#the crossword story is true but

[crplpunkklavier]

sometimes i get embarrassed about how much i know about america. a nyt crossword clue was "chicago newspaper" and i cringed at myself for instantly filling in "tribune." i don't read the chicago tribune. ive never been to chicago. i don't know anyone from chicago. i haven't been to the states in a decade and the last time i did go i just hung out at a friend's louisville alpaca farm. i can't even remember where i heard "chicago tribune." i must not let the internet turn me into an american

[dyaz-stories]

an indentation in the shape of you || Cha Hyun-Su x f!Reader

summary: Hyun-Su wants to learn how to make you feel good. The two of you experiment some more.

word count: 2.8k

warnings & tags: fluff, smut, reader is afab, explicit consent, pwp, porn with feelings, fingering, dry-humping i guess?, they're both virgins and pretty awkward but they're getting better at this, all very vanilla.

first one-shot · previous one-shot

This one-shot can be read independently as there is nothing intense plot-wise that requires having read the other parts, but I do recommend reading them for context.

A/N: this is my first hyun-su one-shot without angst lol (...don't get too used to it). anyway, this is more smut, and i think it's more intense than the previous one. hyun-su is more confident in this one, and he takes charge a little more (but in other ways he's pretty subby, so do with that what you want). hope you enjoy!

There is something about watching Hyun-Su moving around in your house that warms your heart in a way you can’t quite explain. He’s seemed more confident there lately, no longer tiptoeing or stiffening around you like you could kick him out any second. It reminds you of days forever gone, when your mom used to sit at the table while doing her crosswords and your dad put music on the second he walked in through the door.

It reminds you of when this house was a home.

Right now, Hyun-Su’s fixing up a spear he’s brought here with some of your dad’s tools. It’s not his, you know that much. ‘Yi-Kyeong asked me to take care of it’, he’d said when he had set to fix it. There was something to his tone that had stopped you from asking for more, even if you think he’d have told you. He’d said her name respectfully, but with deep sadness, and you had known that there was a lot more to this story. You’d get there some day, you were sure, but not tonight.

Hyun-Su glances up at you, and you almost whip your head away to pretend you weren’t looking at him, like you’re a highschooler with a crush. Instead, you don’t even try to make it look like the long forgotten book in your lap is of any interest to you, and you give him a smile.

He stills his movements.

“Is something wrong?”

His voice is calm and deep. He sure has come a long way.

“Just like looking at you,” you answer, because it’s true, and even with all that progress, you’re not surprised when Hyun-Su looks away from you, cheeks turning red.

When he gets the courage to look back at you, though, a bashful smile illuminates his features, and you don’t think that would have happened even as recently as a few weeks ago.

“You do?”

There’s just something in the air. Something fresh and sweet and new, something that makes you bite your lower lip while you nod, suppressing the giggle that’s forming in the back of your throat. Hyun-Su’s eyes on you feel intense, and you’re not used to getting that kind of look from him. After a few seconds of that, he abandons the spear behind him to stand up and walk towards you, eyes not leaving yours for a second.

A long, intense shiver runs down your back. Under his hoodie, you can see the muscles of his shoulders moving as he walks, and fleetingly, you wonder if you’d have had a chance with him, in a world without the Apocalypse, but even that is quickly swallowed by the fact that you have him now.

He puts a hand on the back of the couch as he leans close to you to kiss you, the other coming to rest on your waist and oh, if he keeps doing things like that, you think you’ll just turn into a puddle. Your heart is fluttering, and when his hand sneaks under your t-shirt, long, cold fingers carefully caressing your skin, you think it just might fly out of your chest.

His lips move slowly against yours, and you tilt your head back as he towers over you. You feel like you’re going into overdrive from how sensual he’s being, how his tongue dances with yours as the soft sounds of the kiss fill the room. It’s not long before he’s gently pushing you onto your back on the couch, and he goes down with you, putting one knee between your legs to support himself.

And it’s all just so much. Hyun-Su’s lips, his taste on your tongue, his warm body half-covering yours, his fingers running over your ribs, and, fuck, now his knee just almost, almost pressing right where you need him to.

But this feels nice, too, and you’re not trying to initiate anything sexual just yet, so you do your best to be patient. You wrap your arms around his neck to pull him closer, and find some satisfaction in the way Hyun-Su loses his rhythm at that. Knowing that you still have that kind of effect on him, even as you’re unraveling completely under his touch, makes you just a little more confident in what you’re doing.

It isn’t long before Hyun-Su’s gotten his bearings back though, and then he kisses you with renewed passion. The kiss turns less controlled, mouth crashing against yours harder, his hand tightens on your waist— before he pulls away, panting.

“Sorry,” he says before he can catch himself, cheeks flushed.

“I didn’t mind,” you answer, but your voice is squeakier than you had intended.

“I didn’t mean to— I wanted to ask you something.”

His black eyes are wide, and as much as the blue eyes are like an electric shock running through you, you love them so much. You love how you drown in them, you love how kind they are, love that they are, truly, a window to his soul.

“What is it?” you whisper, not trusting your voice anymore.

“Just— What we did. Last time.”

No need to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out, so, even if you feel blood rushing to your face, you nod.

“I wanted to, uh, return the favor. If you don’t mind.”

It’s your eyes’ turn to widen, and you push yourself onto your elbows to better read his expression. The skin of your face tingles with how burning hot it is.

“I mean I— Sure but you don’t— You don’t have to do anything—”

“I know,” he says, shaking his head. His voice is soft. “But I want to.”

You swallow, but you lay back down. You’re more nervous in this situation than you would have expected, feel vulnerable, exposed, even if you’re all clothed for now. But you trust Hyun-Su, you do, with all of your heart, and you cannot imagine a better person to have this experience with. So, slowly, you nod.

“Are you sure?”

“Very sure,” you whisper.

“Then can I…?”

He pulls on your shirt, but without putting any force into it. His eyes are on you, waiting for your approval — or whatever you decide to answer with.

You swallow.

“Um, yes, but could you— could you also…?”

He understands your meaning without you having finished, and acts on it faster than you would have expected, almost immediately pulling his own hoodie over his head and letting it fall to the floor. You’d noticed before that, for all his shyness over other things, he doesn’t seem to care about nudity all that much, but you’re not sure what to do with it.

For now, you can at least admire the work of art that is his body, his well-defined muscles and hard pectorals, and since he’s out in the open now, you give him a nod.

“Go ahead.”

He takes off your shirt like you’re made of porcelain, pulling it slowly and softly over your head, and taking his time so it doesn’t get caught in your hair. It is such a sweet sight, how focused he gets on the task, on making sure he’s doing right, so that he doesn’t hurt you in any way. It’s only once he’s done that his gaze lands on your body. He stills, Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, and you can’t help but stiffen.

It might be silly, at this point in your relationship — and when the world has literally ended outside your window — but you’re feeling self-conscious. You want to fold your arms in front of your breasts, hide your stomach and any imperfection.

“You’re beautiful,” Hyun-Su says, so obviously in awe, and the weight on your stomach is replaced by sweet, sweet butterflies. “Is it— is it okay to—”

“Touch me,” you ask instead of letting him stutter through the rest of his sentence, and he almost gasps at that, pants suddenly feeling a lot tighter.

“You shouldn’t say things like that to me,” he mumbles, bright red once again, stealing a kiss from you when you open your mouth to tease.

Then he’s kissing down your neck, and you can tell that he’s mimicking the things you did to him the last time something like this happened between the two of you. You barely have time to find that sweet, though, because soon the only thing on your mind are the open-mouthed kisses he’s pressing against your skin, and how they make you so desperate to buck your hips against he’s oh so well placed thigh.

He doesn’t linger on your neck, though, soon moving down to your chest, sneaking a hand behind your back to try and unclasp your bra — something he ends up struggling you with so much that you’re the one that eventually reaches back to get it done. He’ll have all the time to learn that kind of things later. For now, there’s something on your mind, and you don’t want to have to wait any longer.

You let him slide it down your arms, then discard it, letting it fall with the rest of your clothes.

“Can I…?”

“You still don’t have to ask.”

