#this became way longer than planned 😅

[serenpedac]

One of the things that has been on my mind as of late is The Three-Body Problem, both the recent Netflix series and Cixin Liu’s book.

This is not about some of the major things that people are probably discussing elsewhere, but just a few of my own thoughts on some details. I’m writing this down mainly for myself, but still wanted to share it somewhere, in case anyone is interested in my ramblings about astronomy and particle physics ^^

One of the things I love is the human-computer they make in the game. I'm not a computer scientist and can't comment on how realistic it is, but since computing is 1s and 0s, I can see the basics work. 

It also reminds me of an early simulation of cosmological structure formation in which they used people to act as particles. They were spread out and then given instructions about where to move, I assume based on which other person was closest, while also taking into account clusters of people would have a stronger effect than a single person. I tried to look up more details, but couldn't find anything, unfortunately, but it’s something that was briefly mentioned during a cosmology course.

The idea is similar to modern simulations, although it’s extremely simplified of course (see here for a beautiful example).

Another thing that stood out to me was the mention of Chien-Shiung Wu*. It’s a very brief mention and mainly in the context of being a woman in STEM, but I think she ties into the scientific side of the story as well.

[For this part, please bear with me and apologies if anything is not clear or incorrect. I’m not the best person to explain this as I really, really wanted to love (astro)particle physics, but that intention was rather one-sided. The few courses I took that dealt with it were a struggle.]

Early on in the story, the point is made that the results the scientists get from experiments are chaotic, they keep getting different results for their monitored particles despite having the same initial conditions. This means that “[...] the laws of physics are not invariant across time and space.”

This immediately reminded me of the breaking of symmetries in particle physics, because that also deals with particles behaving differently from what was expected according to the laws of nature known at the time. In particular the breaking of parity and time symmetry came to mind, as they are about place and time, respectively. And guess what? Wu discovered the breaking of so-called parity symmetry. Let me explain it a bit more ^^ 

Parity transformations are about flipping the sign of the coordinates (of, for example, the location of a particle). You can flip all three the coordinates (x,y,z) → (-x,-y,-z), but you can also just flip one. This ties into “mirroring”, for which you can imagine a mirror being placed on the y-axis, so that the particle’s x coordinate would be -x, as seen in the image below.

If parity symmetry holds for a particle interaction, that interaction would give the same result in a mirrored universe as it does in the “regular” universe.

Experiments showed that this symmetry held for the electromagnetic and the strong nuclear force, and it was expected to hold for all fundamental forces. Wu, however, found that this is not true for the electroweak force. She looked at radioactive decay for a form of cobalt and found that emitted electrons had a very specific preferred direction, which they wouldn't have had if parity symmetry would have held (I'm summarising and simplifying here).

Her result gave us a way of distinguishing left from right, scientifically, but also contradicted what was expected to be a general rule of physics: parity symmetry.

This had large implications for the world of particle physics and eventually led to the development of the Standard Model: a new theory that aims to describe the elementary particles and fundamental forces. (As happens so often with women who make significant contributions to science, her two male colleagues got a Nobel prize for this, while she was overlooked)

Obviously, these results are not the same as the circumstances in The Three-Body Problem—here, a new theory could explain the observed behaviour, whereas the story has unpredictable results—but both have particles that don’t follow the laws of physics that had been established before then.

So, my theory is that the mention of Wu is a nod to this breaking of a scientific paradigm. (I might be way overthinking this)

Finally, something that disappointed me was how in the chapter about the cosmic microwave background (CMB), there's this sentence "The universe itself was transparent; as long as you were sufficiently sharp-eyed, you could see as far as you liked." This is incorrect.

Right after the Big Bang, the universe consisted as a hot plasma, which was opaque. Photons were unable to get out, because the particle density was so high. They would basically be bouncing between particles all the time, never able to travel an extended distance. It is only as this plasma cools down and electrons combine with protons to form hydrogen that photons are able to escape, and these photons are what forms the CMB.

Because you look back in time as you look deeper into the universe, you would eventually encounter this "surface of last scattering", from which the CMB emerges. Beyond this point, you cannot see.

Normally, I wouldn't mind seeing the universe being called transparent for the sake of the storytelling, but to see this mistake in the same chapter that explains the CMB, when the two are tied together, irked me.

But overall, I am loving the book, although I haven't finished it yet (and there are 2 more). I prefer the way it sets up the story and how it feels more grounded than the series. Although I do like the characters from the series more than those in the book (Jin <3333 Auggie! Saul! Will!)

Kudos to anyone who has read all this!

*~*~*~*

Also, here’s a cool article that goes into finding solutions for the three-body problem. It’s by the one of the authors of a solution that is mentioned in the book.

*A confession: when reading her name, I would not have realised that Chien-Shiung Wu was the person behind the Wu experiment, but the translator’s note by Ken Liu mentioned that her work disproved the holding of parity symmetry.

All quotes are from this translation.

[lightlycareless]

omgggg, that Toji x reader (*plus* Naoya) was incredibleee, ignore me if you want, I know you made Toji chosing to keep distance from reader and Megumi permanently BUT what if one day he ends up finally seeing Megumi, either personally or by pictures/videos 🥺 We know Megumi it's the spitted image of him, I mean, Gojo's face when he saw him for the first time said it all 😅 And also knowing his baby has the Ten Shadows technique (I cant stop thinking about how proud he was in the canon manga/anime 🥺 he always KNEW from the start Megumi was blessed/gifted, since his first breath, the fact Toji named him is not random) making the entire Zenin clan eat their shit

Heya anon!!

I'm so glad you liked it heheheheheheh a oneshot that I didn't intend to write but it just happened!! aren't we glad it did? lol

I didn't mean to ignore you, I was only focusing on other things first 😅 oof, I still have lots of request to go through, which I plan to do it slowly but surely...

Anyways, I might've not gone down that route, however... why not something angsty? I mean 😏I've had this in my mind so... yeah 😏😏😏😏😏😏😏

Warnings: mentions of infidelity. Pregnancy. Naoya is, unfortunately, a prick. this is the oneshot anon is talking about. 100% read that first hehe. this is an AU from that, so the second part doesn't count??? I guess. excuse the proofreading. also I haven't written toji that much so please excuse my oocness as well ahahahahha :')

Happy reading!

As much as the three hoped to ignore the bases of your pregnancy, behave as it didn’t rise from an adulterous act, a direct transgression to the principles of the Zen’in, and keep it a secret, it wouldn’t take long before the guilt in each other’s mind began to weight heavy on their mind, ultimately betraying them and revealing the truth to the light, excusing the angered elders to finally get rid of two birds with one stone.

“Where—Where does this accusation even come from?!” You gasp, blood turning cold at the implication—at the notion of the truth. “Do you know the gravity of such words?!”

“Better than you of the act, it seems.” Another accuses. “We were quite aware of the rumors surrounding your ill-fitting behavior, but we never believed it would actually extend to this point!”

“I—I won’t tolerate neither of you disrespecting me!” you cry. “Nor will Naoya for that matter!”

But calling for his aid would no longer prove sufficient, for Naoya, too deep in his own insecurities by that point, had come to the disheartening conclusion that this situation had gotten way out of hand for a simple diversion.

A supposed act of mercy.

He shouldn’t have let this happen in the first place, should’ve respected what you and your marriage represented, what meant to him, and discard his pity for Toji—the man has been alone most of his life, what difference would that make that now?

But he didn’t, he allowed you to go to Toji—no, he handed you over to him, thinking he was doing something right for his cousin, or perhaps something deep inside him was allured by the sick idea of you being with another man and now, he was suffering the consequences.

Consequences he did not like, not one bit—because it got too real for him: you were now pregnant, with Toji’s child, and not his.

And this only highlighted what he considered the pitfalls of this relationship, a strike against his ego and the supposed inability to beget children, a rumor that grew bigger and bigger by each passing day, spreading like wildfire to the point where even outsiders became aware of it.

Which, for a prideful man like Naoya, was only a nightmare.

He loved you, he really did—Naoya never envisioned spending the rest of his life with anyone else…

But he loved his pride more, and when his clan began to actively confront him about it, he couldn’t take it anymore.

And thus….

“…Naoya?”

“This marriage was broken before it even started.” Your husband would say, unexpected words that pierced straight to your heart. “My family advised me well in avoiding you, but I falsely believed I could achieve differently.”

“What—what are you even saying?” you breathe. “What do you mean by—by differently?”

And… where does everything you lived with him stand?

The time you spent with him, the sweet nothings he’d whisper into your ear, to love you both swore to one another, reminding each other that there was no one else that compares…

And that you were the only woman who has ever made him feel this way—loved— and would do everything in the world to make happy…

Was it… all … a lie?

All for… nothing?

Or were you the only one that actually believed the other’s words?

“I cannot look past these transgressions.” Naoya continues. “You’ve left me no choice.”

“But you—you made me do this!” you gasp. “I never—I never wanted to be with anyone else! All this time, my heart only belonged to you!  How could you—how could you abandon me after all we’ve gone through together?!”

Naoya doesn’t say anything else anymore, instead, he simply turns around, exiting the room to leave you in the hands of the vengeful elders who did not hesitate to do what they had long desired—banish you from the estate.

Swiftly yet cruelly, you wouldn’t be able to take anything with you, not even a change of clothes or even money (you didn’t even ask for much, just enough to survive the week) as you were forced to face a new life of your own—alone, pregnant.

Going back to your family was also out of the question; the shame that you’d bring upon their name was one the Zen’in didn’t not waste time to remind them of—at the end, there was only so much your father and siblings could do against the invasive ways of the elders, and perhaps, a part of them deep inside, were also disappointed that you’ve succumbed to such foul thing.

And so, you were tossed onto the street, with nothing more than the clothes you were wearing, whatever you had for savings throughout the years, managed to take it out before either clan could close your account—but most importantly, with a broken heart you believe will never heal, not after the grave wound your husband’s indifference inflicted on it.

The pain you couldn’t even mourn properly due to all the things you had to worry about now.

The first thing you did was search for a place to stay, though getting one was proving to be an almost impossible task.

Thankfully, you were allowed to keep one other thing, maybe it eluded their minds when all this was happening, but you’re not going to question why when it was going to help you pay for a roof.

Naoya’s ring, your wedding ring, was something many would consider expensive, the kind of flashiness expected from a prestigious family like the Zen’in.

You remember a time when any kind of ring would’ve been enough for you to marry him. You didn’t need anything extraordinary to commit your life and heart to him.

That’s nothing but a far cry from what you felt now.

It still hurt to pawn it, but it was the only way you could accommodate yourself and the unborn child inside you, in the only area you could afford with what you got, for even then many suspected that your ring… well, had dubious origins.

When was the last time you even had to worry about the costs of living? Food, clothes, water…?

Many years—it had to; ever since you got together with Naoya, he’s been the one that took care of you.

You just had to say the word and he’d disappear all of your worries—even from the simplest of wants, Naoya indulgingly obliged.

It was a happy life you eventually considered for your child—imagining how happy they’d grow to be without a single worry, solely focusing on what they’ll have to play that day, or how to escape their over doting parents.

A long-gone dream, tossed to the side as a nightmare quickly took its place.

…

Did Naoya ever mean the words I love you?

Or was he doing all this just to keep you there, complying, just in case someone better came along, just like his clan wished would happen?

There mere thought of his devotion being nothing but an act tightens your heart with sorrow once more, gifting you the tragic notion that perhaps, all this time, you never knew your husband…

Maybe ex-husband, by this point.

All that was left from those moments, the slightest semblance of that marriage was this baby, created from what you thought your unconditional devotion to him, turning out to be your very own downfall.

The only one that would know of these struggles would be your baby, the one to accompany you through the darkest point of your life, hopefully to a brigther dawn.

And yet… you’ve never felt so alone.

Time surprisingly, went quicker than you anticipated, though not as easy as you would’ve wanted.

Life in your new home was still very difficult to get used to, even when it’s been months since… that.

But with the job you managed to get (whatever place hired pregnant women—they’re supposed to be at home, some would say, you didn’t care.) and some extra jujutsu work you did on the side, you managed, enough to give you a, not exactly comfortable, but just enough lifestyle.

As long as you sacrificed all the things you once considered granted and turned them into luxuries: such as warm showers, take out, and the sweets you liked to indulge once in a while; your pregnancy has been horrible because of that, and that’s without considering the medical bills you’re struggling to pay as well.

But if that wasn’t enough, your noisy neighbors presented issues of their own as well.

You’re not going to deny that your presence there was like moths to a flame, starting from your somewhat suspicious acquisition—all cash—of the small house you were living in.

From there, your loneliness, alongside your pregnancy; single mothers were unheard of, or rather, highly criticized, thus, all eyes were on you, down to your smallest movement.

Yet, even then, as annoying as they were, you were ok as long as it meant you never get to see those that hurt you ever again.

However, what you want isn’t necessarily what’s going to happen, and that would be reminded of one fateful night with an unsuspecting knock, just after you were getting ready to go to bed.

It wouldn’t be the first time someone came to bother you, but it would be the first time someone did so at this hour, and with such insistence that far from worrying you, it made you angrily storm at the entrance, ready to demand who’d be so inconsiderate enough to visit you so late at night!

And you’d get your answer soon enough, in the most shocking, horrifying, if not sorrowful manner you could’ve possibly anticipated, prompting you to close the door as soon as you saw his face, or attempted to, his reflexes much faster than yours.

“Get—get away from me!” you shrieked, hands trembling as you did your best to hold the door shut against his overwhelming strength— but even your husband has admitted that in terms of power, he excels like no one else.

“Y/N—” he breathes, somewhat amused that you’d been able to hold him off as much as you could, though eventually he was able to break free from your grasp and enter your home, you step away from him soon after.

“What are you even doing here?!” you gasp. “No—that doesn’t matter! I don’t want to see you! I’m not going back!”

“I’m not here to take you back” He quickly responds, eyes falling down to your stomach, making his face soften at the subtle bump evident through your clothes—with this sight, he knows he can’t take you back.

“Then—then why are you here, Toji?”

Perhaps Toji needed to see through his own eyes, what the whispers went on about at the estate regarding your absence.

He wasn’t there when it happened, promised himself to be far away from you as soon as your pregnancy was announced to the estate.

Toji would’ve normally taken this opportunity to act on retribution against his family, rub it on their face that the future of the clan came from him, a low life.

But he couldn’t bring himself to do so when you cheerfully paraded around the halls, happy to finally be forming a family with your beloved husband, even though it wasn’t of his making.

For the first time in his life, he thought himself to be too cruel for having planned such atrocities against the only person that has never been rude with him, always welcoming him with a smile on your face, or at least whatever you permitted when not following Naoya around like a lost puppy.

And the baby… well, he won’t deny that he was glad that his child would have a vastly different life from his—with you as his mother, it couldn’t be any other way.

Or so he believed.

Even when promising to keep away, he still attempted to check in on you, especially now that you were pregnant, whenever he had to go to the estate that is. That day was no be no exception, begrudgingly coming back to see what else he could scam out of his family to ensure his living outside.

Toji’s slyly scanned the hallways for your figure, the briefest indication of such, either through your giggle, staff, or even his cousin’s annoying voice—there were moments where he imagined how delightful it must’ve been to have you by his side, instead of Naoya’s; to be receiver of your laughter instead of that man who clearly didn’t deserve you.

But even if it was with him, he still found comfort in the fact that you were around, there.

Not like now, gone from Naoya’s side.

In fact, you were nowhere to be seen! Not with your staff, not eating by the gardens, or even indulging in one of your husband’s idiocies.

Nothing.

And no one had seen you either.

Or more like didn’t want to say, that much became evident when he stomped his way towards a nearby staff member, demanding your whereabouts, only to be responded with a fret falsely feigning ignorance, or foolish diplomacy.

