Most Eligible

Red Carpet Diaries

Rules of Engagement

Break Glass in Case of Emergency

The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir

The Freshmen Series

High School Story

Feel free to recommend more books that you feel like recommending!

Current MC & OC List

Jasmine Nefaletzi (Kindred)

Velaska Prescott (It Lives Beneath)

Natasha LeNoir (RCD)

Summer Reverie Layne (ES; OC)

Minerva Kallias (MAH)

Saoirse Lemoncello (TBB)

You can find the full list of my MCs and OCs on my pinned post!

Completed Books and Mini Opinions

The Elementalists: I LOVED this series it had flaws but it was super fun to play!! I love my powerful MC and my sarcastic twin, and I'm a sucker for elemental magic systems and magic centered schools imao

A Courtesan of Rome: AAAAAAAH WHAT CAN I SAY ABOUT THIS BOOK BESIDES HOW AMAZING IT WAS!! I feel like this was a historic book that felt accurate y'know and ofc ACOR MC is literally *chef's kiss* just an absolute baddie we have no choice but to stan <3 she had all of Rome on her knees as she should!!

Crimes of Passion 1 and 2: I think objectively the original book was better but this one was more replayable/entertaining solely because of the Thorne siblings but i wish the mystery and the plot twist were handled better in Book 2 specifically

Bloodbound Series: UGH IT WAS INCREDIBLE!! It still had flaws and I would have added/rewritten things but it's definitely one of the best and most satisfying series PB has ever written

Ride or Die: IT WAS AMAZING A+ I'm so sad the sequel got canceled it deserved so much more :(

Nightbound: IT WAS PRETTY GOOD i miss them already and want a sequel now. It's very replayable which I always appreciate

[sammygender]

things about homestuck i have discovered in my reread

terezi is my favourite character and will always be

caliborn is fucking HILARIOUS jesus christ somehow i forgot this (he hasnt got to the misogyny yet that part gets kind of less funny)

dave and karkat kind of ARE that good, regrettably. i feel like we all go through a davekat phase upon first reading and then gradually we get over dave and karkat and move onto other, better pursuits, like vrisrezi fanfiction or space player meta. rereading tho man they are excellent… not the most compelling characters of COURSE and really more like babys first analysis in terms of dissecting them, but man they are funny, man their emotional arcs are vivid and well written, man they are hilarious together also (penis ouija. yeah that was funny). coming out as a dave and karkat fan once again

homestuck in general but especially the start of act 6 is INCREDIBLY funny. for some reason i thought act 6 was less funny and more like plot-heavy which i guess it kind of us to an extent cause most of it is now Relevant all the time but oh my god the alpha kids are a trainwreck and its so funny

on the subject of the alpha kids. last time i properly read homestuck i was like 14. i had never experienced being the same age of the alpha kids and now looking back its insane. that is LITERALLY what being 15/16 is like. the romantic chaos the constant miscommunication the way this group of best friends just somehow have so many fucking problems with each other??? and the COMPLEXES. my god

appreciating roxy more this time round than i ever did before she rubbed me a little the wrong way first read i think maybe bc everyone heralded her as like The Unproblematic Alpha Kid when like oh my god she is a fucking MESS but when looking at her through that lens shes fantastic

jade harley should be mean more often. every PASSWORD FUCKASS interaction was an absolute delight. man she should get more page time

vriska is indefensible when u first meet her its so hard explaining to people that shes like The Fucking Best when she spends most of her intro mocking the guy she paralysed for being paralysed. sadly, she still IS the fucking best.

did i mention terezi pyrope is my favourite character ever in anything

i still cant pay attention to anything exile related i'm sorry. i just look at the pretty pictures and skip through it quickly as possible. if they dont have complex psychology and fun conversations idc sorry im a bad hs fan

calliope is both a delight and so wrong like all of the time. reading her i see where all the fandom misconceptions come from. ur not meant to take her word as 100% serious when she says stuff like male/female classes or whatever!! she sees everything through this incredibly binary 2 choice lens like caliborn bc thats literally the life she lives. this is also extra funny i guess considering shes literally kind of meant to represent the hs fandom

LIL HAL <33333333

sorry that so much of this is about the alpha kids im part way into act 6 now

dirkjake so far have not had a single interaction and iirc they never do??? fascinating storytelling since we still have a perfect picture of their dynamic

terezi is characteristically being stupid about vriska again, because she is complicatedly and unwittingly in love with her