He hesitates for a second, before going back down to press a shy kiss under your collarbone, right where your breast starts to form. He keeps kissing his way down, hands for now cautiously staying away. Finally, he reaches your nipple, and you cannot hold back a distinct gasp when he carefully wraps his mouth around it. It turns into a full moan when he flicks his tongue against it — and you could swear you feel his mouth stretching into a grin right after that.

It’s then that he cups your other breast with his hand, and you shiver. His body may be radiating heat, but his hands are cold. They don’t stay that way for long though, not with how hot you’re running right now yourself. He starts off shy over there too, at first massaging your breast gently, before his fingers dare brush against that nipple. It’s hard already, and with his mouth on the other side, all you can do is arch into his touch, moans still falling freely from your lips.

Pleasure’s running wild in your body, each and every sensation going straight down to your core, more so when his fingers experimentally pull on your nipple. You’re dripping wet already, desperate for relief, and it’s not long before you can no longer hold yourself back and buck your hips up against his leg.

He lets go of you almost immediately, glancing down at your lower body as if he doesn’t understand what’s happening. When he looks back at you, his eyes are impossibly wide, his pupils dilated.

“Did you— Did you just—”

“Hyun-Su,” you call out in a sigh, running your fingers over the nape of his neck. “Touch me.”

For a second, his whole body tenses and he just stares at you. Then he exhales.

“Fuck,” he mumbles under his breath. “Fuck. Um. Then I’ll— I’ll just—” He starts fiddling with the button of your jeans, and just the anticipation of his touch where you need it the most sends pleasure rushing through you once more. This time, he manages to get them off of you without your help, and there’s another slow exhale. “You’re so— You’re so—”

Wet is the word you think he’s searching for, and he’s not wrong about that. The urge to reach down between your leg to take care of the ache you’re feeling is strong, but the desire to feel him down there is all-consuming, and so you wait for him, your breathing loud and ragged.

“Tell me, okay? Tell me what feels good to you.”

He doesn’t take off your panties, probably because he hasn’t gotten your jeans fully off, and instead just pushes them to the side. He’s cautious here too, at first barely brushing against the lips, which still makes the muscles of your thighs tense. It feels like you’ve been waiting for it for centuries when he finally inserts a long finger inside you, sliding in so easily from how dripping wet you are. Your hold on his shoulders tighten, fingers digging into his skin, and even with your lips pressed tightly together, your moan reverberates through your body.

“Good?” Hyun-Su asks, and his low voice in your ears does absolute wonders to you right now.

“You can add another one,” you say, except it’s probably more of a whine, but you can’t tell for sure, not with how much your head is buzzing right now.

Hyun-Su obeys almost immediately, and you bury your head in his neck to muffle the groan that follows. You feel so good, so full, and he hasn’t even moved yet. You let yourself adjust, before giving him more instructions.

“You can— You can spread them open and— ah!— m-move them in and— Ah!”

Hyun-Su follows your advice diligently, and soon you no longer even have the strength to hold on to him, falling down onto your back with your whole body arching into his touch, following after him if he pulls out. It’s so, so fucking good, nothing you’ve ever done on your own can compare to this and you don’t know how you’ll be able to go back after that.

You’re gasping and writhing underneath him for you don’t know how long, and you’re so, so close to the edge, but you need— You just need something more, so you push yourself back up on your elbows, something harder than you’d think, when your muscles feel like jelly, and that’s when you realize that his hips are bucking against your leg. You hadn’t paid any attention to it, but now you see how obviously hard he is, and the small, almost shy movements of his hips as he ruts against you.

“Hyun-Su,” you call — you’re no longer paying attention to how your voice is coming out —, “here—”

You grab his wrist, and even if it means he pulls his hand out, something that immediately has your walls clenching around nothing at the loss, guide him so his fingers brush against your clit.

“There,” you whisper. “You can keep, uh, keep your fingers inside and— and touch me there, too.”

He nods, pushes the fingers back inside. There are a few seconds as he figures out how to best put his hand, and then when he strokes your clit with his thumb, you almost immediately lose it. You only have the presence of mind to lift your leg up, just a little, so it presses against his hard cock.

It’s his turn to freeze and to let out a moan then, one obviously surprised out of him.

“You should feel good too,” you manage to mumble through the haze of pleasure.

“But I— I want to make you feel—”

“We can both feel good,” you answer, and Hyun-Su just cannot resist kissing you again. It’s messy, tongues clashing together without much control, but fuck, he cannot explain or control the way he feels about you.

You come just a few moments later, waves of pleasure crashing through you all at once as his thumb circles your clit, fingers deep inside you, moving at a tranquil pace that lets you feel all of his movements inside you.

When you open your eyes again, he’s above you, staring at you lovingly.

“Good?” he asks.

Better than that.

“That was incredible,” you tell him though even that feels like an understatement. You love the way he obviously preens under your compliment. “But— But what about you? Didn’t you—”

You reach out, but he grabs your wrist before you can touch him.

“I, um, I’ve already—”

He’s turning bright red again, but you understand without another word. His jeans are still on, and you haven’t even actually touched him, and yet he still came in his pants, against your thigh, while fingering you.

Blood rushes to your face so fast you feel light-headed.

“Oh,” is all you can truly think to say. Then, shyly, “Want to go get cleaned up?”

“Together?” His voice is soft, questioning, but his eyes are in yours, comfortable instead of avoiding. You nod.

Later, you’re still in his arms, your back pressed against his chest, his face buried in your neck. And you, too, are comfortable.

There’s just something in the air, something fresh and sweet and familiar, and you think something you haven’t let yourself explore all that much, even if you’ve known, deep down, for a long time.

It just might be love.

and here we are! this one felt a lot smuttier to me than the previous part, but it was fun to write about this relationship in a less angsty way, too. maybe i should let them be happy a little more lol. anyway, i hope you liked it! next part probably won't be smut, but i don't know when it will be out. i have a new, time consuming internship that doesn't give me a lot of free time, so i don't know how much/when i'll have time to write. but i definitely have more stuff i want to write for this couple! so don't hesitate to comment and/or reblog to give me the motivation to write after work lol, and i'll also be answering my asks when i have time!

[violenteconomics]

First year gang but it’s an au where they’re ghostbusters

anything 4 u, baby. (gonna be real with you, though, i have never seen a single ghostbusters movie, so some of this is just based off of preliminary research, lol)

okay, so it's a TWST event based on that one old mickey mouse short "the haunted house" and the actual "the haunted mansion" ride at disneyland. there's this old, decrepit house on school property that used to be its own dorm -- we're just gonna call it "skaladare". however, after an undisclosed accident nearly a century ago where all the dorm members died simultaneously, it shut down and is now the most dangerous place to be on all of campus. for this reason, demolition companies don't want to go anywhere NEAR this thing, so it's just been chilling in its pocket dimension for a while.

you can see where this is going.

the first-years originally think they're just going into skaladare to get the cinders cloak that used to belong to the old housewarden, which has great magical properties -- which is partially true, if nothing else. that idea degrades over time, though, as crowley gives them ghostbusting outfits, magestone equipment (proton packs, containment units, etc.), and even gives grim a funny pair of ecto goggles. ("you probably won't get in any real danger, but i'll give you all this stuff anyway because i'm just so darn kind---")

(the housewarden of skaladare, named gale roths (a pun on the term "gale rots"), is twisted from the grim reaper from the mickey mouse short, btw.)

as soon as they get there, the door closes in on them and they're locked inside. luckily, they're met with the ghost of a former skaladare first-year named gabriel hauntings (for... obvious reasons), twisted from the ghost host from the haunted mansion ride. he's pretty friendly as far as most undead go, though (if extremely sassy and sarcastic, but i guess being stuck with nothing to do but crossword puzzles will do that to you).

gabriel can't remember how he died, but everyone else does. and he can tell you that everyone has been extremely aggressive after they woke up as ghosts, so the first-years better watch their backs. after a bit of threatening by epel and manhandling by sebek (which everyone is deeply confused by, because he's supposed to incorporeal, sebek is there something you want to tell us--), gabriel agrees to guide them through the mansion to the housewarden's bedroom, where the cinders cloak is.