At the prospect of your disappearance, Toji felt his blood run cold, almost like the estate lost whatever little warmth it had, worsening each time he asked another servant, and he’d get the same answer.

The implications behind your absence were growing heavier in his mind, to the point it sunk his heart to his stomach…

And propelled him to the one person who would undoubtedly know where you were.

“Naoya—Where is Y/N?!” Toji commands the moment he sees the heir, the young man instinctively flinched at the sight of his angered cousin, almost as if he knew what was running through his mind and attempted to make a run for it, only to be stopped by the collar, dead on his tracks. “Do not run away, coward! Answer me!”

“She’s—she’s not here anymore.” Is what Naoya manages to squeak, but Toji doesn’t need to be reminded the obvious.

“Where. Is. She.” He hisses, the worst of his assumptions slowly becoming a reality. “What have you done to her?!”

“What—what needed to be done!” Naoya gasps. “I—I couldn’t allow it!”

Toji doesn’t remember much after Naoya told him that the clan decided she was better off on her own—only that the heir was on the floor, bloodied and whimpering while attempting to cover his face, either trying to control the throbbing of his skin, the blood from spilling anywhere else, or perhaps even shame.

No. It couldn’t be the last. To have done something like what he did required a shameless man to do so.

Nonetheless Toji didn’t bother to find out nor to be reprimanded, quick to assert what needed to be done and heading out the estate; he couldn’t even bother cursing those that had done nothing but the worst after the worst, each time a new low, for his mind solely pertained in finding you.

It took him a while to do so, as expected, but he knew it was only a matter of asking around for a woman that simply didn’t fit to do the job—and such, here he is now.

“I want—needed to see you.” Toji takes a step closer.

“Get—get away from me.”

“No, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“You were fine doing that before—what’s so different from now?” You spat.

“This is different, Y/N. You’re alone—and you need me.”

“I’m not alone—I don’t need you.” You gasp. “Get away from me or I’ll—I’ll call the police!.”

“If you don’t need me, then the baby does.”

It’s like he struck a nerve with his words, because soon after tears would begin to fall down your cheeks, revealing that the sight you attempted to portray, the strength you so fiercely put up against him, was nothing but a façade, a way to hide the fact that indeed, you needed help.

Exhausted from facing all these uncertainties on your own, afraid.

But not anymore, not when Toji was here, more than willing to step in, as seen in the way he swiftly holds you in his arms when he sees you almost faint from distress, attempting to comfort you as you continued to cry.

“Get— get away from me…!” you’d say again, still fighting against his hold. However, he doesn’t fight it, he simply allows you to vent, taking in all the pain and hatred your heart harbored from the moment you were kicked out of the estate. “Don’t touch me!”

“I’m not leaving” Toji insists, he feels you trying to squirm your way out from him, but his strength doesn’t allow it. “You can struggle all you want, but I’m not leaving you on your own—”

“What difference does it make to you? Your family abandoned me to my luck! And even forced my family to do the same!” you breathe, Toji’s eyes widen—he did not know that; his fury for the Zen’in grows, but this is not the time to deal with that. “They don’t care if I die on the street!”

“I know.” He murmurs, holding you tighter against him.

“And I—And I tried my best to—to move on, but I can’t! I can’t do it!” you sob. “I’m so alone, and scared, and—and ashamed! I don’t want to live like this anymore!! I don’t want to die!”

“…I know.”

“Why—why is this happening to me?! All I ever wanted was for��was for Naoya to love me. I never wanted anything else! I never wanted money, I never wanted to hurt anyone either! I just—I just wanted to live a happy life with him, to make him happy!

But then he—he tossed me away, at one thing he didn’t like, he acted like I didn’t even matter! He didn’t even put up a fight to defend me! he just—he just let them hurt me, like what we had was—a lie!

 Did he never—did he even love me?”

Speechless, all Toji could do is continue holding you as you kept on pouring out your feelings, hearing the heart wrenching sound of your sobs that just kept reflecting how wounded you were by Naoya’s betrayal, the transgressions of his family, and the disappointment of yours.

And all because of something you didn’t even suggest in the first place. It was him who made his way into Naoya’s mind, and eventually, it was Naoya who pushed you into it, regardless of what happened later.

He wanted to do it; you know?

He wanted to go back there and murder them for all they’d done against you.

But when he left that place one last time, he promised he would stop thinking about himself, and start doing what is right—what was needed.

If Naoya wasn’t to step up and be a man, then he would.

Toji would gladly throw away his own pride, his own anger and thirst for vengeance, just to see you safe and happy once more.

Things your husband, could simply not—but he… he’d do it in a heartbeat.

“I promise you.” Toji would reassure you once carefully placing you down to the bed after tiring yourself from crying, followed by a gentle kiss on the top of your head.

 “I swear, Y/N— I will not let my family do the same things they’ve done to me to our child. Even if it costs me my life, I will do everything in my power to keep the two of you safe.”

And unlike your husband, he means it.

Yes, a second part is coming :) just gotta put this one out first hehe.

Anyways, it's not exactly what you asked but I think it's going there??? I mean Toji STEPPED UP and was like OK imma take care of my baby mama. also, here Naoya .I. put it where it fits. ugh, can't say we're done with him...

agihajkgksa I'm excited for what's to come, I haven't written this level of angst in a while!! oof!!!

Thank you so much for your patience and for sending this ask :> I'm super happy you've like my oneshot so much!! I hope you'll be able to like this too!!

Take care, and see you soon! ❤️❤️

[coralinnii]

Hi! I just wanna say I love your villain/ness au 😍 especially leonas part thank you for giving me this story as I was finding stories like this💕💕so I was wondering can I request about the tweel? Their my most favorite in twisted wonderland 🙏 it will be my outmost joy to see you write them!

and sorry if im wrong in writing this request because this is actually my first time writing a request 😅 so thank you for the understanding 😁

Being Reincarnated into a New World as the Bad Guy feat: Jade genre: drama note: set in the same universe as previous works (Azul’s ver specifically), no pronouns were used, villain/ess!reader is not a merfolk, roughly 2k word count 

series masterlist

I know there's someone missing but Jade's portion got longer than I expected so I cutting it into separate posts. Floyd's part will be released soon so in the meantime, enjoy as we welcome the fourth vice-housewarden to this surprisingly popular AU.

Sorry 3aemidnight, that this is slightly subverted from the request but Floyd's part has that aspect more played into

You’re screwed. Absolutely screwed. Why did you end up in this situation?? You didn’t even read the webtoon! Your classmate was gushing over a popular webtoon and like a good friend, you lent an ear to her excited ramblings. Her favorite characters seem to be a pair of devilish merfolk brothers. It was that rambling that helped you realize where you were because you didn’t bother remembering the main cast but you couldn’t forget the name “Jade Leech” nor his partner, you. 

Or at least the character you possessed that your classmate kept wishing she could be. The lucky duck that became Jade’s betrothed but you couldn’t really agree with that sentiment when she mentioned how that same partner was left behind by the Leech heir and prosecuted as an accomplice to the Leech family’s underground activities. 

“What’s so great about the hopeless love trope?!” 

Unfortunately, the proceedings for your engagement to the suave marquis heir was set. Putting a wrench into the plans now would cause too many issues to both families. Still, you were determined to leave this crazy story unscathed no matter what. 

“Let’s make a contract” were your first words to your soon-to-be partner to which he responded with a curious quirk of his eyebrow. “a prenuptial to be precise” 

“But my dear,” a shiver ran down your spine when Jade used that supposedly endearing name, a superficial one of course. “What ever could have scared you to have such worries?” 

“Because I know what you and your family are trying to do” 

Oh, you have piqued Jade’s interest now.

Your listening skills have paid off as you remembered the plot of the Leech family. The brothers were working to extend their family’s power above the waters and to have an “organized system of connections” with the help of the newly appointed count Ashengrotto. With their intelligence and charm, they wanted to monopolize the marine market from local fishing rights to overseas trading. Unfortunately, the main leads stood in their way and forced the native merfolk to flee to their home, leaving those associated with them to answer for their crimes. 

You have no interest in being caught in the crossfire but becoming an enemy to the Leech family is not a favourable situation either. So your best option was… 

“I’ll help you” 

If you’re going to be accused as an accomplice, better be the best accomplice so neither of you get caught. 

The greatest challenge for merfolk on land was the discrimination that was still prevalent, even after the human-merfolk alliance. No matter how charming Jade was, it was hard for the merman to converse with the more narrow-minded noblemen. It was why the Leech heir agreed to the engagement as your family was beloved and highly respected in the kingdom. Your character was just an oblivious, lovestruck pawn to his plans. 

“I’ll play the perfect partner, give you the backing you need, the intel you want” you stated your terms, with no room for negotiation. “But, we’re publicly in an arranged engagement only, nothing else. We only meet when necessary and once your family secure the Triton ocean trade route, we’re breaking our engagement and never to speak to each other again” 

If the Leech family weren’t caught, they would have returned to their native home anyway and controlled the trading from the safety of the ocean. Either way, Jade would have been out of your life regardless, so you should at least escape prosecution. 

You weren’t falling for his gentleman facade, and you definitely refuse to be the one on the short end of the stick in his crazy family’s schemes. 

You and Jade were locked in a silent stare down, waiting for either one of you to break the silence. You kept your mouth shut, not letting your nerves talk yourself down. It was this or nothing. 

Your gamble paid off. Jade chuckled with a slight peek of his sharp teeth and extended his hand out, piercing your figure with a pair devilish eyes. 

“If that is what my dear wishes, how can I decline?” 

So sealed your deal with the devil your future ex-fiancé 

Some time passed since your agreement, you joined a soirée your family was invited to. As a newly engaged couple, it was expected for you to bring Jade to which he was happy to escort his precious person (you hid your scoff). True to your word, you agree to chat with some of the daughters and wives of certain families for certain intel that Jade needed. While the ladies were more tolerant of the merfolk, they held certain prejudices over them which would affect the conversation greatly should Jade attempt to speak with them. 

So off you go. 

It was surprisingly easy with the chatty ladies to gather what you needed to know. They were happy to brag about the wealth and connections their families had and the businesses they controlled. The number of employers, the unknowing dissatisfaction of their workers that went over their heads, the obvious limited knowledge over the sea routes…everything came loose from their lips and will inevitably be used against them later on. Once you mentally checked off what Jade requested you to find out, you were patiently waiting to take your leave when someone decided to steer the conversation to something else. 

“But enough about our families. How is your life as a newly betrothed, darling?” One of the wives brought the attention to you, which took you slightly by surprise. 

“Well, our families were growing close so we decided a union would be beneficial” you smiled as convincing as you could. “While we were arranged, I’m sure it will be an amiable alliance” 

“Oh, how lucky you are” one of the younger daughters congratulated as convincingly as her eyelashes were. “To be engaged to someone as distinguished and exotic as Jade Leech, your family connections must have been more impressive than I realize. I knew how enamored you were with the young heir, but to think a frumpy wallflower such as yourself managed to capture him. Good for you” 

Any semblance of tolerance you had for these women had just been thrown out the window. Even if you were detached from your host character in every sense, you felt anger building in your body from their haughty words. You quickly glanced to where Jade was and he was standing but with his signature smile and charming eyes engaging in conversation with other attendees, so you assumed he couldn’t hear from where he stood.

It’s not good to hold in your anger… so you don’t. 

“Interesting…if I’m a frumpy wallflower as you say, what would you be?” You pondered aloud with innocent tone of voice “bottom feeders?” 

Gasps and stuttering replies were let out from the flushing women, flabbergasted by your undignified words, but they haven’t heard anything yet. 

“Before my engagement, I often chatted with the current Marquis Leech and he was telling me how he was flooded by persistent engagement proposals for his heir that there wasn’t a day that a messenger wouldn’t visit the Leech residence.” 

That was a bold-faced lie about your meetings with the Marquis head but you recalled your classmate’s words of the mountains of proposals the Leech brothers would get, proving their in-universe popularity despite being discriminated against. Well, it’s not as though anyone would question your source, you were engaged to a Leech afterall.

The wives may have been confused but the younger ladies were visibly shaking as they watched you with nervous eyes, either praying you didn’t know the families that proposed or if you did, you’d keep silent over it. 

But you offer no such salvation from their humiliation 

“Out of the countless proposals, I seem to have been chosen over the ones who reached out first. In fact, some of the interested ladies are here in attendance today, such as Lady-“ 

You paused abruptly as you quickly back away as one of the single daughters reached for a drink and prepared to throw it into your face in desperation to avoid being exposed. Seems like you pushed a line too far. You closed your eyes, braced for a rude splash…

but nothing came. 

Surprised muttering and gasps compelled you to reopen your eyes but you were met with a lean chest and tall looming figure blocking you from the women. You leaned to the side and was shocked to see a large wet spot on Jade's pristine suit jacket, his back and shoulder drenched in champagne. You peeked at Jade's face as he wore his signature smile, appearing calm but you could have swore his jaw seemed more tight and strained as though he’s fighting something internally. 

Maybe you’re just reading too much into it. 

Any semblance of annoyance you thought you saw disappeared the moment the eel merman turned to face the ladies before. He placed his gloved hand over his heart and smiled as usual. 

“I believe this conversation may have gone on too long. Everyone is getting a little too tired and reckless. Perhaps we should cut the night short tonight, do you agree?” Jade proceeded to rest his hand on your shoulder, looking at you with faux concern. “Shall we take our leave, my dear?” 

Stomping down the involuntary shiver, you nodded and turned to walk away without saying goodbye to the ladies or even waited for Jade to walk with you. At least Jade had some strength to offer a bow and a smile before joining you. However, you didn't notice the way the ladies silently flinched in fear when they saw the dangerous glint in the young merman's mismatched eyes.

“I never realized you had such a fiery tongue,” Jade commented as the two of you make your way to your carriage, to which you clicked your tongue in annoyance. 

“So you were able to hear everything” you chose to change the topic. “You better not say anything to your father about what I said today. I needed to use an excuse” 

“You needn’t worry, my dear. I’m simply impressed you knew about the proposal letters.” Jade ended his words there, but you knew he was curious to know your sources, especially since it pertains to the ongoings in the Leech residence. 

“I heard some things, that’s all I’ll say” you held your tongue beyond that, your eyes relaying to Jade not to prod further, which he conceded. 

“Of course. I would never want to upset you, my dear.” Jade smiled at the slight shiver in your shoulders. 

“Alright, my turn to ask questions” you stopped in your tracks, forcing Jade to do the same, enticing his curiosity as you always seem to. Your eyes stared at the stained jacket that hung over Jade's arm, having taken it off to avoid the rest of his attire getting dirty. A sense of guilt pinched your heart as you questioned him, “Why did you save me? Sure, I’ll be slightly humiliated but I can just play the victim and ruin them further” 

Jade silently stood in his spot, as though he was seriously contemplating his previous actions. But you doubt that because Jade Leech does not do things impulsively. He’s calculating, his movements always premeditated and intentional. 

Right?

Then, the ocean-haired man slowly walked closer to you. Carefully, he reached out his gloved hand towards your cheek and wiped a small drop of champagne from your hairline. A minuscule drop must have made its way to your face without your awareness. But Jade noticed. The cold leather glided from your forehead to your ear, to which he crept closer as he leaned down and whispered to you. 

“We made a deal, my dear” his smooth voice vibrated clearly into your head and your instinctive shiver came once more from his name for you. “I plan to make good use of you and I will not permit anyone from ruining you before I’m done” 

You sealed your fate with Jade, so you must commit to the end.

[mywritingonlyfans]

'Til you Relax Me. // Alex Turner X Reader. Smut

filling the prompt: Alex eating you out until he doesn't feel stressed anymore because it relaxes him. (There's nothing in the writing but smut, honestly 😅)

words: 2,8k

Oh, how he was looking forward to it.