DAVEREZI FOR THE FUCKING WIN MY GOD. THEYD NEVER WORK ENDGAME BUT THEY ARE SO FUNNY TOGETHER LITERALLY BFFS. no romance tho just vibes

does rose get confirmed as a lesbian later in the text or is that just a fandom interpretation cause ngl i have seen people harassed over bi rose which is kinda crazy anyway but would be even crazier if its not. an actual canon fact

LE SIGN IS UNIVERSALLY ACKNOWLEDGED TO MEAN TOO BAD HES GAY YOU OBTUSE DUNDERFUCK from roxy compared to poor dirk calling the word gay antediluvian. man just wants to like jake in peace

honestly everything alpha kid wise is insane lets just. put it there

I MISS VRISKA

terezi is my favourite also have i said that already

[gizkasparadise]

2023 wrapped: webtoon edition!

my final 2023 wrapped post for the year! unlike previous ones, this list is every series i read this year vs. ones that started this year. previous lists for this year:

cdrama edition

kdrama edition

ranked from least favorite to most favorite, which doesn't mean objectively best, just ones that hit me more. ones that are completed series will have a * after the title

15 my deepest secret*. omfg i hated this webtoon. the twist was asinine and frankly ignorant. none of the characters were likeable by the end. hate quit this one with like 5 chapters left to go i just couldnt

14 my second husband. seemed promising at first! i was hooked for the first 40 chapters or so but then it just started getting weirdly paced, had big plot holes, and nothing ever felt like it was getting resolved. the ML had like 0 charisma as well. dropped.

13 to love your enemy. this one was REALLY fun until the cult arc hit and then it was the biggest wtf is happening. dropped it shortly after

12 i dont hate us*. i liked this one until the timeskip ending, where then everyone and everything just felt really off. the second female lead gets a special mention because i HATED her at first but by the end she was my favorite character <3

11 romance 101.* this was okay. the art style was really cute and i loved the FL. but there never seemed to be any chemistry with the main ship to me, and the plot became really focused on the app/programming club which bored the hell out of me. dropped this one around chap 100

10 shadow bride. nothing bad but nothing particularly noteworthy for me. fluff read.

9 high spirits neoma. im not very far into this webtoon yet, or it'd be higher up the list im sure. im around ch 5 and finding it really charming and i love the color palette for it

8 dreaming freedom/freedom in dreams. although the art style isnt my cup of tea, i really enjoyed this fucked up high school revenge/romance webtoon but where im currently at (ch. 111ish) it's starting to feel a little circular. hoping it goes back to what it does best which is Unsettling Shit

7 my reason to die*. man this would've been in my top 3 but the ending arc is just. really boring??? like i dont want to watch them search for a pot farm for 10 chapters. i havent finished this one yet, but ive been putsing getting back into it ever since post reveal. the drama is very pretty though and the reveal chapters hit me like a truck in a good way

6 operation true love. i borderline hated this webtoon when i first started, but the reviews had me wanting to stick it out and im so glad i did!! around ep 10ish it really finds its footing and just keeps going for it! very kdrama in flavor and endearing FL.

5 unholy blood*. a fun, dark, and nostalgic webtoon about vampires and vampire hunting that brought me back to my tween years in the best way. the character designs are really awesome. it's a little lower on the list because the ending felt a bit rushed, but it's a really solid horror/action comic with a lil romance

4 surviving romance*. this one's complete but i got about 10 chapters left. it's a really fun horror comic (NOT romance, dont be fooled by the title) that reminds me of extraordinary you but if the plot was focused on the metaphysical horror of it a little more. fun characters and relationships. a little lower just because the second "return" arc feels tedious/unneeded so far. we'll see. TEAM RINA.

3 maybe meant to be/fate found by chance. ive found that i tend to gravitate toward darker webtoons, so this is my c-c-combo breaker! cute, funny, quirky, and really endearing. standard contract marriage plot but between two delightful weirdos

2 purple hyacinth. this series is everything. the art is gorgeous, it has its own OST built into the reading. the characters are nuanced and complicated and omg it's a ride and a half so far.

1 olgami/trapped*. INCREDIBLE characters and such an intense look at enemies-to-lovers. the drama starts as a psycho-thriller about gravedigging for a vampire and ends up about two leads who have never learned how to love willing to try it with one another in their fucked-up way. dysfunctional. hot. SO GOOD. the art evolution for this series was great as well