they fight through a bunch of skeletons and ghosts, and as they continue through the halls, talking to old paintings on the walls and random scraps of memories gabriel regains, they slowly piece together the story behind skaladare's mass extinction.

as it turns out, skaladare used to be the worst-ranked dorm in the whole school -- in grades, definitely, but also in the fact that the dorm was literally falling apart, and no matter how much housewarden roths begged for repairs, the headmage at the time (who i'm just going to assume isn't crowley) refused to spend money on what the entire school saw as a lost cause.

skaladare lost every spelldrive match they were ever apart of, they were cut out of school-wide field trips, the teachers looked down on skaladare first-years the moment they stepped into the classroom, and getting sorted into skaladare was basically a death sentence (*hint hint*, *wink wink*)

being the housewarden of this awful place was already bad. combine that with the housewarden's already ongoing issues (we're just going to assume they're similar to riddle's), and he overblotted in no time at all. except this time, there was nobody who could stop him -- and he wound up killing every single person in skaladare. the reason gabriel doesn't remember any of this is because he was sleeping when this happened, which is why he describes the process of becoming a ghost as "waking up".

blah blah blah, the first-years have to deal with another overblot, can you believe it? except this time, gabriel is going to battle with us after hanging back this whole time (yes, he can get a card, too). and at the end, gabriel and gale and everybody else can move on to the afterlife. gale gives the first-years the cinders cloak, the freshmen and gabriel have a tearful goodbye, and they leave up into the great unknown after one last twistune.

even if this is a twst event and those are usually pretty goofy, let's say that this ending has our freshmen thinking about how this school and their own dorms might actually kill them one day.

as for cards, i'm gonna give jack and sebek the ssr cards ('cause let's be real, they deserve it at this point), deuce and epel can get the sr cards, and (i'm so sorry) ace and ortho get the r cards. and since gabriel is our event guest, he also gets an ssr card.

[cheezecakeee]

seventeen as taylor swift songs🫧 (angst ver.) part 1

part 2

main masterlist | seventeen masterlist

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

╰┈➤S.coups: Wonderland

"Didn't they tell us don't rush into things? Didn't you flash your green eyes at me? Haven't you heard what becomes of curious minds? Didn't it all seem new and exciting? I felt your arms twisting around me, I should've slept with one eye open at night" "So we went on our way, too in love to think straight, all alone, or so it seemed. But there were strangers watching and whispers turned to talking and talking turned to screams," "Oh, darling, we found Wonderland, you and I got lost in it and we pretended it could last forever, we found Wonderland, you and I got lost in it and life was never worse but never better," "I reached for you but you were gone, I knew I had to go back home. You search the world for something else to make you feel like what we had and in the end, in Wonderland, we both went mad."

╰┈➤Jeonghan: Getaway car

"It was the great escape, the prison break, the light of freedom on my face but you weren't thinkin' and I was just drinkin'. While he was runnin' after us, I was screamin', "Go, go, go!", but with three of us, honey, it's a sideshow and a circus ain't a love story, and now we're both sorry. "X" marks the spot where we fell apart, He poisoned the well, every man for himself. I knew it from the first Old Fashioned, we were cursed, it hit you like a shotgun shot to the heart" "You were drivin' the getaway car, we were flyin', but we'd never get far. Don't pretend it's such a mystery, think about the place where you first met me. Ridin' in a getaway car, there were sirens in the beat of your heart. Should've known I'd be the first to leave, think about the place where you first met me" "We were jet-set, Bonnie and Clyde, until I switched to the other side, to the other side. It's no surprise I turned you in 'cause us traitors never win. I'm in a getaway car, I left you in a motel bar, put the money in a bag and I stole the keys, that was the last time you ever saw me" "I was ridin' in a getaway car, I was cryin' in a getaway car, I was dyin' in a getaway car, said goodbye in a getaway car"

╰┈➤Joshua: Betty

"But if I just showed up at your party would you have me? Would you want me? Would you tell me to go fuck myself? Or lead me to the garden? In the garden, would you trust me if I told you it was just a summer thing? I'm only 17, I don't know anythin' but I know I miss you" "I know where it all went wrong, your favorite song was playin' from the far side of the gym I was nowhere to be found, I hate the crowds, you know that... plus, I saw you dance with him. You heard the rumors from Inez, you can't believe a word she says most times but this time, it was true. The worst thing that I ever did was what I did to you." "The only thing I wanna do is make it up to you. So I showed up at your party... Yeah, I showed up at your party, will you have me? Will you love me? Will you kiss me on the porch in front of all your stupid friends? If you kiss me, will it be just like I dreamed it? Will it patch your broken wings? I'm only 17, I don't know anythin' but I know I miss you. Standin' in your cardigan, kissin' in my car again, stopped at a streetlight. You know I miss you"

╰┈➤Jun: Red

"Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street, faster than the wind, passionate as sin, ending so suddenly. Loving him is like trying to change your mind once you're already flying through the free fall, like the colors in autumn, so bright, just before they lose it all" "Touching him was like realizing all you ever wanted was right there in front of you. Memorizing him was as easy as knowing all the words to your old favorite song. Fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there's no right answer. Regretting him was like wishing you never found out that love could be that strong" "Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes tell myself it's time now gotta let go, but moving on from him is impossible when I still see it all in my head in burning red. Burning, it was red" "Oh, losing him was blue, like I'd never known. Missing him was dark gray, all alone. Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met, 'cause loving him was red" ""And that's why he's spinning 'round in my head comes back to me, burning red. His love was like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street"

╰┈➤ Hoshi: Ronan

"I remember your blue eyes looking into mine like we had our own secret club. I remember you dancing before bedtime then jumping on me, waking me up, I can still feel you hold my hand, little man and even the moment I knew, you fought it hard like an army guy. Remember I leaned in and whispered to you?" "What if I'm standing in your closet trying to talk to you? And what if I kept the hand-me-downs you won't grow into? And what if I really thought some miracle would see us through? What if the miracle was even getting one moment with you?" "Come on, baby, with me, we're gonna fly away from here. Come on, baby, with me, we're gonna fly away from here. You were my best four years. I remember your bare feet down the hallway. I love you to the moon and back"

╰┈➤ Wonwoo: Mirrorball

"I want you to know, I'm a mirrorball. I'll show you every version of yourself tonight. I'll get you out on the floor, shimmering beautiful and when I break it's in a million pieces." "And they called off the circus, burned the disco down when they sent home the horses and the rodeo clowns. I'm still on that tightrope, I'm still trying everything to get you laughing at me. I'm still a believer but I don't know why, I've never been a natural all I do is try, try, try; I'm still on that trapeze, I'm still trying everything to keep you looking at me" "Hush, ehen no one is around, my dear. You'll find me on my tallest tiptoes, spinning in my highest heels, love, shining just for you. Hush, I know they said the end is near but I'm still on my tallest tiptoes, spinning in my highest heels, love. Shining just for you"

╰┈➤ Woozi: This is me trying

"I've been having a hard time adjusting, Ihad the shiniest wheels, now they're rusting. I didn't know if you'd care if I came back, I have a lot of regrets about that. Pulled the car off the road to the lookout, could've followed my fears all the way down and maybe I don't quite know what to say but I'm here in your doorway" "They told me all of my cages were mental so I got wasted like all my potential and my words shoot to kill when I'm mad, I have a lot of regrets about that. I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere, fell behind on my classmates, and I ended up here pouring out my heart to a stranger but I didn't pour the whiskey," "And it's hard to be at a party when I feel like an open wound, it's hard to be anywhere these days when all I want is you. You're a flashback in a film reel on the one screen in my town" "And I just wanted you to know, that this is me trying; and maybe I don't quite know what to say. I just wanted you to know, that this is me trying. At least I'm trying"

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

[llamagoddessofficial]

Thank you for the commission, @silcatian! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this might be the first time I've written a Swap Sans! 👀 I went the true himbo route

---

“TSK! HONESTLY!”

...

Huh. You perked up, at the sound of your boyfriend’s voice- he didn't usually sound frustrated when cooking. Unless his brother had walked in with takeout. You closed your work laptop, getting up off the couch and heading into the kitchen. 