By now, he had a sharp pain in his head that was starting to affect his vision, not to mention the muscle aches he was starting to feel.

He pressed his fingers to his temple, straining his eyes into an exaggerated blink, soon noticing you lying next on his side of the bed. You were expected to get home from work before him and unsurprisingly, it calmed him down, seeing you there, as if you were his best medicine.

The house smelled of you, your hair was still damp, your legs were bare due to how his loose T-shirt ridden up to your waist because of how you were lying down, and all of it made his breathing relax.

Getting rid of the jacket, as well as his white shirt, he realized he couldn't stop staring at you even if he tried. You seemed to be comfortable, eyes softly closed like a sweet angel, but noticing the open book on your chest, awkward position and how your hands were failing to hold the pages, he felt bad for being so late seeing that you planned to wait for him.

He marked the number of the page you left off on, placing it to the side, then held your face to him and kissed your cheek, moving down to your neck as his hand gently squeezed your waist, like lulling you to get up.

He knew you'd wake up slyly and cuddle up to him as usual, and that was all he needed honestly. As expected, you sighed into his lips on your skin and wrapped your arms around his neck, squeezing him to you.

"I'm sorry, babe, it took me longer than I thought today." He let his body fall over yours, snuggling into your scent as you hugged him tighter, running your fingers down his arms and into his curls.

"It's okay," you held his face and then he kissed you, smoothing your thighs and waist, looking at you with bright yet tired eyes. "I assume it's been a long day, huh?"

"Am I lookin' that bad?" He sat down next to you, a movement that deepened his voice, making you feel warm inside.

You bit your lip at his humorless smile, leaning better on the pillows to be able to pay better attention to him. Before you adjusted his T-shirt on you, he stopped assuring you that it was suitable like that, you laughed but let him.

"Not all," you sighed deeply, seeing him on his knees on the bed getting rid of his socks. "You look pretty hot, if I may say so." He laughed and you wanted to devour him. "I'm being honest, I know you, Al. I could tell something was wrong around lunchtime when you called me, your voice was different."

He didn't say anything, just squeezed your thigh, moving his fingers up to the hem of your panties and curling them there. You just confirmed what he thought, you were forcing yourself to stay awake for him.

"I love you, y'know that?" You confirmed, making him squeeze your skin tighter so you gasped. "And I missed you, I got used to havin' you 'round."

You held back a goofy smile, as if your eyes didn't already say it all. He pulled your shirt further, leaning towards you and kissing your lips before sucking in your neck and collarbone, "God, all this for sex, Al?" You rolled your eyes in irony, adjusting your hand in his hair to bury his face in your skin.

"And this is your way of saying your body needs mine?"

"I think," your saliva lacked as you felt your body shiver.

It was like a tradition, you both knew what was coming. Years ago Alex mentioned how being between your legs calmed him down, and right away you thought it was him being goofy, however over time, as you learned to decipher his mood, it became impossible to deny that he was talking seriously about it.

You, it was obvious, loved it, plus Alex was good at what he does, so waiting for him to come back to you every time you knew he was going to stress about something was pretty much exciting. You liked how much he enjoyed it and appreciated every drop of you.

Soon, your hands went down, until his fingers rested under your thigh bringing you to him. At that, you snarled into his lips, knowing the spot would be marked later.

Ignoring you, he did the same with the fresh one on the other side, pressing your body closer to his even harder so that you could feel the friction of his belt on you.

"Is that 'kay, puppet?" He bent down, nuzzling into your belly and then placing a kiss there.

You lifted your hips in response, completely taken by the idea of having him there with you from the moment you spoke to him earlier.

"Yep, Al," you assured, voice already scratchy from being so dry throat, and he let a little breath out through his nose. "Just wanna feel ya, please."

He ran his thumb down your covered center, sliding his finger roughly between the bar and pulling it up, resulting in your body squirming as he shushed you into keeping still.

"Nah, darlin'" he shook his head, curls falling over his forehead. His features were still tense, as were his shoulders, and although he looked impatient, he was determined that this would take time. "This's 'bout me, not you." His eyes remained on you as he lubricated his lips. The view was good, which had you touching his hair but not forcing him into you, feeling wetter than before as he'd expected.

His movements were slow, leaving your skin itchy as his hands dragged over you. Taking his time, he pulled your panties down until they were out of sight, giving room for him to slide the tip of his nose between your folds, slowly, from bottom to top. You could feel him chuckle, as you struggled not to fidget, and soon, he placed a couple of kisses there, filling the room with wet noises.

"Fuck, Alex," you took a low breath, swallowing a groan and leaving your mouth half open.

For him, knowing that you took advantage of that only made him even better. So, pushing his tongue into you, he spread your legs further apart, this time with more difficulty as he alone was no longer enough to contain your involuntary movements. Your fingers caught in his hair, forcing his face towards you, and emboldened by your whine, he parted your lips better, tucking in as he shook his head a bit, pushing his nose into your clit, like a proper make out session. He felt his mind empty, being taken over by your smell and taste and meows.

As if parting a kiss, he filled you with pecks, calming your breathing little by little, his eyes opened and with a lazy face, he smiled at you sweetly with his dimples and lips stained in your juice.

"You're so beautiful," he said, analyzing your chest rising and falling in urgency, as well as your hand stuck to the sheet and lips swollen by intense bites that even without seeing he knew you would never avoid them. "And tastes so fucking good, princess." He bit the inside of your thigh, rubbing his face there so he could hear you in response to his stubble, something he knew you liked, and as he thought, your legs closed around him. "By the way, did you get wet like this with your imagination alone just in anticipation?" He didn't need the answer to know.

"You're a bastard," you huffed, closing your eyes in disapproval but then turning your attention to him between your legs, it wasn't something easy to ignore. At that, he positioned your thighs better on his shoulders, looking more comfortable, and as you thrust your hips into him, he did nothing about it and went back to marking your skin in dark tones. "I didn't want you to stop, Al," you sounded polite in an attempt to be persuasive.

"I won't, babe," he took a deep breath, gathering saliva in his mouth and then coating your clit calmly with it. You bit your lips at the feeling, and soon he concluded, "Can't I admire you before I'm finished ya?" You felt dizzy at the tone of his voice and the thin line connecting him to you due to how wet you already were.

He sucked on his fingers for a moment, lubricating them and then brushing them against your entrance, your reaction was a brief spasm in which he didn't think twice about stretching his fingers into you. Your legs were opening even more, making room for them like if they were meant to stay there, and without hesitation, he curved them around you, just causing pressure on your walls before taking out to fill you up again.

"That's my good girl," he praised, feeling more alive and veins pulsing as you contracted around him, if he was able to ignore how hard he was before, now it was impossible.

Mind blank, not thinking straight, he pushed his hips into the mattress, feeling sensitive as he stifled a groan. "Feels good? Right, puppet?" he asked, keeping his eyes open on you as your head was thrown back and a limp hand resting in his curls, just confirming what a good job he was doing.

Without even having the opportunity to respond, Alex closed his eyes, still mesmerized by your scent as well as your taste that lingered on his tongue and licked your clit, continuing this for a short while until he sucked it into his lips.

Loving your reaction to him, he allowed himself to be more violent and urgent, putting more pressure on the spot as he brought his fingers in until they were nearly out and then thrust them into you all at once until you were as loud as possible to his ears.

Unable to stop himself, he spread his knees, repeatedly moving, albeit slowly, his body against the mattress, still giving you due attention.

"Alex," you were tired, sounding incoherent, hands free and messy not knowing where to stand or hold.

Your legs shook as your thighs tightened around him, making him slow down considerably to prolong it, not that you were in a position to notice. You squirmed further, whimpering disconnected words, leaving Alex free of any worries other than getting you there for him.

As your entire body screamed and your weight pressed against the bed, your toes curled, and with Alex still kissing your center and lightly sucking on your clit, you felt satisfied, pulling more of his hair as you rubbed your inner thighs in his growing beard, you felt weak in the knees but still relaxed in your muscles.

"Babe," you pulled his locks, which was in vain. He held you to him with both hands, still licking you and the feeling was like your body couldn't take it but it feels wrong to tell him to stop Just because you were too sensitive. "Fuck, Alex, that's too much," you sighed in exhaustion.

You knew his hands were on your waist, but you didn't even have control over your body. You couldn't tell if you were squeezing him into your legs or if you were giving him the opening he needed, but no matter how much you grumbled at him, you didn't want him to stop.

You just remembered closing your eyes tight, feeling your mouth dry and your belly tingling and being more sensitive than ever, and soon feeling light, body soft, weak as your breathing became noticeable again.

Faced with your eyes still closed, mouth half open and fist hovering over your sweaty forehead, Alex worried a little, and slowly lifted his head from your stomach without having much sense of space either, and asked, "You're fine, right?"

You laughed weakly, calming him down and held up your thumb to confirm that you were.

He unfolded your knees, adjusted his shirt so you could be comfortable, and stood up to get rid of the pants he was still wearing.

Feeling more comfortable than usual, Alex soon noticed the stains, as well as how sticky he was, on the baby blue fabric, which made him chuckle to himself, inside he knew that at some point that would happen.

He looked at you for a few seconds, seeing you turn sideways looking for him, and he could swear you looked even more gorgeous like that, all tired because of him and all dressed in a sweet satisfied smile, "Is this what I think?" You asked, snuggling up in bed, the corners of your mouth now turning wider.

He removed the belt, along with the pants, only confirming that vividly, "yeah, you make me feel like a teenager in heat, satisfied?"

You bit your lip, motionless, admiring him giggling as he took off his boxers and cleaned himself up.

He went quickly to the bathroom and came back to you who was focused on thinking with your eyes closed, then he was at your side, pulling you to him.

You pushed your face into his chest, feeling relaxed by the scent of him. He also seemed to be less tense and it was noticeable how his shoulders were calmer, as well as his touch on you was more delicate than before.

"Are we going to ignore the fact that you just got there without me even touchin' you myself?" You sounded slurred, clearly tired, and Alex knew it in your smug, exhausted smile.

"In theory, you were touchin' me." He closed his eyes, kissing your forehead and head, wondering how lucky someone must be to have you.

You snuggled deeper into him, moaning a little as you put your leg over his waist from the contact and how you were still sensitive. Alex released his arms from around you a bit, waiting until you were using his body properly as a pillow/mattress, only going back until he had you in his arms tight again when you'd pleaded to him that everything was fine.

"Do you want me to do something? I could suck you off, I think," you murmured into his chest, body still spasming slightly as he held you tight. "You're still a bit swollen, it doesn't seem fair."

He chuckled, which was partly true but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle, plus he didn't expect and wouldn't make you feel like you needed to, especially knowing you were tired. "No need, I feel good, maybe another time." He kissed your lips, and hair, watching you open your eyes slowly and stare at him for a few seconds, his hair was so out of order that he was sure it could scare you if it wasn't already your habit to tell him that you found him attractive like that, you smiled and then sighed, "Al?" You didn't insist, but not ruling out in your mind how he would wake up the next morning all happy and you could soothe him with your lips before he even woke up.

He sighed heavily, pushing the hair out of your face, he wanted to sleep but he wouldn't until he saw you fall asleep, "I'm 'ere, darlin'" He ran a hand down your back, under your T-shirt.

"I love you, okay?" Your eyes closed again, in pure peace. "A lot."

He buried his nose into your hair, hugging you fully, with both arms, and concluded that he would never have a bad day as long as you were there with/for him and replied, "I love you too, puppet," he kissed your cheek, holding your waist closer to him as if it were possible for you to escape. "A lot more."

[guardkeywolf]

I just got your um post are you still doing 141 x male y/n

If you are think you could do a 141 (with könig and alejandro if you want) react to male y/n being a demon kinda like from demon slayer but when they first find out male y/n kinda eats someone to protect themselves if not it is ok :3 sorry is this is a little long 😅

Demon!Male Reader + 141 feat. Alejandro + König

This was definitely a fun write and THANK GOD I already watched through Demon Slayer!

WARNING: Light Gore

Thank you for the request @p1nk-barry !

Please enjoy!

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While being a demon had its perks, Y/n definitely had a much harder time trying to hide it from his friends was much harder than he had expected, especially since he was able to walk around during the day.

Being around the 141 was both a blessing and a curse. Considering the only way Y/n managed to survive was from eating humans, he had to learn to keep his distance and keep his hunger in check at any given moment.

Not only that, but he had to rely on himself to hunt during missions at times. If he was lucky, and he was by himself, he would get a great meal from their enemies and manage to go on his day normally. But not everything always went as planned, and today was one of those days.

Their mission was to invade their enemies base of operations and get information. Along with this, Alejandro and König would be joining them for support. And as usual, Y/n told Price he wanted to work solo. Thankfully, the Captain didn't ask and just went with it nodding to him.

Soap went with Ghost, Gaz went with Price, and Alejandro paired up with König while Y/n was by himself.

Perfect.

The mission was mostly success, as Price and Gaz managed to collect a majority of papers, Ghost and Soap finding some themselves, along with König and Alejandro also grabbing some along the way too.

Y/n decided to use one of his Blood Demon Arts, Hindsight to see if anymore enemies were alive. There were two on the floor above him and five below him.

Deciding to take the two above, making quick work with his silenced pistol, he reported to Price about the remaining enemies before feeling it.

His hunger growled deeply inside him and he dropped to his knees.

Even after living for so long, Y/n still struggled with containing it.

He slammed his hand to the ground looking towards the two now dead guards before hearing familiar footsteps.

Heavy gunfire found Y/n's ears as saw the other four enter the room as well, Ghost laying coverfire before also slamming the doorsnd barricading it with some of the furniture within the room.

The rest of the team looked towards Y/n's bent over form, Price quickly making his way towards him and laying a hand on top of him.

"Y/n, you alright?" He asked, along with the others looking over in concern.

Y/n didn't respond before shoving Price away from him as if be was burned. His breathing became heavy as he tried to put as much space between the 141 and him.

"Y/n, somos nosotros. ¿Qué pasa contigo?" ("Y/n it's us. What's with you?") Alejandro said as he stalked towards him.

A deep growl came from Y/n, stopping the Colonel in his tracks, as he looked back up at 141, his sharp canines now on full display now along with his eyes glowing a crimson red.

"What the bloody hell..." Ghost whispered in shock as he looked at his teammate, slowly hesitating as he brought his gun up slowly.

"Capt'n... what the hell is going on with Y/n?" Gaz asked from beside Price as he watched his friend become something else. Something different...

Price didn't answer as Y/n stood up, letting his eyes scan over the man for any injuries but found none.

The others watched in suspense as Y/n swayed slightly, unaware of the mere effect they had on him.

"Price...you need to get out of here...now. Leave me..." Y/n struggled to get out.

"That is not an option Y/n. What the hell is-"

Price didn't finish his sentence as Y/n was no longer in front of him but now near the bodies staring at them, hungrily.

Price and the others looked back and forth from the body to Y/n.

"Y/n...he's dead, mate. I doubt he's coming back alive," Soap said nervously as he continued to watch Y/n stare at the dead man.

Y/n didn't respond as he dropped to his knees and reached out towards the man before stopping a few mere inches to look at the 141.

"I'd suggest you look away..." Y/n offered as he stared at them before turning back, "I'll explain everything later..."

The others wore a confused expression before hearing the sound of flesh ripping, taking them out of their trance to look back at the scene.

In front of them, Y/n, having already removed the man's clothing, began to feast on the dead guard.

The others stomach twisted as they watched Y/n rip the man with ease, piece by piece, stuffing each part of him into his mouth, not even looking the least bit concerned while doing so.

König had to force himself to turn away from the horrific view, nearly doubling over with a nauseous feeling overwhelming him as he could do nothing but lift up his mask and relieve himself, coughing while doing so and particularly shaking afterwards.

Alejandro closed his eyes and turned away, fighting to keep most of the lovely lunch Rodolfo made him from spilling out and finding it's way to the floor.