“What is it?” You poked your head in. Sans was wearing his post-workout gear, fresh out of the shower, he looked remarkably handsome dressed in just shorts and a loose white top with ‘AWESOME DUDE’ written on the front in very faded black marker. He was holding a still-sealed packet of gnocchi and glaring at it; the stovetop was decorated by a saucepan of almost-boiling water, and a second shallower pan that contained some kind of pleasant smelling creamy sauce.

He narrowed his sockets at the packet, as he put it back on the countertop. “THIS GNOCCHI IS ENCOURAGING THE CONSUMPTION OF CARDBOARD AND PLASTIC! CARDBOARD AND PLASTIC IS NOT HEALTHY FOR HUMANS. THAT, I KNOW. I SHOULD’VE MADE MY OWN PASTA FOR OUR ROMANTIC DINNER! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WOO YOU IF MY COOKING IS FULL OF CARDBOARD AND PLASTIC?”

“... Erm...” You were trying not to laugh. You hadn’t been aware tonight was supposed to be a romantic dinner. “Explain a bit more...?”

He jabbed a finger, accusingly, at the packaging.

“THE TEXT HERE CLEARLY INSTRUCTS ME TO ‘ADD BOX TO BOILING WATER’!”

...

Oh my Stars. 

You tried not to laugh. You really did. But you couldn’t help it, a little giggle came out.

“Sans...” You said, moving over to the countertop and picking up the offending box. “I’m pretty sure it means add the contents of the box.” 

He glanced over at you, with those beautiful sky blue eyelights. “... REALLY?”

“... Yeah.” You scanned the package, and it just confirmed your suspicions. “You’ve bought a two person gnocchi serving. And you’re reading the part about ‘to serve two’. It just wanted you to use all the gnocchi in the box, boo.”

“HM.” He scratched his chin, but his happy aura didn’t lessen at all. He always took these things in stride. “WELL, I SUPPOSE THAT DOES MAKE A LOT MORE SENSE. I DID THINK IT WAS ODD.”

Your boyfriend was the smartest person you’d ever met, by no stretch of the imagination. But simultaneously, he was one of the most blunt, and easily confused.

He had multiple PhDs. That wasn't a joke, they were framed on the wall, he collected them mostly just for the fun of it. Statistics, mathematics, ‘puzzleology’ or something, a lot of space related stuff you didn’t understand. Numbers went through his head like he was a living calculator, his propensity for puzzles was absolutely unmatched and his eyelights merely had to scan something for him to make the most incredible difficult conclusions with total ease. A Sherlock in his own right. He explained astrophysics, both theoretical and non-theoretical, as easily as if he was explaining the answers to the morning crossword.

... And yet. He once asked you how to spell YMCA. On your first date, he pondered why humans got salmonella from raw eggs, because he thought it came from salmon. The two of you were watching a documentary about a lion pride and he asked if it was ‘based on a true story’.

Honestly? You just loved him more for it. It was funny and endearing. His line about salmonella had made you so giggly (much to his apparent delight) you’d thought about him all day- every Sherlock needs a Watson, right? You were not mathematically gifted, but that was okay. Sans did yours and his brother’s taxes because he just enjoyed crunching the numbers, and meanwhile, you could explain that when the recipe said the steak needed to ‘sit’ for half an hour, it didn’t mean on a chair. The two of you covered each other’s weaknesses.

Your running theory was that he was just too smart. Day-to-day stuff went over his skull, just like academic stuff went over yours. And that was okay. You knew he wouldn’t judge you for struggling with numbers, let alone for not understanding his long enthusiastic tangents about incredibly complex mathematical theories, he knew you wouldn’t judge him when he openly questioned why the plural of foot was feet but the plural of boot wasn’t beet.

...

... To be fair, you didn’t get that one either.

Sans opened the gnocchi and put it on to boil. It only needed a few minutes before it was already done, ready to strain. Sometimes, you just didn’t understand; he was an absolutely incredible cook, on your first date at his place he’d made seared ahi tuna steaks with some kind of delicious sweet lemony sauce, full of complicated flavours you didn’t understand, pulling out all the stops to impress you. It had completely blown your mind, especially when he openly admitted he wasn’t familiar with cooking with human food.

... And at the same time, when he made tacos for his brother, he filled them with glitter. 

Non edible glitter.

You strained the gnocchi for him. It always surprised you, how fast the stuff cooked. He added the pasta to the sauce, tossing it all together and throwing in a little sprinkle of something green, then setting it down to reduce.

You leant back against the counter.

“... You know I’m already wooed, right?” You said, softly. “And not just by your cooking.”

“OF COURSE, BOO.” Confident as ever. “BUT I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH AND IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE RE-WOOED REGULARLY, TO ENSURE YOU FEEL APPRECIATED.”

You felt your cheeks get pinker. “Is that one from your dating manual?”

“NOPE.” He winked. “THAT’S A SANS ORIGINAL. MWEH-HEH.”

He held his hand out. You took it, linking your fingers with his bones and giving a gentle squeeze.

“... Well. Consider me feeling appreciated.” 

He beamed. “EXCELLENT! MY DATE NIGHT WAS SUCCESSFUL, AND IT HASN’T EVEN STARTED YET!”

He had you giggling again. He always seemed to. 

“Do you wanna eat on the couch? That new black hole documentary is on in twenty minutes.”

“ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO WATCH IT TOO?”

“Absolutely. You might have to explain some stuff to me, though. Like... the whole ‘time slowing down as you fall in’ thing.”

“WELL, IT’S VERY SIMPLE, ACTUALLY!” His eyelights flared up into stars, infectious grin spreading across his cheeks. “IF YOU WERE AN OBJECT APPROACHING A BLACK HOLE, IT WOULD APPEAR AS IF TIME WAS SLOWING AROUND YOU...”

You let him continue, allowing yourself to indulge in another of his tangents. You just liked hearing him talk about something he was interested in.

... He thought it was his cooking, good looks and dating manual advice that had won you over. And they certainly helped. But really... it was this sort of thing that had ‘wooed’ you, in the end.

[ailendolin]

I’ve been thinking about Thomas and the theme of change that runs through the show.

Thomas establishes early on in series 1, "You stay how you die," implying that the ghosts are incapable of change. We know that’s not true, of course. Robin is the best example of that. Not only does he manage to grasp concepts that are foreign to him (playing chess, doing crossword puzzles etc.), he has also learned at least one new language since he died. Like him, all the other ghosts have grown over the course of the series in one way or another, be it Fanny who realises that love is love, Pat who recognises that he pushed Carol away, Julian who's beginning to understand how much time he's wasted away from his daughter or Kitty who is slowly coming to terms with how her sister treated her. Mary, in fact, has grown so much that she was able to find peace and move on.

Thomas is the only one who seemingly hasn’t grown. He’s standing still, very much set in his ways, and I think that's because his character arc is not about finding love or realising romantic love is not what he needs to be happy but rather about change.

As I mentioned before, Thomas is the one who insists, "You stay how you die." He’s also the one who tells Alison, "We can change!" making it sound like that’s something the ghosts have control over even though we know it’s actually more of a subconscious process. So why does Thomas phrase it like that, then?

Because for him, it actually is something he can control because the Thomas we know, the Thomas the ghosts and Alison know, is not real. He’s merely a role Thomas has perfected over the years to protect himself from getting hurt, and there are mainly two reasons why I think that:

The theme of abandonment: we saw both Isabelle and Francis abandon him when he was dying, and while I know a lot of people believe the story Thomas tells about his mother letting him cry when he was a baby was just him seeking attention, I do think there was some truth to it because it's been established that Thomas doesn’t lie. He’s able to bend the truth and make it less painful (the kiss with Isabelle that never happened, him talking about his grand tour etc.) but he does not flat out lie. So if we take that into account, all three people he mentions from his life have abandoned him in some way. He not only died alone and unloved, he probably lived that way too and I would argue he is still “living” it. He can often be seen sitting or standing at a distance from the group (the double denim scene, or when Alison thanks them for the review) as if he's not quite part of it or at least feels like he isn't.