The rest of the 141 couldn't tear themselves away from such an image as they could do nothing but observe...Y/n.

After a few minutes, Y/n finally finished, relieving the body more mangled than before, and so much blood...covering the floor.

"Captain, you and the others need to say here," Y/n said as he made his way towards the barricade door, gun now long forgotten as he began to remove the furniture.

"Y/N WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" Ghost said as he backed away from Y/n, gun trained on him now and a steady finger ready to take the shot.

Not that it would have matter to Y/n...compared to the blades Demon Slayers had owned... the bullet, he wouldn't even feel.

Y/n didn't bother answering him as he opened the door, sparing one last look at his team before closing it behind him.

The last thing the 141 heard were the screams of the dammed that were trapped on the other side of that door before utter silence.

Blood painted the hallway, and Y/n was gone...

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-Guards

[acourtofwhatthefuck]

Fireleaf (Part Eight)

Lucien Vanserra x Reader

Hiiii everyone. Hope you’re all doing well! So sorry that this part took a little while longer than usual to get out — I’ve been quite unwell for the past week and have been writing in between bouts of intense pain 😅 I also wanted to get this chapter just right because I think it was one of the first ideas @greeneyedivy and I bounced around right at the beginning of planning Fireleaf — the Hunting Trip 😏we’ve had a good few conversations mapping this one out in detail and hope you enjoy!

Sorry if there’s any mistakes or poor writing along the way! This chapter ended up being so long that we decided to split it into two parts, so the next part will be up tomorrow or the day after! <3

Warnings: Some angst, mentions of homophobia, Jareth Vanserra being a first class cunt.

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It was a rare occasion on which all the Vanserras sat down to dine together.

Perched between Dion and Eris, with Lucien directly opposite you, you couldn’t help but long for the private dinners that you and Dion usually shared alone. Sometimes with the addition of a brother or two, but — never usually with the High Lord at the head of the table. The Lady of Autumn sat silently opposite.

And certainly never, ever with Lucien.

You were so uncomfortable, so tense, it was a wonder you didn’t bend your fork out of shape with how hard you gripped it. And with the heavy silence around the table, the lack of conversation, your heartbeats were a heavy drumbeat in your ears. Probably everyone else’s, too.

It seemed like ages — ages — before Dion cleared his throat and dragged everyone’s attention to him.

“So, father,” He said, helping himself to a portion of potatoes and dishing some onto your plate, also, “may I ask what you wished to speak with us about?”

You hated the formality with which he spoken to his own father. No love, no tenderness. You couldn’t help wondering if Beron had ever hugged any of them.

Beron nodded, sipping from his chalice of wine. “The Hunt is coming up.”

Around the table, a small murmur of enthusiasm broke out between Rian and Jareth. They grinned at each other, and even Eris seemed to sit up with interest.

“I won’t be attending this year, unfortunately,” Beron said. “There are far more pressing matters at hand that I need to prioritise. But I still expect you to attend. To represent our household.”

Beside you, Dion dipped his chin. “Of course. We wouldn’t miss it.”

“What’s The Hunt?” You blurted. The mere sound of your voice dragged a steely gaze from Beron, straight onto you.

He studied you — like he was weighing up whether you were even worth answering — before swirling another mouthful of wine. “I suppose the event wouldn’t be on your radar, given that your household is overrun with females, and your father is more brain than muscle.” He sat back, resting his hands on the arm of his chair. “On the same three days every year, it’s said that certain ancient Autumn beasts roam the woodlands – different beasts to the ones we made offerings to during the Harvest Festival. Darker ones. The males of the court partake in a hunt and attempt to ensnare said beasts to bring home victory.”

No — you’d never heard of it. Never been aware of an influx of males gathering in the wild at the same time every year. But then, your family’s estate wasn’t particularly wooded, and he wasn’t wrong about your father…

It was just an example of how sheltered your life had been so far. One hundred and thirty one years in a court, and you were still learning new things about it. And that sheltering would no doubt get worse when you became a Vanserra.

“It’s not really a serious thing,” Dion explained beside you, a soft smile playing on his lips. “The beasts everyone hunts for probably don’t even exist. None of us has ever seen them. But it’s all in good fun.”

“Three whole days of exchanging luxury for nature and fresh air.” Eris nodded. “There’s nothing more freeing than being out in the wild.”

Freeing. Your heart flipped at the thought. Of being away from the estate. Of breathing in the fresh air and sleeping under the stars and not having to behave a certain way. It was just what you needed—

“And what about you?” Beron said, his voice dripping with distaste as he pointed his fork at Lucien. “Will you be joining your brothers?”

Lucien cocked an eyebrow. “I never choose to partake. Why would I do so now?”

“I’d like to go,” You blurted, sitting up.

Everyone turned their eyes on you. Nobody said a word.

Until, across the table, Jareth snorted. “Females can’t partake in The Hunt.”

The statement didn’t surprise you in the least. You’d heard enough comments like it, in the time you’d been at the Vanserra Estate, to last you a lifetime.

You’d learned that there were apparently very few things a female could do, besides bear children. But that didn’t sit right with you.

“Oh?” You cocked your head at Jareth. “And why is that? Do you fear the exertion will cause our wombs to fall out?”

Someone spluttered around the table, and it was an effort for you not to snort. Your attention was drawn away from Jareth and back to Beron as he very pointedly placed his chalice down.

He seemed to be trying hard to stop his lip from curling as he said, “It’s a male-only event. No females.”

You…you stared back at him — just like you had in his office, that morning after the hamlet fire. A stare that told him that he didn’t intimidate you. You weren’t scared of him, his opinions. And he hated it.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” You forced a ditzy, saccharine smile onto your face. “I won’t get in the way while the big, tough males chase after the beasts. Perhaps I’ll find a rock to perch myself upon and make pretty friendship bracelets for everyone out of the wildflowers.”

Silence. Such tense, thick silence. You were trying not to smirk. Beron’s jaw was ticking—

A kick landed on your leg beneath the table, and you jolted. Looked up to glare at Lucien. He didn’t meet your eyes, but the action in itself had been warning enough. Stop baiting the damn High Lord.

Beside you, Dion cleared his throat. “Actually, father,” he said, “it might not be such a bad idea to take Y/N along with us. For her to see more of the court before we marry. She’ll be expected to travel with me on occasion, anyway, as my wife.”

Beron’s gaze barely flickered to Dion before he stared at you once more. Assessing. His eyes were so, so cold; you wondered if they were capable of holding warmth.

“You know,” He said, picking an invisible piece of lint from his jacket, “After Barric visited your family’s estate, he warned me about you. Told me all about you and your sisters.” The room was so, so still, barely sharing a breath as he smirked. “You have Molly — the beautiful one. A true lady. And Sara — not as pretty, but still dashing, even if she doesn’t have anything but air between her ears. Clementine was a little harder to suss out; very private, that one, but the rumour is that she only married to cover up the fact that she favours females. And Willow, the quiet and kind one. Perhaps a bit of a dark horse…”

Both you and Dion stiffened. Beneath the table, you squeezed his leg once.

“And then there’s you,” Beron’s eyes flicked over you, down and back up, their lifeless depths landing on your face, “the feral one. The one who didn’t seem to have secured herself a husband, because she was too busy running her family ragged with her wild antics. It confused me, I must say, why Dion insisted on volunteering your name above real, respectable ladies. But then it struck me — how he always had an affinity, as a boy, for taking in stray animals and trying to tame them. Domesticate them. It seems he never grew out of that.”

You could have heard a pin drop around the table, from the way everyone seemed to be holding their breaths. And you tried — tried so hard to not let it show on your face, how his words got to you. You didn’t care about his opinion of you, but…to be compared to your sisters. To be singled out as the imperfect, unwanted one…

You supposed it hit a sore spot.

Beron suddenly rose from his chair. With a wave of his hand, all plates disappeared from the table; nobody so much as blinked.

“This meal is over.” He said, turning his steeled gaze onto Dion. “If you wish to take the feral cat on The Hunt with you, by all means, be my guest.” He strode to the door without a look back, merely spitting, “but on your head be it, son, when it lashes out.”

⤲

“Fancy a game of cards?”

Dion’s hand hovered at the small of your back. The tension seemed to have followed you out of the dining room, Beron’s words leaving a gaping wound that you wanted to prod at alone. You had a feeling that Dion had sensed how withdrawn you’d become in the last half hour.

“I’m actually really tired, so…I’m gonna go to bed.” The two of you stopped at the frosted glass doors to the games room. “…but you were serious, right? About me coming on The Hunt?”

“Completely serious.” He nodded. “There’s absolutely no reason that a female can’t partake. And besides,” he nudged you gently, “I’ll need you to keep me sane, with Jareth to contend with.”

Laughing softly, you squeezed his hand. “Goodnight, then.”

With a smile, he slipped into the games room, where Eris, Jareth and Rian were already waiting with glasses of whiskey in hand. Where Lucien had disappeared to straight after dinner, you had no clue.

Nor did you know why you even bothered to wonder about it.

You heaved a soft sigh as you dragged your tired feet up the grand staircase. You hated letting Beron get to you, but…ignoring his vicious words was no easy feat, when he seemed to know exactly which ones to wield to cut you deepest. It was why you couldn’t help baiting him, even if it was a fucking terrible idea to do so.

Upstairs, you turned into the hallway that peeled off into your suite.

And stopped dead at the sight of Lucien leaning against your door.

He cut a casual figure — the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up, the first few buttons undone. His hair flowed brilliantly around him, and in the dim lighting, his eyes seemed even darker. Or perhaps that was the taut expression that pulled at his features.

You cast a subtle glance over your shoulder — just to check nobody lingered nearby — before you shook off your surprise and approached him.

“Why are you outside my room?” You demanded, forcing yourself to making eye contact. And to keep visions of his cock and your mouth out of your head.

“I was waiting,” he pushed off the door, “to ask what the fuck is wrong with you.”

You stopped again. Raised your eyebrows. “Pardon me?”

“Baiting my father like that. Do you have a death wish?”

“Huh.” You tilted your head. You could see damn well how much it irritated him. “Good question. Perhaps I do. Excuse me.”

You pushed past him, your hand barely touching the door knob before he was shoving into your way again.

“You’re not going on that hunt.” He said.

You stared up at him, raising your eyebrows. And the severity that lined his face told you how serious he was — that he actually believed he could make such statements and order you around.

But Lucien Vanserra, of all people, was not going to tell you what you could or couldn’t do.

And you could have told him that, but…you knew what would irritate him most. What would goad him, in whatever game this was that you were playing.

So you said nothing. Simply looked him up and down, and snickered a quiet laugh.

And then you stepped around him, shoving into your room, and shut the door in his face.

⤲

She was actually going on that godsdamn hunt.

Lucien laid sprawled across his bed, a book pressed to his bare chest as he stared up at the ceiling.

The fucking Hunt. Lucien hated it — had hated it the first time he partook, and had hated it just as much the last time. It was around two decades earlier that he’d put his foot down and refused to attend any longer. Fuck what his father or brothers thought.

It was just an excuse for males to flounce through the forests for a few days, pretending to search for creatures that didn’t even exist while they egged each other on to become their most vulgar, sexist selves. Lucien had been privy to one too many conversations of said males gloating about various sexual conquests and talking about females like utter brutes. He hated it. Hated the environment. Hated that those were the kinds of males that Beron had always wished Lucien would be. Beasts and creatures themselves.

And if Y/N were to throw herself into the middle of that…

He didn’t know why he was thinking about it so much. There was no guarantee that their hunting party would even come across any others; Lucien, himself, had been on plenty of hunts where it had just been him and his brothers for those three days, not once running into the males of other Autumn houses.

But suppose they did, this time, with Y/N alongside them. The only female. A female who didn’t seem to know how to keep her damn mouth shut.

That fucking mouth, indeed. Lucien needed to stop thinking about it. To stop imagining it wrapped around his cock and sucking him dry. If he fisted himself to release over it any more times, he’d be no better than he had been in his youth.

He was getting sick of this — of every night ending the same. Him brooding about her. Thinking what to say the next time he saw her that would stick the knife in deep and make her stay away from him. That was all he wanted. For her to stay away. For her to stop having whatever this influence was, that she had on him.

That made him do something so appalling as fucking his brother’s fiancée.

Life was so much easier before she’d turned up. When he didn’t have to worry about running into her, about putting up with her smart mouth and quick temper—

And now she was going on The Hunt. The Mother knew what kind of trouble she would no doubt get herself into. He was almost tempted to tag along just for the amusement…

But the amusement was held at bay by the thing that was gnawing at his mind – brought on entirely by her words. She’d pretty much admitted back there that she did have a death wish. Did she mean it? He couldn’t decide. Couldn’t wrap his head around it.

Couldn’t bear the thought of things seeming so dire and grim, for her, that death would be a better alternative.

And if that were the case, well…it was an even worse idea for her to go on The Hunt. Who knew what reckless shit she would try without Lucien’s watchful gaze?

Did he want to go? Fuck no. Absolutely not. He totally didn’t give a shit about her spending three days in the wild with a group of males, his brothers or not.

He sighed softly to himself. Rubbed a hand over his bare, toned stomach and stroked the spine of his book. He couldn’t keep his thoughts from the matter at hand. Because if she was going…if they ran into the vile males that Lucien knew partook in the event…

He tried to shove it out of his mind, picking his book back up. Tried to focus on the words, the poetry that always clenched him beautifully within its fist and left him lost for words.

And in the storm, however brief

He bared himself for soil and leaf

And skin-to-skin, he branded her deep

With all his flames that burned beneath

He glared at the words. And they seemed to glare back. Something about them clanged around loudly in his head. Made something twist in his stomach, his heart.

If she went on that hunt—

He groaned to himself. Threw his book aside and rolled onto his front, burying into his pillow. He needed to stop fucking thinking about her. To get her far, far away from him. The sooner she married Dion, and they moved to their own territory, the better. Much better. Way better.

You keep telling yourself that, a voice in his head laughed at him. You know damn well you’re going on that hunt, too.

⤲

By the end of that week, cold, dry weather had begun to transform, and grey clouds were crowding the sky.

“We’ll only be gone three days,” Dion said, glancing up at the sky as he fastened your cloak around you. “Hopefully the storms will hold off until then.”

It was Friday morning — and far earlier than you usually liked to rise. But the excitement of getting away from the estate had made your sleep fitful, and you’d found yourself awake and ready before anyone else.

“Dion and I have to be back by Monday morning, anyway, for a meeting,” Eris explained from atop his horse. He rubbed the neck of the filly as he also peered at the darkening sky. “The storm is supposed to hit Sunday night, if that old crone in the village is to be believed.”

Dion snorted, watching as you mounted your own horse. “I’d take what she says with a pinch of salt, but…hopefully she’s right this time.”

“Mother above, can we go?” Jareth whined. “What’s with all the dawdling?”

You’d not even set off on the road yet, and he was already irritating you. Something about the look in his eyes when you’d entered the stables…it made you uneasy. He’d looked you up and down with a smirk, as though he was looking forward to your company for his own reasons.

Dion finally climbed up onto his mount, settling himself with stunning ease. “Quit your whining, you—”

His words were promptly cut off by the sudden figure approaching the stables

Every one of you looked up to see Lucien striding over, dressed appropriately for the chill air, sturdy boots on his feet, weapons strapped to his body. His hair was tied into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck.

Your eyes snagged on him. His muscled thighs in those tight riding breeches. The stark gold of his skin against the early morning light. All of his brothers blinked at him.

“Where are you going?” Eris asked.

Lucien barely glanced up as he approached his horse. “On The Hunt.”

“What?” Rian snorted. “You hate The Hunt.”

“Yeah. Well.” Lucien’s eyes briefly flashed to you — but not so brief that they didn’t burn. “I’ve decided to give it another try.”