The differences between alive and dead Thomas: I think it's worth noting that the Thomas we see in the flashbacks is quite different from the Thomas we know. His love for Isabelle is a gentle and respectful thing whereas his "love" for Alison is the complete opposite. He also seems to have been quieter in life – still confident in his abilities and with a penchant for drama but in a subdued, more serious way. It’s a side of him we sometimes get glimpses of in the show: when he watched the sunrise with Alison, when he told Kitty she didn't need to pretend to like his poetry or after he went through withdrawal. Thomas’s true character shines through in those moments and the fact that we actually get to see that shows that Thomas is changing - just very slowly. For him, change is not about becoming a new, better version of himself or having a profound realisation about someone or something. It’s about feeling safe enough to let the mask fall and be himself around others, and about trusting them not to turn their backs on him when he does.

The main problem with that is that the others have given him no reason to feel safe so far. They constantly roll their eyes when he so much as opens his mouth and rarely bother to hide the fact they consider him a nuisance. Part of that is obviously Thomas’s own fault since the act he puts on is meant to push others away. But the others aren't blameless either. We know they can all be incredibly respectful and considerate when it comes to each other's trauma. It's an unspoken rule not to bring it up unless the person themself does (Fanny's death and George's affair, Kitty's sister, the Captain's sexuality and so on). That rule, however, does not apply to Thomas. When he goes to Alison to talk about his death, she barely pays attention to him at first. It’s only when the others come in, take over his story and turn the most traumatic moment of his life into the evening's entertainment that she gets invested in it. Gone is the respect and consideration they’d all normally show in such a situation - because it’s Thomas, and no one ever takes his feelings seriously.

I think in order for Thomas to change, the others need to change first. They don’t have to pretend to like his poetry or find his outbursts charming or anything like that but they need to make him feel safe the same way they make each other feel safe when they're at their most vulnerable. We got a small glimpse of what that could look like in the Comic Relief special when Kylie asked Thomas to finish the song. Everyone was supportive of him in that moment and genuinely happy for him, and I think that's exactly what Thomas needs to let his guard down and stop pretending he's someone he's not: to feel accepted and part of the family.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hi!

First of all, I really appreciate your work here! I love discovering new games and i have added some to my list based on your recommendations

Right now I'm looking for a solo ttrpg that is meant to be played in extremely short daily sessions. I want to play a little round each morning as if it were a daily wordle or newspaper crossword puzzle. Just a quick dopamine hit without having to commit multiple hours.

I know that with solo games, it is easy to do things at my own pace anyway. But are there any solo games that incorporate short, daily sessions as a feature?

THEME: Short, Daily, Solo Games.

Myrtle Manor, by aiyujellies.

On the edge of the cliffside lies a crumbling manor swathed in blankets of shadow. A cloaked figure darts out of its entrance, a gaping maw, and disappears into the forest, their footprints featherlight and fading in the snow...

Myrtle Manor is a solo journaling role-playing game. It requires a tarot deck, two coins, and a medium to record the story. For every entry, you will draw a tarot deck and consult the oracle for guidance on what kind of person you meet. Each day you will meet a new person.

You’ll want to keep in mind why you’re visiting the manor and what secret your character is trying to find (as well as what secret they are trying to keep). Each entry comes with a section called Mind Your Presence, in which you determine what each meeting means to your character.There doesn’t seem to be a definitive end to this game - I’m assuming you can play for as many days as there are tarot cards in the deck, but you could also tie things up sooner if you find the story reaching a natural conclusion, or whenever you get bored. Definitely worth checking out!

Your True Name, by Pearse Anderson.

Your True Name is a spell-generation storytelling game to play with some choice five-letter words. It is a one-page Lost & Found hack of Wordle, the online spelling sensation, designed to be one-player and played in fifteen minutes or less!

In Your True Name, you become a magic word being Spoken by generations of spellcasters, each of them trying to use your magic and get closer to Your True Name (today’s Wordle answer). The game changes each day with the Wordle and with each player’s guesses, making the replayability endless and a perfect way to generate fun spells for your other campaigns and games. You, as the magic word you inhabit, can travel between the lips of waterfall watchers, bandit-kings, aeronauts, illusionists, and Mage College adjuncts, changing and growing in both power and potential volatility.

This gives you a way to game-ify another morning activity, that activity being Wordle. I was inspired to recommend this game when you mentioned a daily Wordle, because I knew I had seen this game somewhere. You could stay within the same world / character as you play, or hop between characters or bouts of inspiration.

The Bonsai Diary, by Sticky Doodler.

It's 2023, and you plant a small tree seedling, imagining its future. Bonsai trees can live hundreds of years. Who will inherit this living being? What will that person think of you in 2178? Will they think of you at all?

This is a beautifully contemplative game, in which you embody various generations that are all responsible for caring for a bonsai tree (and possibly more). Throughout the game you will find small pieces of facts about trees and notable tree-related history. The game itself is a printable booklet that you will draw in, answering questions about 6 generations and how they came across the bonsai. If you want to continue past generation 6, the booklet contains instructions for longer play.

You Beyond the Pale, by S. Kaiya J.

You don't belong in the mortal world. You live alone, and you have always lived alone. You have yourself, and you have your own territory. The mortals have their own realms, and the mortals have each other. So what happens when the mortal world starts coming to you?

You, Beyond the Pale is a solo journaling RPG based on the Aspire SRD. Take up the role of a unique monster, adrift and alone, bewildered by a world full of mortals. Observe them. Learn about them. Scare them, or leave gifts for them. Make a friend. And brace for when your friend tells the rest of the mortal world about you.

S. Kaiya J writes extremely poetic and thoughtful games, and this one is no exception. Using a deck of cards, you will chronicle the story of a monster who makes a new, mortal friend. The author encourages you to select a prompt in the morning, think about the possibilities throughout the day, and return to the game at night, before you go to bed. If you want a game that draws a story out over a month, this might be the game for you.

Loved in Triangles, by James Shannon.

Loved In Triangles is a solo GM-lessTTRPG about romance, relationships and choices. Through playing you'll explore 6 months in the life of someone deciding whether to stay in their current comfortable relationship or to risk it all on the possibility of something new. The game requires a standard deck of playing cards.

If you want to play a game that deals with a topic that has some weight to it, you might want to check out this game. You will draw cards and your character will have to make a decision about what they want in life when it comes to romance. You can base these characters off of different versions of yourself, inspired by fictional characters, or something else altogether.

You are Autumn, by Turtlebun.

You Are Autumn is a game for one person. It takes only a few moments to play.

This is possibly one of the shortest solo games I’ve seen on Itch. It’s more of a writing or journaling exercise than it is a storytelling game; each day you write about the things you cherish and how they leave you to be replaced with something else. I feel like you could either stick rigidly to the premise of this game, or you could expand on it, create new rules, or use it as part of another journaling game.

Games I've Recommended in the Past

Global Dragon Egg Conservation, by KuumatheBronze.

Also...

You might also want to check out the Lunch Break RPG Bundle, which are meant to be short and quick to play. Not all of them will be solo, but a good number will be! (Limited time only)

[erikiara80]

Why so many mentions of Barb in S4? Because it's not just about Nancy

@chirpsythismorning @lilitblaukatz I finally have a theory. I didn't understand what all those mentions meant until I found another one in 4x01.

A hidden reference, in a school project, to Barbara Henry, the woman who teached little Ruby Bridges, the first African-American child to attend the all-white William Frantz Elementary School, New Orleans. Barbara, Henry and William. And El had Henry as a mentor...

EDIT (spoiler of The First Shadow) There's another mention in . The name of main character of the play in the play (Joyce's play) the Dark of the Moon, is Barbara Allen.

So, if most of these Barb mentions/references are connected to Will and El, maybe she's not just important for Nancy's arc, but the writers are also using her story to hide hints about Will and El's story.

I talk about the references here and here. For example, Lenora is in Santa Barbara County, the hint being 805, the area code number on the Surfer Boy Pizza van. There are two Barbaras in Brenner's crossword puzzle, the day of the massacre. This means twin imagery= Willel (and Henry/Edward) and maybe different timelines.

Another twin imagery is in S2. The owls.