“You—”

“That’s great, brother,” Dion quickly cut Jareth’s retort off. “The more the merrier. Ready your horse and we’ll go.”

Lucien dipped his chin, pushing into his horse’s stable. And you…you tried not to stare. To watch. To linger on the way he moved with such fluidity, such grace. Those strong fingers fastening the reins—

You swallowed, facing forward.

Unbeknownst to him, Lucien Vanserra had just made the next three days very difficult for you.

⤲

The first day wasn’t so bad.

Everyone was so eager, so pumped-up, that your group mainly spread out through the forest. Jareth and Rian went off alone, leaving you with Dion, Eris and Lucien. And — thankfully — you hadn’t run into any other hunting parties.

It didn’t even bother you that you were, essentially, fruitlessly hunting for nonexistent beings. After the four of you had successfully captured something real and tangible for your meal that night, it’d mostly been travel, languid rides through the woodlands and sprawls of green — and you loved it. The freedom was so heady, you felt giddy with it.

Lucien didn’t say much, though.

That first night, Jareth and Rian were still hunting while you and the other three Vanserras got settled into your camp and ate. It was peaceful without the two of them — the conversation sparse and easy and quiet, leaving you to sit in your thoughts by the fire with a full belly, your eyes already heavy with the day’s exertion. You were drifting off sat up, leant against Dion’s side, when Rian and Jareth finally burst through the trees; an unwanted injection of noise and ruckus.

“I’m telling you, you little shit.” Jareth said, slumping down opposite you. “I know what I saw.”

Rian snorted, grabbing for what was left of the food that you and the others had cooked. “You saw a deer.”

“It was way bigger than a deer. Huge.”

Stretching his arms behind his head, Eris raised an eyebrow in vague interest. “You saw something, Jareth?”

“He saw a deer—”

“It was massive. Some huge, horned beast, prowling through the trees.” Jareth’s eyes bounced over his brothers, as though he was looking for some indication of belief. When they landed on Lucien, though, he smirked. “Hey—maybe it was Lucien’s lover.”

You felt yourself stiffen. Felt the mild humour and ease around the fire fizzle out in seconds. What lurked in Jareth’s gaze was a beast in itself.

Lucien merely rolled his eyes. “What.”

“Tamlin.” Jareth shrugged. “He has horns in his beast form, doesn’t he? And the two of you are so close. All those solitary trips you’ve taken to the Spring Court, do you really expect us to believe you’re not letting the High Lord stick those horns somewhere where the sun doesn’t shine?”

You blinked — at the sheer viciousness in Jareth’s tone. Beside you, you heard Dion exhale a small sigh.

“You know, Jareth,” Lucien said. The casual tone of his voice suggested to you that this wasn’t the first time such words had been wielded. “You seem mighty fond of those horns. I can put in a good word for you, if you like.”

“Don’t make me sick—”

“Would that be a problem?” You snapped, your tone pure ice.

Everyone fell silent. Turned to look at you.

You ignored the rest of them. Locked eyes with Jareth. “What, exactly, would the issue be, Jareth, to have a family member who favours people of the same sex?”

“My father taught me — all of us — to have morals.”

“And yet,” you tilted your head, “you don’t believe everyone should be free to love who they love. Interesting.”

“I believe,” he gritted his teeth, “that females exist for males.”

Dion gently squeezed your arm. “Believe me, there’s no point—”

“And how’s that working out for you, Jareth?” You ignored him. “Because in the couple of months I’ve been around you, now, no female seems to exist for you. Perhaps they’re put off by the utter shit that comes out of your mouth.”

“You—”

“Unless the problem is a downstairs one, of course.” You cut him off, pointedly glancing at his crotch. “In which case, you needn’t fret. There are all sorts of enhancement tonics around these days. Although…if I were you, I’d request the highest dose.”

Across from you, Eris snorted — and Jareth…Jareth just gaped at you. Seemed to be scrambling to think of a response.

You didn’t give him a chance. You needed to walk away before you really ripped into him. Without a word, you stood from the log you were perched on.

Dion glanced up at you. “Y/N—”

“I need to pee.” Was all you said, not glancing back as you headed for the trees.

You’d only taken a few steps when behind you, Jareth had finally mustered a retort. Aimed at Dion, though, instead of you.

“Fucking hell.” He scowled. “Good luck marrying that, brother.”

��

Saturday was much the same. But something heavier hung in the air that second day. Perhaps the approaching storm, or…

Or perhaps the glares Jareth kept cutting you from his horse.

You left in the early morning once again, covering even greater distances than the day before. Areas of your own court that you’d never even heard about, let alone seen with your own eyes. You didn’t know how far from the Vanserra Estate you’d travelled when you reached your second location. More forestry awaited ahead, but you’d also glimpsed an outcropping of craggy cliffs and rocks jutting from within its belly, as though the trees had made their homes around the gaping pit of rocks and caves and refused to leave.

“It’s alleged,” Dion said from where he rode beside you on his horse, close enough to reach out and touch, “that a half-man-half-pig creature lives in these caves and can sniff out Fae blood from miles away.”

You snorted quietly. “Are you sure it’s not just Jareth?”

His head fell back as he snorted a laugh, leaning over to give a teasing prod to your side that had you yelping.

“We’ll split off into pairs to explore.” Eris said. “Me and Lucien. Rian and Jareth. And the happy couple. We’ll meet back here at sundown and find somewhere to camp.”

Your shoulders had thankfully relaxed at that. Not having to deal with Jareth all day — even his pathetic, icy stares — sounded like a good arrangement to you.

It turned out to be one of your favourite days with Dion yet. With the lines you’d drawn with each other clear and concise, all feelings out in the open, it gave you the opportunity to act like the friends that you were, without the pressure to force feelings and behave a certain way. You spent the day simply exploring, Dion regaling you with tales of previous hunts and you providing story after story about Willow. He swallowed the information greedily, and you knew from one flash of those sweet, brown eyes that he was utterly smitten.

The day, however, flew by. You couldn’t help feeling a knot of anticipation in your gut as you and Dion met back up with the other four.

Something in Jareth’s eyes told you he wasn’t too tired to stir up trouble. As usual.

“The storm should hold off,” Eris said, glancing up at the fading daylight as he mounted his horse. “Lucien and I found the perfect place to camp. It’s not too far from here.”

You could already feel the drop in temperature, the strange charge in the air that you could only assume was the gathering storm. Dion seemed to sense your discomfort, and he guided his mount closer to you as your party set off into a steady lope.

After a few minutes of silence, it was Dion who commented, “I take it nobody successfully hunted anything?”

Eris snorted from beside Jareth. “Nobody saw any horned beasts today?”

The quip dragged a light titter of laughter from the others — even Lucien. But Jareth glanced over his shoulder. Directly at you — as if you’d made the comment. And glared.

“You know,” He said, facing forward again. “From everything I’ve heard, Y/N, I expected you to have the most successful hunt. What with you having years of private training, and all.”

You could almost feel Dion stiffen beside you as you narrowed your eyes. Because your training…your skill…it wasn’t supposed to be common knowledge. Certainly not information that you wanted in Jareth’s brain, given what his twisted mind could no doubt do with it. You and Dion had specifically discussed it in one of the first conversations you’d had — that such things were not, under any circumstances, to get back to Beron. To end up in the wrong hands.

You turned your head to meet his gaze. He frowned at you, lifted his shoulders in a subtle shrug. “I haven’t told anyone anything,” he swore quietly.

“Anyway—”

“Your sister Molly and I,” Jareth cut off Eris’s interjection, “we had some mighty interesting conversations during the Harvest Festival. Tell me, Y/N, who is Linden, exactly?”

Even on horseback, you could feel the stillness that swept around the group — like the Vanserra males knew their brother all too well, and were holding their breaths for one of his showdowns. Lucien, who had been a few strides ahead, seemed to hang back, his eyes darting subtly to yours as he fell into stride with yours and Dion’s horses.

“…he’s a family friend.” You answered Jareth, your back ramrod straight.

There was an amused snort; from Jareth or Rian, you weren’t sure. But pure malice lurked within the sound.

“Huh. Right.” Jareth said, nodding. “Do you make a habit of fucking your family friends, then?”

Every single part of you went rigid.

You didn’t know where your tension ended and where Dion’s began. Didn’t know where to look or what to say or how to think, as you blinked forward, your body going ice-cold.

“See, Molly was telling me all about it. And she and I couldn’t exactly figure out what a lady such as yourself would want to fuck a brute for,” Jareth tilted his head. “But then…I suppose you’re not a lady, are you? Not really. Not like your sisters. I said it was probably payment. That you were whoring yourself out to Linden for his services. Am I right? I’m right, aren’t I?”

Rian threw his head back and barked a laugh.

Eris seemed to be just…gaping at Jareth, like he couldn’t quite believe the vitriol he was spewing.

And there was a growl. No — two growls, of pure, menacing anger. One from your right — Dion.

The other from your left. Lucien.

“I guess that’s why you’re not already married. Used goods, right?” Jareth smirked. “Lucky for you, Dion doesn’t seem to care about that. And quit your damn growling, Lucien. I’m sure if you ask nicely, Dion will let you have his leftovers—”

Eris struck so fast, you didn’t even register what he’d done until Jareth went tumbling from his horse. And you realised the eldest Vanserra had punched him off of it.

“Shut your damn mouth, you little prick.” He sneered at him. Jareth was too busy groaning and rolling on the floor to respond.

And the fact that the three of them — Dion, Eris and even Lucien — had come to your defence…it did soften the blow of Jareth’s words just slightly.

But…not enough. Not enough to prevent them hitting home, right where it hurt.

⤲

Lucien didn’t think he’d ever seen her so quiet.

Even listening to her mouth off about something was better than the preternatural stillness she now sat with around the fire, her eyes gazing off somewhere, unseeing. Whatever mark Jareth’s words had been intended for had truly hit home.

Lucien could kill him for it. Utterly kill him.

It was no secret to anyone that Jareth Vanserra was a nasty piece of work — a true copy of their father. But he’d really put his reputation to use on this hunting trip. Lucien couldn’t wait to go home. To get away from him.

She hadn’t wanted any of the food Eris had cooked, instead opting to sit quietly, huddled in her cloak, not contributing to the light conversation around the dwindling fire.

“I’m going to fetch some more wood.” Dion announced to no one in particular, rising from the log he was perched on. “I won’t be long.”

A lulling, soothing quiet settled into the camp, and yet Y/N’s silence was still the loudest amongst them all. Lucien settled back, watching, subtly, the way she tightened her cloak around her, bunching it within her fist so hard that her knuckles turned white. The fire reflected in her eyes, and Lucien could only imagine that her mind was burning just as fiercely. Whatever she was thinking had her flinching, as though she could feel the lick of the flames from inside her mind. Or maybe the effect of Jareth’s words.

She was…complicated. Perhaps the most complicated person Lucien had ever met. And he hated how it intrigued him. How it kept him awake until the early hours, thinking about what she might do next, how she might surprise him.

This was a surprise – seeing her recoil into herself like this. He didn’t…didn’t assume her capable, he supposed, of being bothered by somebody’s opinions. She usually seemed so sure of herself, so…quick-witted and silver tongued. Confident.

And perhaps that was utterly naive of him.

“There’s still some food left,” Eris spoke to her, scooting closer. “Why don’t you eat something? You’ll be even colder if you don’t.”

But Y/N merely shook her head, quietly insisting, “I’m not hungry.”

“I packed some of that chocolate–”

“I’m going to help Dion.” She rose from the log on which she’d perched, her movements slumped and weary as she followed in the direction Dion had wandered off in.

Eris sighed to himself softly. Seemed genuinely concerned as he raked a hand through his hair and stared at the fire.

But Lucien – Lucien settled back on his bedroll, his tension easing slightly. Perhaps it was good for her to get away from the camp, even if it was just for half an hour. Maybe she’d vent to Dion and get everything off her chest, and then return, once again the quipping, quick-witted person she was. If she needed to cry, she could cry to Dion, away from the others. Away from Lucien himself.

And he…he would try not to let the thought bother him. Because really, when it came down to it…it was for Dion to deal with, as Y/N’s fiancée. Dion’s responsibility.

So Lucien closed his eyes and steadied his breathing, attempting to expel the tension that had built up inside him. Dion and Y/N would be gone for a good while; if any tension remained upon their return, hopefully Lucien would be fast asleep by then. Too asleep to be aware of it.

With just the quiet hum of conversation between Rian and Jareth, the camp wound down, the fire’s dying embers pleasantly warm and soothing. The sky gradually transitioned from the threatening grey of daytime to a thick, inky black above them. Night swept through the forest, and Lucien was happy to embrace it. Just one more night to get through, and tomorrow they would travel home.

And he could go back to staying away. Staying far, far away from his brother’s fiancée. Far enough away to not be tempted by his stupid lust.

He was just teetering on that light precipice between sleep and wakefulness when Dion returned over thirty minutes later, strong arms carrying more wood than they probably needed.

“It feels like there’s rain in the air,” He said — and then stopped. “Where’s Y/N?”

Lucien lifted his head, rubbing at his eyes. Scanned the four figures around him; Rian, Jareth, Eris, Dion…sure enough — no Y/N.

“She went to help you.” Eris frowned.

“Well, she didn’t,” Dion allowed the logs to drop from his arms, thudding to the forest floor. “The last time I saw her was here.”

“Maybe she went for a walk?”

“It’s dark.”

“What’s the big deal?” Jareth sat up, rolling his eyes. “She can defend herself. She has the training, remember?”

“Run your smart mouth one more time, Jareth—”

“Can we not have another fight? We’ll find her.” Eris stood, wandering over to the small opening through the trees that Y/N had taken. His voice was an echoing boom as he called her name into the night. “Y/N?”

Dion immediately joined him, pushing branches and leaves out of the way. “Y/N?”

One look at Rian and Jareth told Lucien how unbothered they were, as they continued their conversation like nothing was happening. He gritted his teeth, brushing his hair back as he followed his other two brothers.

“You’re sure she went this way?” Dion pursed his lips, brown eyes peering around wildly.

“Positive.” Eris nodded. “She went the same way you did.”

Lucien also nodded. “Said she was going to help you with the wood.”

“Fuck.” The curse fell from Dion’s lips, his shoulders tense. “She doesn’t know these parts. We need…we need to look for her.”

Without a single moment’s hesitation, Eris was turning on his feet. “We’ll split up and search for her. You too, Jareth Rian can stay at the camp with Y/N’s horse in case she returns.” He shot Jareth and Rian a scathing glance. “And as leader of the hunting party, that’s an order. Get off your ass, now.”

When Jareth didn’t even twitch, both Eris and Dion yanked him up by his arms. Shoved him forward.

Lucien was already striding for his horse.

“Split off and cover every bit of ground until we find her.” Dion commanded, mounting his horse. “I don’t give a shit if the rain comes. We’re not leaving her with whatever lurks in these woods.”

Lucien didn’t bother to reply, didn’t bother to hide his panic, as he climbed up onto his horse and grabbed the reins. He didn’t look back, either.

Nor did he comment that he was worried, not only about the forest beasts finding her first.

But also about the possibility of Jareth finding her first.

And that worry only solidified inside him as he heard Jareth’s voice call from behind.

“Let the half-man-half-pig eat her, I say!”