Also, Rick's house, where Eddie is hiding, is at 2121, Holland RD. Barbara Holland. 2121, another twin imagery, and 12 mention (the number associated with Will), but reversed. Rick is a reference to Dr Richard Brenner, mentioned in two articles in S1 (here). One of them is The boy who came back to life. The kids also say that there are 12 Ricks... I don't think these are coincidences.

So, S1 is all about the boy in the UD and the girl who escaped from the lab. Brenner refers to them as the boy and the girl. Will and El, the keys to save the world. In fact, this is the first question Joyce asks after Will's vanishing: 'Where are they?' (the keys) After they showed a key on the wall and keys on the table in Hopper's house.

(screenshot by chirpsythismorning)

Also, close up of the number of Hopper's badge, in his first scene: 380 (11) Imo, a hint that Will and El are the keys, and Joyce and Hopper are their parents.

But S1 is also about finding Will and another girl, Barb. So my theory is that Barb represents El and the writers hid some important hints in their parallels.

The boy and the girl

Barb is bleeding when she's taken to the UD, and her attack is different from what happens to Will. But she's attacked right after the scene in Will's room, where Should I stay or should I go starts playing, and the light gets brighter, something that only happens when El and Vecna use their powers. Also, Joyce sees the Demogorgon in the wall. They connected Barb to Will.

Another connection. El finds them in the void, and Joyce helps her. She helps El to find the boy and the girl, a parallel with her trying to find the keys in 1x01. And if Will is one of the keys, Barb represents the other key, El.

If this is true, what are the hints about Will and El's story?

1. Water. They find Will's fake body in the quarry, and in S1 there are random shots of lakes. Something bad happened in the past (more here and here)

Barb is taken in a pool, and water is important in the show, but it's mostly associated with danger/death. They mention another death in the quarry in 1976. Will has the first vision of the UD in 1x08, when he's washing his hands, and a vision of the Mind Flayer after he washes them in S2. El sees Heather in the bathtub, Billy sees the Mind Flayer in the shower. The song when Hopper and Joyce revive Will (I don't want to swim forever... When it's cold I'd like to die- the same song that plays when Max dies). And Owens says that El is going to drown in the water tank.

This scene in S2 also seems to hint at a parallel between El and Maria's drowning scene in the movie Frankenstein.

The word LIFE

El and a bathtub

And after the shot of Maria walking towards the lake, they show the radio and the number 11. Maybe this means that in the past El died, too, and was revived?

Also, the first time Will communicates with Joyce, she only hears him breathing. Then she tells Hopper that she knows her son's breathing. But in 1x08 Will is not breathing. In S2, when he sees the storm, he feels frozen, like when you can't breath or move or do anything. He says it again in S3, three times. In S2 Becky says that Jane wasn't breathing, and the first thing Terry says to El is: Breath.

And this is also connected to the other big hint hidden in Barb's story.

2. The official "cause" of her death, the experimental chemical asphyxiant (so she couldn't breath) is a parallel with Agent Orange and a hint about the real connection between Willel and Hopper

In S3, Will, El, Hopper and Joyce are all connected to the word orange. I didn't notice it when I watched S3 years ago, because I didn't know Hopper's backstory, but now...

Robin sees a pretty girl with read hair and says: 'Twelve o'clock!' Orange and 12 mention. Will.

Then El explodes the cup of another girl. Curiously, another redhead. Imo, another twin imagery that connect the two scenes. Also, there are four cups: Hopper, Joyce, Will and El. And the guy's outfit reminds me of a lab orderly. (I'm not forgetting Jon. I just thinks he is Lonnie's son)

In this shot the word orange is behind Lucas, but he's telling Hopper that the Mind Flayer destroyed his cabin: Hopper's connection to the events of 1959 and the curse are haunting him and his family?

Then my favorite part, because it connects all of them to Agent Orange and the keys.

Murray gives Jon and Nancy the keys of his house.

Then we see one of the keys, Will, with Joyce. When she hugs him he says that he can't breath.

And even when the camera moves on Hopper and El, we can still hear him saying 'I'm suffocating'.

The word orange between the parents (another screenshot by Jo)

And here. Billy (William), El and the Mind Flayer/Henry, the other person connected to the curse.

The reason why I decided to analyze Barb's connection to Will and El is a strange detail in S4.

When El blames Brenner for all the deaths, the flashback shows Bob's death first, then Barb's. But in 4x02 the journalist says that it all started with Barb's death. I'm not sure what this "error" means. The only thing I could think of is the score at the Arcade in S2.

1st, 75 (12) 2nd 65 (11)

11 comes before 12 but in the Dig Dug score it's second. Barb dies before Bob, but in the flashback they show her death after his. Maybe this is also about something in Will and El's past? There's still a lot to analyze.

And, of course, Barb is very important for Nancy's arc, too. I just noticed a connection to other characters and wanted to see what it could mean.

[surrealteal-mo]

My main OC!

~ GENERAL INFO ~

Name: Layla Avalin

Nicknames: Lay’s, Lay-Lay, Provoloka

Birthday/DOB: 6th January 1991

Age: Early 20s

Nationality: British-Serbian

Gender: Non-Binary

Pronouns: Any pronouns

Sexuality: Bisexual

When the story is mainly set: 2012-2014

~ APPEARANCE + PERSONALITY ~

Height: 6"1 / 185cm

Weight: 164lbs

Hair: Shaggy brunette hair, natural blonde streaks (mostly on fringe), very thick, length is at the mid to bottom of their neck.

Eyes: Sort of teal colour? (It changes a lot but it’s basically that)

Personality: On the surface, Layla can come across as egotistical, overly extroverted, competitive, and just plain annoying. These traits act as a barrier, signalling to others that they might not want to be friends with them. However, once you get to know her better, Layla reveals his true self: passionate, observant, friendly, and especially loving. In relationships, they struggle with the fear of abandonment, leading to clinginess and insecurity. She deeply fears being neglected by her partners or friends.

MBTI: ENTP

~ FAMILY / RELATIONSHIPS ~

Father: Detective Jeremy Avalin

Mother: Dr. Milica Avalin (M.N: Ristovski)

Siblings: N/A

Grandfather (Dad’s side): Michael Avalin

Grandmother (Dad’s side): Bella Rossi

Great-Grandfather (Grandfather’s side): Charles Avalin

Great-Grandmother (Grandfather’s side): Anastasia "Anna" Avalin

Great-Grandfather (Grandmother’s side): Vincent Rossi

Grandfather (Mum’s side): Sergej Ristovski

Grandmother (Mum’s side): Ljiljana Ristovski

Cousin (Mum’s side): Demetri Ristovski

Ex Spouse (M. 2012 - D. 2013): Xavier Livingston (Bad terms)

Current Spouse (M. 2016): Issac Johnson

~ INTERESTS ~

Layla has always had an interest in mathematical things, especially physics. Excelled in that topic and they have always had an interest in it. She also has a passion for engineering, and they have a shelf of little robots they made. He also enjoys crosswords and sudoku, and listens to music while doing it.

~ BACKSTORY LEADING UP TO ADULTHOOD ~

It should be very important to note that Layla belongs to the Avalin family. The Avalin family are directly linked to Avalinthea, the Saxanian God of Stones. Layla and her family are unaware of this, but have always had connections to the stones. (Basically the power system in the universe :))

Layla grew up in an environment where they were almost always "second place" to people, especially their own parents. Their parents have a condition called "Amorisis Syndrome" which makes them obsessively in love with each other, to the point where they would manipulate, harm and even kill others for each other (basically they’re Yandere for eachother). Their condition doesn’t apply to Layla, so they cannot feel as strongly for Layla than they do eachother. Along with this, Layla was quite unpopular at school, inserting themselves into friendship groups that didn’t even really want her there, causing more thoughts of “I will never be first place to anyone.”

Layla did have a childhood best friend, Oliver, however they rarely saw each other, due to Oliver’s family being significantly more wealthy and higher class than Layla’s. The two moved to New York when they turned 20.

~ FUN TRIVIA :D ~

- Layla got all D’s on his GCSEs except for physics, chemistry and maths, to which she got A*s

- Owns a Wii, and plays on it when they have free time, ends up becoming TOO good on it.

- If they had the money, they would go to Geneva, Switzerland.