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

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[imagineanime2022]

S/O With Ghost Rider Powers

Shota Aizawa/Eraserhead X Reader, Keigo Takami/Hawks X Reader, Tomura Shigaraki X Reader, Dabi X Reader, Shuichi Iguchi/Spinner X Reader

Requested: @supernatural-hunter1

Request: Even better idea? What if Aizawa, Hawks, Shigaraki and Dabi had a S/O who’s quirk is ‘Ghost Rider’ like from the movie ghost Rider that would be epic?😅

Warning: - Injuries to Reader

Shota Aizawa/Eraserhead

🐛 The first time that Aizawa met you, you were in school, he’d gotten to know you as a person before seeing you with your quirk was active. 🐛 You quickly moved to the top of the class and became someone that everyone was watching, that being said you were still scary to a lot of the kids and took to working the night shift where your skills were more useful. 🐛 Villains learned to fear the skill that came with your flashy display and Aizawa became the only hero that seemed to be able to keep up with you whether you travelled by your chain or your motorcycle. 🐛 You and Aizawa grew closer to each other and you finally got to know the man that hid behind the stoic face.

Aizawa had asked you to help him with a practical lesson that he had gotten together for the new first years, he wanted to see where they all were and having you as a constant bar seemed like a good idea, he had a plan to split them into group putting them in terrain that best suited them and see how far they could get in a fight with you however you didn’t even get 1 fight in before everything went sideways.

The villains had broken into the USJ where the exercise was supposed to take place, you were already in the leather get up that you usually wore when you were out for work “normal plan?” You asked. “You think you can handle that many of them?” He asked. “You can’t?” You asked with a raised eyebrow, the kids watched as you ran down the stairs leading to the field that the villains occupied. Your hand hovered over the chain that linked round your neck as it expanded turning into what was your normal weapon immediately taking out the few villains closest to you when you realised that Aizawa had cancelled their quirks, this continued for a few minutes with you taking out people’s legs or using the chain to pull them close enough for you to knock them out, however it seems that the leader of the group was sick of watching everyone, he was faster than you expected and made his way to you within seconds. “You and Eraser are pretty cool but you're getting in the way.” He reached out grabbing your arm at the wrist, you let out a scream at the pain that travelled through it but when you looked down you could see that the part of the coat that had rested there was missing but your healing meant that whatever he had done was no longer visible on your wrist. “That hurt like a bitch.” You glared at him as you kicked him away, however the hit that connected with your side next was more powerful than anything else you had been in contact with, the wind was knocked out of you as you hit the floor but your eyes connected with the monster that had been standing next to the leader. “Ghost!” Aizawa called. “I’m fine, focus!” You ordered, lucky for both of you it wasn’t much longer before All Might showed up to help with the fight, that made things easier and they were finally forced out when the rest of the faculty came to help.

“You okay?” Aizawa asked as he walked over to you once he made sure that all the kids were okay. “Me? Yeah I’m fine.” You answered, he lifted the wrist that the leader now knew by the name of Shigaraki had grabbed. “He touched your wrist, were you able to heal it?” He asked. “Yeah, his quirk causes things to decay. It seems that my quirk worked against his, I still felt the pain but the wound is gone.” You explained. “I’ve never been happier for your healing.” He breathed out and you smiled. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.” You winked before Hizashi came over as loud as ever to make sure that you were both okay.

Keigo Takami/Hawks

🪶 When Hawks first met you, you were in your hero gear, so he didn’t think much of you really, you were another hero with a fire quirk, that is until you were called to a meeting with him over a joint project. 🪶 Hawks worried about working with you at first because of his weakness to fire but quickly learned that your control over your flames meant that he was in no danger at all. 🪶 He was absolutely fascinated by the chain you used as a weapon, he could get over the fact that he doubled as a belt when it wasn’t in use and always begged you to teach him how to use it. 🪶 His favourite thing about your quirk was your bike though, he didn’t realise that you were able to extend your quirk to other objects that you owned and the first time that you showed him near lost his mind and now he’s always racing you.

You stretched your arms over your head after finishing the 3rd catch of your shift, you leaned forward on the handle bars “you think you can take a break?” Keigo’s voice sounded as he landed in front of you. “Break?” You asked “I don’t know about you but I started about an hour ago, there’s no need for a break.” “3 guys in 1 hour?” He asked, raising an eyebrow and you shrugged. “Some of us take our patrolling seriously.” You teased and he looked at you and twisted his head in challenge. “Is that so?” He asked. “How about a little competition then?” “Competition, that doesn’t seem very serious.” You said sitting up. “No this is super serious, if you win you’ll be No. 2 hero.” He informed you. “I’m not sure that’s how this works, Hawks.” You reminded him and he shrugged. “You’ll be No.2 hero to me, Ghost.” He teased as he stepped closer. “You're not going to leave until we get this started are you?” You asked. “You know me so well.” His eyes were playful behind the visor and you rolled your eyes. “Name your terms.” You ordered.

You dragged yet another petty criminal into the agreed precinct, you pushed him towards the officer at the desk “what’s this one in for?” She asked. “Attempted robbery.” You answered and she nodded. “He’s on 15, you know.” She informed you and you looked at her. “I’ve still got time to catch up to him, I’m on 14 right? I’ve got an hour before the end of my shift.” You asked. “Do it for the girls,” She winked, at this point she had been dragged into a few of your bets that she had become subject to ust as much teasing from your boyfriend as you had and therefore wanted you to win with all of her heart. “Is our referee being biassed?” Keigo’s voice sounded from behind you as he dragged in three new guys. “You did that to show off, didn't you.” You narrowed your eyes. “What? They were just together… That's all.” He winked as he leaned against the desk. “I hate you.” You mumbled, flaming hair flaring slightly as you realised that you weren’t going to win. “No you don’t.” He denied his wings broadening to cover the both of you as he leaned in “you wouldn’t be dating me if you did.” “You're getting very close to your one weakness.” You smirked. “Are you talking about you or the fire?” He asked softly. “You don’t seem to be worried about either of them.” You grumbled stepping away from him. “Trust you.” He shrugged and for a second you were ready to retract the sentence, “Now you’ve got 30 minutes to make up 4 people, good luck.” “You were stalling me.” You narrowed your eyes at the realisation and he winked before disappearing out the door and that was when you decided that your previous statement was true you hated your boyfriend.

Tomura Shigaraki

✋ Shigaraki met you when you kicked your target straight through the door of the bar walking in yourself, placing the money on the bar to pay for the damages before picking up the target and pulling him out. ✋ One For All ended up hiring you as the personal assassin for Shigaraki and later the League Of Villains. ✋ Shigaraki considered you a close and trusted friend since you never left him and you didn’t even flinch when he threatened you, an argument led to you both finding out the healing that your quirk provided made you immune to his quirk. ✋ You and Shigaraki became a feared couple after your first attack at the USJ, your appearance made you scary enough but dedication with which you protected Shigaraki and he, you became something that people strived for and feared all at the same time.

Shigaraki was easily the hardest person to get to know, people who met him were scared of or disgusted by him, that is until he met you, you didn’t flinch away from him or pretend that you liked him in fear of your life, you argued when you thought that he was wrong, you fought him when he challenged you and you encouraged him when you knew that he needed it.

Shigaraki valued the times that you spent alone because that was how you started, it was just the two of you, it seemed that everything had gotten so crowded now that it was rare that you managed to get any time together without someone interrupting. You were both sitting at the bar, you were leaning against Shigaraki’s shoulder as you watched him play the newest game as he mumbled about whatever he was trying to do. “Hey lovebirds, it’s time for us to go,” Dabi said as he looked down his nose at the two of you. “She’ll be there in a minute.” Shigaraki muttered his hand gripping your thigh where it rested. “She better be.” Dabi grumbled as he walked back over to Toga who seemed to be waiting for you all, you leaned over pressing a kiss to his cheek as you attempted to stand but Shigaraki wrapped his hand around your wrist. “You leave them to come back.” He said as he looked at you. “I promise that a bunch of teenagers are not going to stop me from coming back here alright.” You winked. “If all else fails I have a motorcycle to get back here.” “Use it.” He ordered and you nodded. “Of course.” You promised and he finally let you go.

Most of you managed to get back unharmed and with the kid that you were told to collect, you were in charge of chaining up the prisoner for whatever reason and of course he had no intention of making it easy, his hand came up an explosion going off in your face and honestly if you had been anyone else you would likely be dead but despite the fact that the force of the explosion had removed muscle and skin from the side of the your skull you were still reaching for the syringe in your pocket “your lucky that the boss man wants you alive, or I’d be testing how fire resistant your quirk actually makes you Bomber boy.” You said as he succumbed to the drug that you had injected. “(Y/N) come here.” Shigaraki gestured for you to come over. “What’s up?” You asked, your face finishing its healing process. “Stay away from him from now on.” He ordered and you looked at him and shrugged. “If that’s what you want.” You sighed leaning back against the bar, his fingers reached out taking your chin in his hand and twisting your face to look at your newly healed skin before nodding to himself, you just smiled and settled on the stool behind you as he ordered Twice to finish the job that he had given you.

Dabi

🔥 It was obvious the type of relationship that Dabi had with fire, you met him when he was a teenager, you were both alone on the street and decided to make a name for yourselves together, you were lucky because had Dabi been any older he wouldn’t have accepted the order. 🔥 You were the only person that he let get even a little close to him, he never seemed to be afraid of your flames, so when you were fighting together, he’d often grab that chain that you used to move you out of the way of something. 🔥 Dabi was never far from you and he never liked being split from you on missions, you didn’t really like being too far away from him either, he could be reckless at times. 🔥 You could often be found sitting close to him as you talked about things in the presence of others, he could be the voice for the both of you if you needed, he noticed that you had a habit of letting the flames dance around your fingers when you were nervous.

You were sitting in the bar, in one of the booths, your flames dancing through your fingers as you, you looked up as a shadow cast over you before a drink was pushed towards you, you wrap your hand around the cup pulling it closer as Dabi slid in next to you looping his arm around the back of the chair and behind you. “What are you doing over here?” He asked as he leaned back. “Just watching.” You answered as you looked over the group that you had just joined. “Try not to worry so much, you could wipe the floor with most of these idiots.” He said, pressing a kiss to your temple. “You really think that he’s doing this because of Stain?” You asked “that he even followed him?” “No, not really.” Dabi answered. “But we’re not here for that anyway, if he’s going to get me closer to No.2 then we’ll stay here as long as we need.” “I guess that’s true.” You nodded, letting the small flame move through your fingers of its own accord. “You need to stop worrying.” He pulled you closer as he looked around catching the eyes of Shigaraki across the bar and Toga who started skipping towards you, Dabi reached out linking your hands together and moving them under the table, silently thankful that you didn’t pull away from him and his scars. “I’m not worried, I trust you.” You explained. “What are you two whispering about?” Toga asked as she leaned over the back of the chair on the other side to you. Dabi rolled his eyes as he looked away from her while you smiled. “Nothing.” You answered. “Just wondered how many of these guys are going to come back after this mission.” “You think some won’t?” She asked. “Will you go away?” Dabi glared at her as he pulled your attention back to him “we need to make a plan for how we’re going to keep the teachers busy.” “Your chains would be perfect for keeping Eraserhead occupied.” Shigaraki said. He was the only one that had fought the night shift hero before so you trusted what he was saying. “No.” Dabi muttered, “I’ll keep him busy.” “I mean you can both do it.” Twice said as you looked at him and twisted your head to the side. “Huh?” You asked. “I just need you measurements and I can make a copy of you that can keep the teachers busy while we look for the kid.” Twice explained “not that it’s any of your business.” “How does that sound?” You asked. “Fine.” Dabi nodded “don’t get too touchy.” He helped you climb over him to get to Twice and he watched the whole time until you were back with him.

Spinner 

🦎 You and Spinner connected because you were both told that you were too scary to be heroes, you had each other's backs from the day that you met and that continued for the rest of your life.

🦎 Spinner was unbelievably protective of you, he watched people around you and because your quirk was one that you could hide you ran into less trouble than he did but he was always there much like you were for him.

🦎 Loves that you run warmer than most because he’s cold blooded, he uses you like a space heater and you love it.

🦎 You were the one that saved him or caused a distraction so that he could get away, you were the one with the bike after all, you met up with him once you shook off the heroes every time and he never doubted you.

You had all headed into Deika City after deciding to kill two birds with one stone, you needed to make sure that the fight lasted long enough for Gigantomachia to get there twisting your neck to the side you activated your quirk the chain that had been wrapped around your arm under your leather jacket falling to the floor the end staying wrapped around your wrist as you looked at the man in front of you before using your finger to signal for him to come at you. “Are you going to fight me or just keep looking at me like that?” You asked.

“I’ll kill you.” He growled out and you smirked as you twisted your head.

“We’ll see about that.” You smirked as you dove forward ducking under his attack wrapping the chain around his leg pulling him down pressing your foot to his chest keeping him there, “you really should have be a little more cautious.” 

“So should you.” He smirked but as his partner came out of hiding to hit you, you easily stopped the blow only second later did Shuichi come out of nowhere to slash him straight across the back, he fell to the ground.

“Thank you Shu.” You smiled “would you mind?” Your eyes travelled to the man you were holding down.

“Gladly.” He stabbed straight through his neck and you leaned forward pressing a kiss to his cheek taking one of the dagger out of his many holsters, coating it in fire before throwing it at the man that was getting ready to attack you both.

“Make sure that you come back to me.” You ordered as he jumped up onto the building in search of Shigaraki.

“Always.” He promised and you nodded as he disappeared and you continued fighting.

After the fighting was finally done and that announcement was made that Shigaraki would be the leader of the new group The Paranormal Liberation Front you finally had some down time, you and Spinner and been separated during the time that you were supposed to be helping keep Machia busy, you were on opposite teams. So now as you all sat in the new room everyone healed back almost back to normal, you were lounging across the sofa with Shuichi curled up with you, your body slightly heated for him. “We’ve never really been apart that long before have we?” You asked running your hands through his purple hair and he grunted.

“A month is a long time.” Shuichi mumbled and you hummed.

“You guys haven’t been apart for a month..?” Compress asked and you looked at him and shook your head.

“We stuck together from the day that we met.” You explained.

“Well that explains a lot.” He shrugged.

“What does that mean?” You asked.

“Well you work so well together and I know you are both in a relationship but sometimes you almost seem like the same person.” He explained. Spinner turned his face to look at Compress for a second but in the end he didn’t actually say anything and you rolled your eyes.

“He’s good at reading me, always has been.” You shrugged with one shoulder, careful not to jostle Shuichi too much. “Don’t know what I would have done without him.” 

“Aww that’s so cute!” Twice said and you smiled rolling your eyes.

“Enough of that, mind your own business.” You mumbled turning yourself away from them and shielding the both of you for a moment away from all of them.

Request Here!!

[rafesgoldrings]

first of all, congratulations on 1k!! your writing deserves so so much love ❀

can i request chemtrails over the country club? there is absolutely nothing that can dissuade me from my headcanon that jj is really, really good at soccer but he stopped playing after his mom left - couldn't afford to keep it as a hobby. but once you start dating him you encourage him to try again on his school team and he gets a scholarship for soccer to the same university that you plan on attending (i am absolutely going so feral over the thought of meeting jj in the locker room after practice and going to his games)

I got a bit carried away😅 (Clarifying that at the end, reader and JJ are NOT minors, they’re 18 in their senior year and about 18/19 in the college section) thank you so much!🥹🫶🏻

No I absolutely see this! He’s extremely fit as we can see throughout the show and I 100% see him playing soccer as a kid. His mom would be at every game cheering louder than every other parent there, it made him feel loved, made him happy having someone be so proud of him, but then she left. All the drinking and abuse from Luke became too much for her and she promised to come back for JJ but never did, and as a result he stopped playing soccer. Partially because he was no longer able to afford it and Luke refused to help, but also because he holds some resentment towards his mom for leaving him there and playing soccer reminds him of her too much. Then you come along his freshman year and become best friends with him, hanging out everyday after school, getting to know everything about each other, you learn he used to play soccer but sense a hostile vibe on the topic and drop it.