- He enjoys collecting stickers, but often forgets to actually stick them on stuff.

- Often goes to Serbia for Christmas with her parents to see her grandparents, playing in the snow with Demetri is often their highlight of the year.

- Their scarf was given to them by Demetri before he went missing.

~ MOODBOARD ~

~ PLAYLIST ~

[ghostherlig]

chapter 11 endnotes!!

some end notes and things (as promised 😌) in chronological order!! (under the cut for spoilers!! go read chapter 11 first!!)

the word choices in the crossword puzzle were intentional!! it's kind of johnny and taka's perception of each other, or things they like about each other-

"Succinctly, John kept all of his emotions right in his chest, and one day, he would die." this IS a john mulaney reference-- and also very true, john has trouble expressing his emotions

also a lot of john's inner monologue in this chapter is him kind of keeping his emotions to himself and being unsure how to express himself or if he thinks he even should-

kenshi also telling john that the only way for him to know what john is thinking or feeling is if john tells him, as opposed to taka in the previous chapter going into his head (with permission) and looking freely at john's thoughts and feelings- just a thing that shows how their sense of others autonomy differs between them

johnny's love language is acts of service and gift giving can you tell. can you tell that he loves to cook for his partners and that food is a big part of him expressing his love??

john being in a sweater was a heavy note in this chapter- i dont often describe what they're wearing and kind of leave it vague unless i think it's fun or important to the scene- but them all being in very comfy dressed down clothing was an intentional note bc it isnt often that any of them are ever in very comfy clothing like that.. so john being warm and cozy in a comfy sweater and sweats is a sign that he's comfortable, physically but also mentally and emotionally bc he's surrounded by people he trusts

almost everything taka does is intentional. he spends a lot of time thinking over his words/actions and whether or not they're appropriate, which often means that he misses a lot of the more comfortable windows in conversation- but also means that he often comes out of the gate with an intensity that others arent ready for- like when he barges into the kitchen/dining area and immediately asks if they've already had a conversation without him- and also why he immediately gives john and kenshi space to talk alone/without him

john and taka have known each other a long time and it was only recently that taka kind of went missing… but the little story about john first trying roasted green tea is that he had discovered it was taka's favorite at this little cafe place they met at and asked if he could try; taka, of course, obliged, despite knowing that john would most likely not like it very much.. and he was right. john made a face and set taka's cup back down before swallowing and reaching for his own cup of coffee. they laughed about it. but later, when taka just.. disappeared for a few years, john needed something to fill the little void there, and so he started make cups of roasted green tea. at first for the smell, but then he tried it again. and again. and again, and kept trying it until he had developed a taste for it. then he started drinking it for comfort on days when he needed it. little sweethearts <33

taka's nickname for johnny, koinu, means 'little dog' (or puppy) in japanese- taka based this off of his nickname for john and just decided that johnny got to be the smaller version bc… well�� he is.

john having that breakdown and quite literally collapsing under the weight of his own emotions was a lot of his grief for sonya but also a lot of grief for himself- for the fact that he never had the chance to grief her properly in the first place. part of him still thinks if he had been given that time, that he may be better for it now, and he regrets his past decisions when it comes to that

taka's nickname for john, inu, means 'dog' in japanese, and it's a nickname he gave john back when they were just starting to work together- it was bc john had a lot of dog-like mannerisms and characteristics and taka thought it was cute.

it was very common when john and taka were working together that taka would push him to do things that he normally wouldnt if it was just bc he was uncomfortable with it- john always knew he could back out if he needed to, but taka's forceful nature was always helpful to him that way

john finally remembering what it's like to be empty of the worst of his grief and sleep without the weight of sonya's thoughts on his new relationship AND in the same bed as his partners is what finally got him to sleep well…

taka is making five flavor soup!! it requires a whole duck, a whole fish, dashi stock packets, baby shrimp, and konbu (which make up the five flavors) plus he throws in all kinds of soup toppings/ingredients like the mushrooms he was chopping!! it's his secret recipe that literally only he knows. not even takeda knows. it's secret.

taka's nickname for kenshi, kōneko, means 'little cat' (or kitten) and that's bc taka's first impression of kenshi (that we see from kenshi's pov) is that he was small in comparison to himself, and that the little face he made at the time made him look like a kitten who had gotten in trouble for stealing smth…

taka is not outwardly very touchy or lovey, and he often doesnt even say it back, so little kisses and touches are huge for him- him leaning down to kiss john and hanging onto kenshi and johnny are his sort of genuine cues that he does really want to be their boyfriend...

anyway, i think that's everything i wanted to touch on this chapter... if this was interesting at all lmk and maybe it'll be a regular thing?? 🤷

[lurkinglurkerwholurks]

Sunrise

First posted: May 11, 2019

Focuses on: Jason Todd and Damian Wayne

Tier: Middle of the road, not super popular but with more hits than I expected

This is my “behind the scenes” series where I indulge myself horribly by annotating my fics. Link to the fic itself above. Thoughts below the cut.

Another ficiversary "give me a fic I've written and I'll add more" entry, this time adding Jason's perspective to Safe House. Also, I'll say up top here so I don't forget like I think I might have on Safe House's BTS brain dump—this one has a podfic!

Jason remembered returning to Gotham the way one remembered suffering through a fever. It was a wash of muddied, muddled images, an anxious blur of memories with no defining features except where the very strongest impressions blazed through. He remembered the rage. He remembered the plan. And he remembered the feeling of invincibility, of power.

Honestly, you say it's because of the Pit but I think everyone at some point in their life will hit a stretch of emotion where they react so utterly out of character that in retrospect it all seems a little dream-like and vague. He ain't special.

Fear had snapped at his heels like hellhounds, chasing him into the dark.

Yep, little bit of the If The Sky imagery, little bit of the Dean Winchester imagery, just sprinkled like seasoning. but also I have a feeling that used that phrasing somewhere else, too, and I can't remember where.

He brought seed packets to the Manor and helped Alfred plant them in rich, loamy soil. When not patrolling the streets, he wrapped himself in soft, tagless fabrics that soothed his skin and blanketed his frozen limbs in warmth. He filled his safe houses with small comforts—blankets, good food, his favorite tea, books, crossword puzzles, and soft rugs. He stayed inside on the nights when the wind howled and the sky crackled and the air filled with the smell of despair.

Self-Care King 👑

Storms had been worse for him since Bruce had dragged him back to the Magda Valley. (Everything had been worse for him since returning to the Magda Valley.)

I had to ask what had happened with the whole Damian resurrection thing and where it had happened. I don't touch canon, remember, but I'd read other fics that had referenced the incident in question and I had already set up in Safe House specifically that Damian had been revived via Pit. So here we are, though I like to think my version of Bruce would be less of a butthead about it.

He hadn’t even thought to check. Damian, to Jason’s disbelief and envy, had seemed to come back fine. Better than fine, even. The kid had returned with temporary superpowers and the welcome of the entire family, the little prince ushered back into the court.

I remain baffled by that little side story that I'm told is canonical. Why would the Pit give him superpowers? That's just silly, DC.

Jason was smart. He knew he was smart. He was cunning and he was clever and he was nigh on diabolical, and above all, he was smart. He didn’t need Bruce or Dick or any of them to admit it to know it was true. But it still stung, like a sunburn deep in his chest, to know they thought he was stupid, street scum, a thick-necked thug. Damian hadn’t been trying to be snotty. He’d spoken the truth in his surprise, and that innocence had knocked the wind out of Jason.

Jason, I think, will always have a sensitive underbelly when it comes to his origins. And while Bruce and Dick know for certain that he is extremely smart and that's part of his danger, they historically haven't been very good at communicating who Jason is to the other kids, and so Damian has had to make his own assumptions.

But he’d been looking down at this boy, this kid who looked tinier than Jason had ever seen him in his borrowed Han Solo shirt and rolled sweatpants, and thought about him getting caught in the rain.

teeby

[ants-personal]

we dont have alot of info on edwins parents but imma throw mine out there that edwins father relationship wisnt wasnt bad but it wasnt also really there his father was distant and never truly home and when he was hed make comments about how edwin should be outside playing with the other kids not burying his head in books for god sakes he pushes edwin into more social boy activities but it never works out he just wants a son to be proud of and edwin wants to be that son it hurts both of them they both know something is off about edwin and neither wants it to be true.

Edwin is closer with his mother his sweet loving mother who dotes on him shares interest in stories and books with him he knows he smart witty when he wants to he solves the morning papers crosswords everyday gets great grades at school and stays home at night she never worries she knows hell be one of the greatest thinkers of his time. She sharss stories of her and his father when he was younger in love and handsome. Edwin gets his pinning romantic side from her even if he never gets the chance to actually do anything with it but that's what the books are for.

[anthrofreshtodeath]

Do you have any Rizzles fic recommendations?

Sure! I have a lot of fave stories; I like to read a lot of fic. I’m going to do five that were completed during the run of Rizzoli & Isles, and five that were finished/written after the show ended.

During the show’s run:

1. The Commitment - possibly my fave of all time. A fake dating story, of course. Delightfully angsty, brilliantly paced. Terse and so utterly complete.

2. The Beautiful Lie - another angsty, dirty one. I really love how this author can balance emotion and humor. Their dialogue is so real and engrossing.

3. Sugar and Spice - the French patisserie AU I never knew I needed. It’s just so sweet and soft and full of longing. I love it.

4. Island Fire - you know those books that are popular right now on BookTok and such for being 🌶️ spicy 🌶️? This is like that for rizzles. Big, excellent romance novel energy.

5. Crosswords and Coffee - my favorite Jane realizes fic. Soulful.

Post-show:

1. Warm Milk - holy cow is this good. Gut-wrenching and so, so well done. Sexy and adult.

2. To Charlotte with Love - this fic’s plot centers around a true crime podcast, and it reads like one. Fascinating! Great! And the love story is excellent, too.

3. Her Crumbling Preservation - (unfinished) Christ this is so raw and sexy. Also written by my best friend 🙄. It hurts so good, you know?

4. Growth Chart - probably my fave kid fic! And the rizzles romance makes me 🥹

5. When in Our Music - (unfinished) this tickles my lapsed-religious heart. The longing is out of this world. And god the prose is so good it makes me jealous. This art pushes me to be better, all the time!

[m00neroni]

hello

my name is Lu, and I am a nerd and sometimes I write fics. my current focus is marauders era and harry potter (fuck jkr). you can find my fics in my ao3 page or directly in this post, as well as my fandom opinions and other interests.

fandom opinions:

my main ships are wolfstar and jily (+ wolfstarbucks and wolfstarjily) I'm not big fan of multishipping but if that's your thing I have no problem with it.

remus, sirius, hermione and lily are my favourite characters. I will avoid any kind of bashing towards them and I prefer to keep it away from my spaces.

I also enjoy dorlene, tedromeda and fralice, as well as romione and hinny.

I'm not a big fan of remadora, but I love tonks and teddy and I believe that there are several ways to work around their dynamic without disrespecting the female character in favour of an mlm ship.

mainly, my characterisations are directly extracted from canon, but adjusted to the situation they are in. I don't enjoy the majority of current remus and sirius portrayals and I'm a bit picky, but I still ship them within their canon situation and outside from it.

you'll probably find me talking about mpreg, omegaverse and pregnant remus lupin, as well as about how sirius loves crosswords in canon (god, that man would have loved wordle.)

my fics

Coparenting With Benefits (omegaverse + mpreg/multichaper/wolfstar with background jily and bartylus/ongoing) - friends to lovers, pregnant remus lupin, romcom

It's Kind Of Obvious (one-shot/wolfstar/6k) - get together fic, non-voldemort au, fifth year

Defying Blood: The Untold Story of Remus Lupin and Sirius Black (multichapter/wolfstar and jily/ongoing) - canon divergence, lord black remus and consort lord sirius, werewolf (soul)mate bond, first wizaring war - written for the marauders with palestine project (slow updates)

Love At First Sight (A Statistical Probability) (multichapter/wolfstar/ongoing) - muggle au, meet cute, Christmas vibes (semi-hiatus coming back soon)

March 10th (one-shot/wolfstar/12k) - remus through his birthdays, canon divergence, autistic remus

The Voice That Urged Remus (multichapter/wolfstar/ongoing) - orpheus & eurydice inspired, mcd and hurt/comfort, EWE and eventual happy ending (slow updates)

welcome home, baby (we wish your parents had told us you were coming) (one-shot/wolfstar/4k - Wolfstar Bingo 2024) - muggle au, trans remus, adoption fic, implied mpreg

work call (pwp one-shot/wolfstar/4k - kinktober 2024) - dom/sub, bondage, edging

among my other interests you can find:

cosy videogames

hozier and noah kahan

marvel (wanda-dr strange-loki part of the current storyline and some ant-man here and there)

2000s romcoms + musicals

the hunger games and lord of the rings

highland cows (and cows in general)

heartstopper, outlander, game of thrones/house of the dragon, bridgerton, criminal minds

my favourite disney princess is Merida

art history, history, latin culture, greek myths, tudor era, mary I queen of scots

true crime and conspiracy theories

I was a theatre kid, so proceed with caution

that's it❤️

other links

twitter || tiktok || spotify

[ohtobealady]

I was tagged by my lovely wifey, @thehiddenbaroness. Thank you darling!

Are you named after anyone?

I am not!

2. When was the last time you cried?

Hmm, I'm not sure I can recall. I'm sure something as made me misty-eyed recently (a song or something), but nothing is springing to mind. I'm not really a crier, but that isn't to say crying is bad or weak.

3. Do you have kids?

I have four: two sons and two daughters. That's weird to type for some reason?

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

I've danced (I, too, consider that very much a sport) and played soccer. I am not a sporty gal, much to my own disappointment.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Not especially, actually? Only when the occasion calls for it. ;)

6. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

it's probably whether or not they smile or soften their features if we make eye-contact.

7. What’s your eye color?

brown, baby

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

I don't like scary movies, so I suppose happy endings?

9. Any talents?

I'm a good teacher and I read aloud well.

10. Where were you born?

Louisiana.

11. What are your hobbies?

Writing, learning (French, embroidery, composting, history of fashion/clothing), word games like crosswords, listening to true crime podcasts (Cult Liter and Something Was Wrong as ongoing series; Scamanda, The Retrievals, and A Ghost Story as standalone series), binging audiobooks

12. Do you have any pets?

One Aussie named Noble, two cats named Babycat and Bagheera

13. How tall are you?

not tall LOL nearly 5'6"

14. Favorite subject in school?

Hmm, Speech, Theatre, English (those three being my degrees), history of any type, but specifically ancient civilizations and Euro History of the 18th and 19th centuries.

15. Dream job?

I haven't really decided yet. In some sort of literature job, maybe? A museum curator? Ooo art restorer! Honestly, though, I loved @thehiddenbaroness 's response: "I'd like to be occupied with love in its different forms, and for my time to be largely my own." Beautiful.

Tagging, but feel no pressure!

@randomabiling @modernamericangirl @mar-nu-falmar @juliasdowntonstuff @abumperprize @andallthatmishigas @its-because-of-his-lordship

[tears-of-boredom]

ive been playing the older sherlock games of Frogwares. its been cool to see the similarities and also the differences compared to Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One. and in an odd way i love spotting the assets that get reused in multiple games. also the voice actor for Holmes -that im pretty sure has been the same through Silver Earring, Testament and Jack the Ripper- is quite fitting. excatly the tone of voice that I'd expect from this annoying ass man. genuinely i cant understate how annoying he is. and a little bitch as well. but also the autism. he's truly so relatable occasionally.

anyway this was to say that i finished the Jack the Ripper game just now, at 2300. and i just. the whole game i was fine right. i could ignore the fact that they were telling the story of actual events that happened. i could ignore the occasional old photograph that most likely were from the real case back then. but then the credits had to go all "Mary-Jane Kelly was the last victim of Jack the Ripper" and its like a switch was flipped inside me and i got the familiar feeling of terror that i get from anything vaguely true crime related. fucking urgh i feel so awful rn. im gonna try and calm my silly head with crossword puzzles. also i turned the radio on. and also the light.