Your sophomore year rolls around and you’re still the best of friends, the pogue group becoming your own group of friends. Things shift with JJ and you don’t know what, but something is different. Junior year comes around and you learn about the abuse, you offer him your place insisting your parents will love him and gladly take him in if he wanted. He rejects it as first, not wanting to feel like a bother or accept your pity, then he shows up at your door black and blue crying. You took him into your arms and held him that night, he accepted the offer then and moved in the next day. That’s when the relationship started to turn romantic.

Beginning of senior year the two of you are official, having spent the entire summer together and deciding to peruse a relationship, and you encourage him to try out for your schools soccer team, telling him it could be a great opportunity for colleges and to help keep his mind off things. He reluctantly accepts and the pogues are beyond stoked when he ends up making the team, throwing a small party to celebrate. You help him with trying for a scholarship, emailing the coaches, helping him with his highlight reels, calling the universities and seeing if they have open spots, it looks promising for him. Several people have expressed their interest in him, including one from the college you were set to attend. Cut to the end of senior year and you both find out you’ve been accepted into the university and he got the scholarship. You’re both beyond happy and everyone has one last summer together before you all part ways for school.

JJ is happy when the semester starts, he ends up being the captain of the soccer team at school, you’re there at every game cheering loudly for him and he finally feels proud again. Instead of his mom, you’re the one screaming his name louder than everyone. You’re the one making him feel like he’s done something worthy. You’re the one running to him after every game. And he absolutely rewards you when he meets you in the locker room and fucks you against them as soon the rest of the team leaves. He finally loves the sport again, he loves life again, and he knows you’re the one he’s going to spend his life with, he’ll take it one soccer game at a time.

[sweet-potatah-pie]

Would love to get your take on this: What is Tiana's haircare routine? What products does she use? How about Naveen? <3 Do they…help each other? Thank you!

What a question! This could get SO deep, but I'll try to stay on track, haha! 😅

So, Tiana exists in a very interesting era for Black women's hair (but honestly, what era isn't interesting!). In the decades just before the 1920s, Madam CJ Walker became a millionaire by catering to Black women’s beauty. Then with the rise of jazz and film, Black musicians and performers became visible in a real way for the first time in the United States and Europe. And there was still the oppressive presence of the white gaze and the physical protection of hair assimilation.

With all that in mind, I assume Tiana's hair texture is straightened and then curled based on the styles she wears in the movie. This process could have been achieved through a lye and potato based chemical treatment, but I like to think Tiana would have gone with the route of using a hot comb: a metal comb, heated over an open flame until hot, and pulled through the hair to remove the natural curl pattern.

I think Tiana, even as busy as she is, patrons a local Black hair care salon. The 1920s was a boom time of women's salons popping up everywhere, and the ones catering to Black women's beauty (as well as being places for community, safety, and civil rights planning) were still relatively new. Plus, these salons were usually owned/operated by Black women. As a Black woman business owner herself, I absolutely think Tiana supported other Black women business owners in this way.

So for her routine, I think probably once a month, Tiana goes to a salon for a professional wash, straighten, and curl. I think she probably does touch-ups at home with her own hot comb, curling iron, and pressing oil, and then I think she likely greases her scalp for moisture and shine. She probably also plaits her hair before bed and wears a silk or satin bonnet to sleep in, before styling it the next day. I really like that Tiana has longer hair in the 1920s when shorter bobs were the trend, because it shows not only that she doesn’t feel the need to follow trends, but I think it also says something about her dedication and how she values putting time into herself (because maintaining hair can be very time consuming for us!).

That said, I doubt she does much of her hair care routine alone. More likely than not, her mother Eudora, her friend Georgia, and her professional stylist are the ones who help her most with her hair (and she probably helps her mom and her friend Georgia in return).

I think Naveen probably helps remind Tiana not to fall asleep without her bonnet, but otherwise, I’m not so sure how qualified he is in this arena. LOL. There’s a lot of work and ritual involved! I’m sure Tiana has recommended a local barbershop to Naveen, though. Although his ethnicity is not confirmed, I assume his hair is naturally straight/wavy and that he wouldn’t need a conk, but he would still probably have his hair styled as if he had had one. He probably enjoys a professional shave regularly as well.

And I hope someone manicures that man's eyebrows for him, too. 😂

[silenzahra]

I know this is late but since we just became moots, I want to do this.

Orange, green, blue, and pink are the colors that come to mind, especially green after you lost your original blog and everything you've gone through in your personal life. It was heartbreaking to see both of those things happen to you, considering you are one of the kindest people here.

For the former, it was because there was a lot of great content on there I enjoyed reading, and it was a shame to see all of that disappear over something out of your control. Fortunately, many friendly mutuals put in an admirable effort to recover some of your best work, which shows anything is possible if we put our minds to it.

Unfortunately, I can't speak much on the latter because I don't know what went on there. All I can do is hope things are better for you now and will continue to be so.

As for your Green, Orange, and a Bit of Purple repost, I haven't gotten around to it yet. However, I do plan on getting to it at some point because it's my favorite story of yours.

Wow, this was longer than I thought it would be. 😂 All that to say I think you are a positive influence with great insight, and I look forward to seeing more from you when you're ready. 😊

Hello, @teegeeteegee! First of all, I'm incredibly sorry that I didn't get to this ask earlier 🙏 I went to a concert last Friday and took Saturday to rest and recover, and on Sunday and Monday I've been catching up with some stuff here and there IRL, so I really didn't have much time to spend on Tumblr (something I hope I can fix from now on).

But truly, your ask has filled me with so much joy and warmth! 🥹 I'm HONORED that green and pink come to your mind even though we haven't interacted much yet, and I'd LOVE to go on a picnic with you so we can fix that! As for the blue part, I understand as I also have a hard time reaching out and most times I simply don't know how to approach people 😅 But I'd say this is a great way to break the ice! I'd really LOVE to get to know you better! 🥰

Oh 🥹 You truly are SO kind. Thank you so much 🫂 I can't even express how lucky and blessed I am that I'm part of this wonderful community. The fact that so many people went and saved some of my old content so as to help me build up this new blog, I just. I have no words 🥹 And it makes me so happy to know you enjoyed my content! Hopefully I'll soon be able to resume the task of bringing it all back 💖

As for the personal stuff, you know, I'm doing fine right now thanks to the concert, my dogs and this amazing community, and I'm trying my best to keep myself protected and safe. I simply realized something that is not easy whatsoever to take in... but I'm in the process of doing it so I can be 100% fine and at peace with myself again. Luckily I'm doing much better lately, and I really can't complain. Thank you so much for your support and your kind wishes 🫂💖

And please don't worry about the repost of Green, Orange and a bit of Purple! It's not going anywhere 🥰 I'm just SO happy to know it's your favorite story of mine! I truly LOVED writing it, Luigi and Daisy are my sweet little babies and I adore them so much 🥹

Also, I haven't forgotten about your story that you recommended a while back! I'm afraid I haven't read it yet because of this reader's (and writer's) block I'm still in the process of overcoming, but it's saved on my AO3 TBR list, and I really hope I can get to it soon 🥰

Hehe, my answer was also very long 🤭 I truly and deeply LOVED your ask! You're seriously so sweet 🥹 Thank you so so much, I just, I'm so touched right now! 🫂🫂🫂

I really hope I can get back at writing sooner than later, and it'll be a pleasure to read you too when I'm ready! 💖💖💖

(In reference to this ask game ✨)

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

hey raven, sorry if i seem impatient or such within this message. but are you not writing the sweet on you interactions any longer? this may seem like it comes from a bad place but its genuine lmao, mine wasn't done so i just wanted to ask if you just discarded ones you didn't feel like doing (which is totally fine) this is also pretty late to ask so apologies

[Referencing this blog event! If you want to read installments from this series of requests, look up #sweet on you!]

Hi, it's no problem at all ^^ I figure I owe an update on those!

Sweet on You interactions were something I wanted to do for Valentine's and White Day. I initially planned to finish writing them all by the end of March. However, I received many more requests than was feasible to do in that time, and then became bogged down with my spring coursework. Of course, real life obligations take priority so I had to shelf the rest of the Sweet on You interactions. I only managed to get out 25 of them, and there's still over 100 left to get to.

By the time I actually could spare a moment or two to sit down and write, it was way past the Valentine/White Day season. This makes it sort of awkward to put out what are basically Valentine themed writing pieces. (A good number of the interactions also blatantly reference the holiday.)

The new plan is to resume writing those when the 2023 Valentine goods come out in Japan (which I believe would be this summer) and/or next Valentine's Day in 2024. I realize that may be a long time away, but unfortunately it's the best I can do with my current schedule 💦 I may be able to get some more of them out before then, but they’ll be the ones that don’t make explicit mention of Valentine’s Day (which isn’t a lot).

Side note: I DON'T write every single request I get; I delete requests that break rules and requests that just don't interest me. I can’t be sure whether that’s true of the particular interaction you sent in, Anon 😅

Hopefully you found this informative!

[nkjemisin]

Omg! Omg!!! Omgggggg!!!!

I didn’t know you were back on Tumblr!! How did I miss you coming back?? 😭😭😭.

And now I just lost my shit crying and forgot I haven’t completed my ask. So, I preordered The World We Make (which of course. I still have plans to marry The City We Became but I have held off because why settle for one spouse when you can have two for double the satisfaction????), both the hardback and the audiobook (because I love doing a audio-physical hybrid read). But I haven’t read it yet. Every time I open the pages, my palms start to sweat and then I close it right back. I don’t want to say goodbye. And there’s a finality with reading it that will be me saying goodbye. I’m still not over not being able to experience reading The City We Became for the first time (or The Broken Earth trilogy), and I can’t see to get past the panic, and the anticipation, and now my anxiety is kicking my ass.

Has this ever happened to you? Do you have any suggestions? Advice? Help. Please 😭😭😭

I feel something very like it every time I get near to finishing a new novel. I do it anyway, because the feeling of finishing a novel is Better Than Sex (and lasts a lot longer), but there is always a little I Don't Want It To End somewhere in there. (And I have anxiety too.) That said, the easiest way to get past that feeling for me is... to start another book. 😅 Maybe that'll help for you!

[kay-elle-cee]

Happy birthday Kelsey and congrats on the milestone!

I believe the first work of yours I read was Magic Like This when it was published last year, and I absolutely adore it. James is so soft and sweet and I love how you wrote Lily embracing her growing feelings for him.

Then, a few months later, I rediscovered you with A Thrill Divine, Down My Spine (so incredibly fun 🤌) and was pleased to be reminded of Magic Like This (because I'm notoriously bad at keeping track of first I love). And then I went down the rabbit hole of all your other fantastic works and here we are. I am a huge fan. 😁

I love restless waves rise and fall. It might be one of my all-time favorite Jily AUs out there. The backstories and universe you've created have been so fun to explore, and the micros you occasionally write bring me so much joy.

I especially love how you wove thematic imagery throughout. A scene that comes to mind in particular is when James and Lily finally talk at the end of chapter 5 about their feelings...Lily "anchoring herself to her spot," her "bursting through the surface" as she admits her feelings, "a swell of emotions eddying within her." The imagery truly elevates the emotional climax of the story, and you should be proud of what you accomplished.

Now...a couple fan questions if you'd want to share your thoughts on one or both of them.

1. Do you have a way in which you envision James and Lily admitting they are in love with each other? They're clearly very close to that point by the end of the main story.

2. Do you have any insights you'd want to share about what was going through James' mind during my waves meet your shore (forever and evermore) - specifically re: "our ship" and also when Lily confesses what she said to Petunia?

Thank you for all you bring to the Jily community - we are lucky to have you! ❤️ (Also, sorry this became way longer than I anticipated lol)

Okay hello first of all you should know I've reread this like updwards of 20 times because oh my god this is so sweet? This makes me so giddy? Truly truly truly makes me warm and fuzzy, thank you SO much for all your lovely words!

Magic Like This was really the first fluff piece I wrote and I did not expect the reception it got, but I'm so glad people enjoyed it! A Thrill Divine was something that took over my mind that I HAD to get out, and is probably up there on the list of my favorite things...it was my first magical AU and just so much fun. I'm glad you enjoyed them both!

Okay okay okay you have to know how NOT chill I am about your words for restless waves rise and fall. Like. That is my baby. My first born child. My first multichap, my first AU, it's SO close to my heart and to know people love the little self-indulgent cross section of HP and pirates (because yes I also used to write POTC fic) just 💕💕💕💕💕 I promise I have SEVERAL more micros planned out because I have so many Thoughts about them all the time.

I had SO MUCH FUN with the thematic imagery in that fic, playing with the water metaphors, etc (which I know I'd done elsewhere, but felt more fitting here), and I'm glad it enhanced the fic for you and didn't feel too on the nose 😅 Now for your questions...

1. Yes. Yes I DO. I've had that scene envisioned since ending restless waves and I've been MEANING TO WRITE IT. It was always my intent to write it but then my waves meet your shore got way out of hand (after the Lily & Euphemia scene, the characters absolutely took control of the narrative) and I've been writing in that timeline knowing how much I need to go back and write the I Love You scene. I don't want to give too much away but I will say there is a phosphorescent bay involved.

2. AHHHH Yes I am HAPPY to talk about this (but will put under a cut for spoilers and also length because I feel like I will be RAMBLING)...

Follower Milestone Celebration

OKAY so "Our Ship". James is so attuned to Lily in this conversation with his parents and the Dursleys. She's not really engaged in the conversation, she's putting on a brave face but he knows her footing is off—here on land and in the presence of her sister. So, this is absolutely James' way of bolstering her both in the conversation and in their presence, as if reminding her "You have something. You are someone. And they can't take that from you." I think he also realizes that there is no way to hide what they do from the Dursleys, so before it's revealed Lily is his First Mate, he positions her more as an equal than anything else.

And then this poor man his brain is SHORT CIRCUITING during that moment when Lily tells him that she told Petunia they were married. He's got the family ring in his pocket, he's got the proposal all planned out for their next stop, he's got her to meet his parents, and she's just jumping ahead. I think it's definitely really heartening for him to hear that she jumped to that (and him) as a way to support herself/protect herself from her sister, but also while they unDOUBTEDLY love each other, maybe there's this one underlying fear that this woman who's been at sea all these years living an untraditional life doesn't want a traditional marriage and maybe a partnership like they have is good enough for her. (And I think this kind of comes up at the end where she points out a lot of priests probably wouldn't marry them. Maybe it's something she's just resigned herself to). BUT the fact that she reaches for marriage with him as a lifeline just makes his heart swell.

And he is so. happy. It's that kind of moment where everything aligns and it's like oh we're on the same page and also just like....their whole life flashes before his eyes in that instant and he just gets consumed by the need to propose NOW. He's the one that pushes on past the "oh yeah we're married, sorry we didn't tell you," and proceeds to tell her exactly the moment he wanted to propose in a code that only the two of them know. He literally can't stand the fact that she doesn't know the depths of his devotion for her in this minute and wants to give her that reassurance and security that everything she said is what he wants. <33333 OH MY GOD I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

AH. okay I'll chill. But thank you SO MUCH for asking about my bbs. <333 You are an absolute GEM.

[nonkosherian]

Off With His Head!

So I put that I am a game designer in my Bio and then never actually post about game design 😅

Well I have a game coming out soon so let's change that!

This is about my game soon to be on Kickstarter (the plan is to have the preorder started before the end of the year). It’s called “Off with His Head!” and is set during the French Revolution. A fully cooperative game where you conspire to throw King Louis to the angry mob outside before he gets the idea to do the same to you. 

But it wasn't always a historical game. In the beginning it wasn't even a cooperative game. Heck it barely had a theme in the first iteration! This is going to be a story about how it got from being a goofy little idea in my head to the point where it was polished enough to be spotted in the wild by a publisher and it became a game you can (soon) buy.

This story started when I was looking at a game design contest. It was held by Button Shy, and the goal was to make a game that did not use a table and had 18 cards or less as the only components. 

I started thinking about a game where you stand in a circle and pass cards from hand to hand. Each player would always end up with the same number of cards after any given passing of cards. Then working from that mindset I tried to think of a reason for people to be passing cards around. I settled on the Players needing to collect 3 of the same card in hand at the same time to win. And I called it “Here Have This.” A Friendly take that game.

This is one of my first cards. This whole game was thrown together in Google Draw in an afternoon. Always remember “MVP, Minimum Viable Product” it doesn't have to be pretty, it just needs to work.

This game was in the final 10 or so of that contest but did not make it to the finish line. I was a little put out by that at the time, but looking back on it even a few weeks later I had to admit this game had some major flaws.

For starters LOOK AT HOW MUCH TEXT IS ON THAT CARD! That’s waaaaaaay to much to read and keep in your head. Funnily enough this first problem would not be corrected until the update after next. I think I was like “I will find a more concise way to say this later, the card is fine.” then the Narrator said “He didn't find a more concise way to say it.” 

The bigger problems were that 1) it was very possible given the structure of the game that one player could be completely ignored for the entire game. And 2) it felt entirely random who won because it was almost impossible to plan ahead in any meaningful way.

This is King Maker!

So the next big update would fix those 2 issues. Because I was no longer under the restrictions of the contest I could use the table again! And I was no longer limited to using 18 cards or less. So I added a new card called a “Door” that sat in front of each player. If the door was on the “open” side, you could pass a card to that player. Once they got a card they flipped the door to the “Closed” side. If all doors were closed then everyone flipped the doors back to “open.” This was clunky but it did fixt the issue where players were being skipped/ignored all game. 

Now to solve the planning problem I changed the victory condition so that 2 players won. The “King” and the person who made them King or “KIng Maker.” The idea would be that players can now “collude” with each other in order to win the game.

This version had lots of issues in general. Top among them being that it was still a little too random feeling for most players. I can’t remember who suggested it but someone put the idea in my head for a “robot” player at the table that everyone was trying to make “win.” And so the next big update was born!

Oh look! I finally split this card in half! I remember splitting lots of cards that got too complicated, not just this one. (Heck I’m not showing you that the Assassin used to be more complex than what you see here, and half of that card’s text got split off into its own thing.)

The “Door” in the last version were way to fiddly, so I replaced them with “Chairs” the idea being that everyone was pushing people (cards) into chairs around the table, trying to influence the hand of the “Prince” (the Robot player I added to the game) so that he could be the winner of the game. The way Chairs helped improve the experience was that you would put the card passed to that player on the Chair card. Then when all the Chairs were full everyone would take the card in their chair into hand. This had the positive side effect of leaving a few cards in play in the middle of the round, so people could see how the cards were moving around the table a bit more clearly but it still left most information hidden.

This bit with the Robot and Chairs was a real game changer! It finally felt like I had something that (for the most part) worked and that I could tinker with and improve. Not just “rip the guts out and try something new” as is often the case in game design. 

This also added a “Clock” to the game. After each round the clock would tick closer to midnight, if the Prince did not become King by then the Players would lose. Some cards gave you more time, and others moved time forward faster.

There was a problem that was spotted with this iteration of the game that I was about to fix. The issue was that when it came time for the Prince (the robot) to play a card he would always play to the person on his left. This made things predictable in a not fun way. I had a plan to fix it but just before I made the change I had a moment of total blind luck! A publisher happened to be at a testing event and liked the game! After talking with him I added my “Prince Fix” and got to work on a version that I could sell.

This was now “Off With His Head!” The basic rules and goals were still the same, but how it was framed was totally flipped. Now the Robot was the King of France, and the goal was to have the angry mob kill him while you and your friends snuck away. The “Clock” was replaced with a “Guillotine,” and once the “test cut” is done someone is going to die!

The “Prince Fix” is the little numbers and arrows you see on the cards. They dictate how far and in what direction the King will try to play the card. This makes how the king plays cards less predictable.

Honestly it was a lot of fun having 20+ tabs open on Wikipedia trying to find people and organizations that mapped onto the game mechanics I had already built. I also tried to include as many women as I could because I feel they get left out of most historic narratives. (also fun French Revolution fact, lots of lady Spies in France at the time.)

And now here is a little preview of how the final cards look in the hands of an actual artist! 

Feel free to ask me anything about this design. It’s been a long road but I hope I’ve shown you that a game can fall on its face a dozen times before it finally starts to walk and run on its own.

[littletissueghosts]

for your fandom ask game, Wings of Fire?

The first character I first fell in love with: I think that would probably be Glory! I used to really like her for being one of the "good" queens, although I now realize she made plenty of the same bad mistakes as the others. Imo, Ruby and maybe Moorhen are the only good queens on Pyrrhia right now, and I like it that way. I just wish the others' flaws were showcased a little more.

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: I would say Peacemaker! I hate his canonical portrayal, as everyone kind of just ignored the numerous effects that making him from an evil dictator could have on him, even if they never told him. But now I enjoy seeing all the different directions that fanon can take him! I've seen surprisingly varied ways in which the fanbase connects him to Darkstalker.

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: I'd say Peril. While I agree that she's a well-written character and I don't hate her, I'm pretty much ambivalent on her mainly because I just don't really feel like I "clicked" with her personality. I will still say that victim-blaming Peril is very bad. Peril is not at fault for being abused; it is Scarlet's fault that she abused Peril.

The character I love that everyone else hates: Honestly, I'm not sure. I can name plenty of popular characters I hate, but I don't think there's any actively hated characters I love. I guess I'm too contrary for that. /hj

The character I used to love but don’t any longer: Haha, probably Glory again. I used to think she was a really cool queen, but after I kind of realizing that she just swooped in to save and rule kingdom she knew nothing about, I became more neutral on her. It feels like the books don't really mention the flaws in her plans, not to mention botch her arc by making her royal.

The character I would totally smooch (adding the modifier on the forehead platonically and tell them everything will be alright): I had to modify this question because I can't imagine wanting to kiss anyone in Wings of Fire. 😅 I'd probably want to comfort Fathom, as I feel really sorry for him after the Summer Palace attack. He spent his childhood terrified of what he would do with everyone hating him for something he couldn't control, after he saved dragons from two separate evil animi before adulthood. He had to go through two incredibly hard betrayals, yet he always stuck strong to his morals to a fault.

The character I’d want to be like: I can't say there's many characters that I aspire to be, considering that a lot of them are very traumatized and I would not want that trauma in my life. But, if I had to choose one, probably Sunny. I find her determination to prove herself while sticking firmly by her morals to be very admirable!

The character I’d slap: Argh, there's too many I want to slap to pick just one (/hj)! One of the more well-liked characters that I'd want to slap is Foeslayer. She literally leaves her kids home alone for days at a time with their dad who's threatened to KILL them! That's not to mention how she plays into Arctic's favoritism game by favoring her more NightWing child, like her children are pawns in a game.

A pairing that I love: I like the idea of Moonwatcher with both Turtle and Kinkajou (w/o Turtlejou obviously because the love spell sucks), once Kinkajou has matured a bit, since she can be kind of insensitive and short-sighted at times. I honestly like both the dynamics of "opposites attract but they're already friends and their differences play well into each other" and "they're both going through similar shit which helps them know how to support each other better." I'm know it's kind of a rare pair, but I think it'd work out better than any of the love triangle ships or Turtlejou.

A pairing that I despise: I definitely don't like Glorybringer. Even besides the age issue, Deathbringer continues making advances on Glory, even though she clearly expresses that she doesn't like it. It's not "tsundere," it's creepy, whether or not she had a crush on him.

[ciaossu-imagines]

A couple more hours in the day would be awesome, along with the ability to postpone feeling the need to go to bed. Thank you so much. I’m just not used to being a super late replier so couldn’t help but bring it up 😅 It’ll be interesting to know how right or wrong you were and I’m looking forward to talking about it when the time comes and we’ve both read those chapters in English. We haven’t talked about it any more but yeah, I hope so. She’s now watching something called ‘Sign of Affection’ and recommended it to me so I hope to watch that at some point. And that’s so nice that you can do that with screencaps of the manga. It really is great and powerful in another way and I’m so happy to hear that’s the case. Those screencaps are so beautiful, in all kinds of ways 😭

Of course. Your rambles are always a great read. I most definitely am and even though I haven’t read what you posted yet the previous days, I do hope to at some point because they do seem interesting. And that sounds so great. I’m so happy to hear that. And I do like your plan of distributing everything evenly since it lets you try out all kinds of things. That’s nice 😃 I’m looking forward to hearing your opinion on it (the Black Butler manga) when the time comes. Yeah, like we’ve discussed in our private conversation. Like I used to use this website called ‘Anime Filler List’ that would say to what extent every episode was filler or non-filler and it really was so handy for when I didn’t feel like watching certain episodes, though sometimes the wikis also have that on the main episode page. Reading Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun! sounds like a great idea since you do deserve some light-hearted stuff after all that heavy business. And that’s great to hear, that you’re catching up and rereading everything at such a good pace 😃

Of course I like reading your textwalls / novels since they really are so great and interesting to read. Yeah. Like I have WhatsApp downloaded on my computer so it’s another app and it makes it easy to send long texts to my friend but I can indeed imagine it being quite overwhelming for her at times. And it most definitely is when it comes down to word count since there is no maximum so it could all go in one block and the image sharing is pretty good but one of the things that I don’t like about it is that when you send a bunch of images or receive them and go out of the conversation for a bit and then go back into it, they’re no longer under each other so I can’t as easily respond to them one by one like I usually try to do. It most definitely was and even though I know we’ll never see that animated, by the gods that would be amazing to see. Though of course I’m happy that I got to read more about them. That’s such a shame to hear and so strange since Haikyuu is quite a popular series. Hopefully by the time that you’ve watched everything there is to watch about it, it’s back on the app. Yeah, it’s because of that growth that I became so much less normal about my two absolute faves. Different I’ll say. Like he appeared twice before (so once in the first proper time-skip chapter near the end and after that in the first special chapter) and both times he was wearing the same kind of clothes and I was just like ‘In my mind he only wears these kinds of clothes and I love that about him because the thought is just so funny’ and then that chapter appeared and he’s wearing something else and it’s just casual so I love that. That image has become the death of me in more ways than one. But like I’m still convinced that he still mainly wears the clothes that he wore before, this is just a special occasion. And thank you so much for that 😭 Okay. I’ll send it later then and it’s nothing since editing pics like that doesn’t take a lot of effort. I see.

Thank you. There might be some more Nanbaka chapters translated past that point but I don’t think it’ll be that far but yeah, I’ll tell you where I am when the time comes and we can work with that. Oh, that does sound awesome and really handy. Okay, I’ll add it along with the image. I’m glad to hear that you’re healing slowly but surely and do hope that it doesn’t last for much longer. It’s a godsend for me as well since sometimes I forget to close the code for the italics and then I see that there’s something off in the preview so then I just have to go back and check where I forgot to do it. Also, you can save things as drats and I think it’ll remain there for two weeks, it does tell you at the top I think so you don’t have to post things straight away either. Ah yeah, I see. Luckily since I copy from Word I don’t have to use those breaks but yeah, now you know what’s possible and I think there is some more info on the FAQ or anything more that you might need to know. That’s nice 😄

C

I am definitely starting to think I need more than a couple more hours in every day! I got so caught up in writing yesterday that I ended up pulling an all-nighter, relying on coffee to keep me going when I started nodding off. I mean, I’m glad I got a good chunk added onto the queue and it’s going to be increased to twice a day now, but just a couple more hours in these days would be lovely so I can sleep and still do all these things! The ability to postpone needing to sleep would be amazing as well, not going to lie. I’m definitely going to need to tuck in early tonight to catch up on that sleep but I hate it. It sucks to feel like you’re wasting productive time passed out. And I’m looking forward to finally getting that reply to you via dm so we can chat about it but yeah, I called one of those twists, but I still can’t figure out why! Just…WHY!! And I know you normally answer super quickly, a stark contrast to me, who is always running behind on replying to people. I make a kind of lousy pen-pal that way, but thankfully everyone is really kind and understanding about it 😊 I’ve never heard of that one before? Sounds like a romance though, so it would make sense for me not to have in that case. I hope if you get around to watching it that you thoroughly enjoy it though! And yeah, I am horrible – every single panel that has information I want to remember or just has my favourites looking really cool gets screenshot and put into a folder on my phone. I have an SD card the folder is on because it takes up much more room than I would like to admit. I keep saying I’m just going to transfer them on over to my laptop so I can do comprehensive ‘Dee reads’ style reviews of chapters of things I’ve recently read or am reading but I never do get around to that. And thank you for saying that – to me, they genuinely do capture the theme of the manga and are just beautifully done art wise! I hope maybe they’ll get even one more person into the manga, because it truly is a wonderful one!

Aww, you make me smile and blush saying that! I’m glad they’re fun to read though and thank you for wanting to get around to reading all the daily posts I’ve been spamming everyone with. Again, I can’t say it enough, but I really do appreciate all of you lovely readers allowing me to have so much fun with the unrequested prompts so that I can write for all the fandoms I love! I haven’t gotten to the Black Butler manga, though it’s definitely on the list. My manga app is really handy in that it allows me to save all my favourites one place and then to save the ones I still wanna read in another list and I’ve just been working my way through that list bottom to top, which is why there’s really not too much consistency with how I’ve been reading and watching things, haha. I hadn’t known websites like that existed but that sounds so frigging useful, honestly. I’m not a huge fan of filler episodes, which is why I don’t normally love going anime only if a series has a manga, other than the obvious fact that I read a lot quicker. Finding ways to skip that filler would make anime watching a lot better for people like me. I really enjoyed finally reading the manga for Iruma-kun! It’s a lot of fun and the story is great, but I’m also not going to lie…I actually do prefer the anime for this one. The voice acting and especially the music really do add so much to this and I actually prefer the art of the anime more. That being said, having read the manga, I know we’re in for some amazing seasons of the anime!!

I honestly hadn’t know WhatsApp had an app for the computer as well! I know it has one for my phone, but I’ve honestly never tried it out, since I just text or use SnapChat. But having it on the computer would definitely make it easier to type out the long messages and I still maintain that I am sure she loves them, even if it might take her some time to read them all! Ouch on the images doing that though. That would kill my OCD, not even lying. Am I going to be missing out on a lot, by the way, just watching the Haikyuu!! anime? I did find somewhere I can read the manga, but it costs me $2.99 a month and I can only read 100 chapters a day, which will slow me down on my days off where I will sit and binge read. It’s the only thing that really bothers me about my manga reading app – they’ll take stuff down or off the app completely for no discernable reason. All I can guess is licensing issues? And I find being normal about characters overrated, haha, but I get very attached to all kinds of characters myself, haha. And I am going to be very interested to talk Haikyuu with you once I do get all caught up! I’m balancing it around another anime, that way I get to watch something heavily shounen when I’m in that mood but also get to watch something more easy watching and sports themed when I’m not in the shounen mood. And thank you again 😊 You’re very kind!

I keep holding off on reading the Nanbaka manga, just because of all the spoilers I have seen make me really think that I am going to hate the way it wraps up. But at the same time, I want to read it and say I caught up and see what happens with the characters I love! Thank you for that, by the way! I am finally all healed from the cold and hoping I manage to avoid any more like that. Dangers of working in a pharmacy. I legit had one lady sneeze straight in my face, not even bothering to cover her mouth, when I went to hand her her medications. Thank god my work is good about keeping our sink stocked with jay cloths and lots of antibacterial soap because I had to go and scrub my face after that. I love any site that thinks to put in the preview feature. Every writing site, in my mind, should have that feature just automatically built in, because I think it’s easy to forget, but how a story is formatted and presented can really affect how well people receive it, on top of the actual story itself. Thank you so much for the heads up about the draft files too! I love that and will probably make good use of them, knowing me!