#you've all read prequels you know how that happens sometimes

[david-talks-sw]

I was watching the Clone Wars featurette about the Holocron arc and Dave talks about the scene where Bane threatens to kill Ahsoka. He says "we're seeing a dark side of Anakin, and in a very clear illustration of why Jedi should not have attachments, we see that attachment get exploited." So clearly at what point in time he understood the whole attachment thing. What happened?

Unlike Karen Traviss, I think Dave Filoni actually understands what "attachment" means, in Star Wars. Apparently, it's the Star Wars theme that he and George spoke the most about.

"The biggest area of the Force and the Jedi [that] George and I have gotten into discussing the whole deal with attachments. And, arguably, that's what Anakin whole life is hinged on, is this - like you've mentioned - he has a lot of attachments to Artoo and how how right or wrong is that? Is it that the Jedi have made themselves dispassionate, that they are actually deceived by the Sith and they fall apart?" - Dave Filoni, Rebel Force Radio, 2012

What I've noticed is that, while understanding the meaning of attachment... Filoni doesn't seem to agree that the Prequel Jedi embody the concept of compassion.

He has acknowledged sometimes that "attachment is bad" is the theme of Anakin's story (but question if it's really so bad, unlike Lucas who says it's understandable but bad) but disagrees that the Prequel Jedi represent the obvious counter-theme, "compassion is good."

If you read what Filoni says, he argues that:

The Jedi have lost their way, taken the "rid yourself of attachment" rule and pushed it to an extreme where they've rid themselves of any empathy and thus compassion. They've focused so much on being selfless that they've forgotten how to love.

All except for Qui-Gon, who is the only one that truly knows how to love without getting attached, to love selflessly.

And personally, that strikes me as a coping headcanon, a way of reconciling the theme and feeling the Jedi like Mace, Ki-Adi, even Yoda and Obi-Wan are stoic, unlikable and too different from Luke.

Sure, they're not perfect, but nowhere in the films is the Jedi's stance on love framed as "bad" by the narrative. The narrative agrees with their philosophy, and George echoes it.

In fact, among 772 collected George Lucas quotes, I've never seen him state that theme while adding the asterisk that "of course, the Jedi of the Prequels have forgotten how to be compassionate, except for Qui-Gon who was the true Jedi."

And of course he doesn't do that. Because doesn't that muddy the waters so much?

Supposing Qui-Gon truly is the only character that embodies the concept of "compassion"... doesn't killing him off in the first film confuse a targeted audience of children?

Bearing in mind that the Prequels are about how greed makes people and institutions become the very thing they swear to destroy, and Star Wars as a whole is about being selfless instead of selfish:

In one corner, we have Anakin and the Senate showing what you're not supposed to do.

In the other, you got Padmé, Shmi and the Jedi, showing you what you should do instead.

Simple. I can see a kid getting this (and I did). But according to Filoni, that second point is incorrect. Instead, it's:

In the other, we have... Qui-Gon, who is one of the first film's four protagonists that dies at the end, without openly stating anything about the trilogy's theme. Theoretically, there's the Jedi who state and address the theme, but they don't themselves embody it so they don't count. So really... in this corner we have nobody (?)

That seems overly complex, a whole lotta hoops to jump through. Doesn't make sense. But hey, good luck learning the lesson, kids.

So yeah, Dave Filoni gets what attachment means. He just doesn't think it's as bad as Lucas' films frame it as, and disagrees on the Jedi narratively embodying the concept of compassion.

And I think it's coping. It's connecting non-existent dots, Always Sunny-style, to justify not liking characters that weren't meant to be developed much, due to their calm, collected nature and secondary/tertiary role in the story.

Coping and coming up with headcanons are what any irritated Star Wars fan does when they're confronted with something they're unable to make sense of.

“I care because I passionately believe that important stories ought to make sense.” As well you should—and when a story does not, you apply that passion to finding a way to make it make sense. [...] When a rational and inquisitive mind is confronted by the engaging yet irrational, it often responds in this manner. This process is not usually appreciated by those undergoing it; the most common reaction is a deep irritation. But isn’t that always how pearls are formed?” - Don DeBrandt, Star Wars on Trial, 2006

Unless they choose to make documentaries and click-baity YouTube video where they decide to spew hate and get angry pointlessly. Which I'd argue is still worse.

[tokyo-tower-symbolism]

I've been meaning to get into the re:live game story for a while now, but I don't know how necessary the event stories are in comparison to the main and school stories...

do you have a recommended reading order for main story and events if the timeline makes them interspersed?

Uhh, there was this one good google doc that had a bunch of stuff like what stories were important for each character, but I cannot find that right now so I'll do my best from memory but honestly I might miss a couple things so my bad.

Edit: thank you @pallastronomy for finding the doc in question, i really wanted to read that again too

To read it you can go to the wikia, read it on karth.top, or look up the parts on Youtube. That last one might be the best since you'll get the full visual novel experience.

So first off I would suggest reading the first part of the story, so Main Story chapters 1-6. Well, suggest is a strong word. I think those chapters kinda suck, but I guess they're necessary for the premise and to introduce the characters? But then again they abandon the original premise half way in favor of the performance festival so whatever. And if you want a better introduction to the characters you should read the School Stories (ignoring SJH) and also maybe watch Shoujo Cante All Starlight. So really I don't suggest you read those chapters but

I think at this point you are can read the event stories from "Hello to Halloween" to "Surprise! Rehearsal Friends!"

And you don't need to read them all, but they're fun! I couldn't really tell you which ones are super important to the plot, sorry about that. Honestly my personal opinion at this point is to just pick a couple characters you like to follow and read their stories. You can see who participates in each one on the Revue Starlight wikia

Plus, character card bond stories! Each event has a couple gacha cards they're trying to sell, and sometimes they're not super related to the story, but sometimes they are. If someone references something that happened off screen, it either happened in an earlier event or in the bond card, but I'd still only read the bond cards once you're done reading the event is over since otherwise they can be spoilers. Just think of those as prequels instead of preludes.

Then at this point you can read Main Story Chapters 7-11. And I really do think you should read these since they are juicy. There's a new plot and we really get to dive deep into the ReLive characters and see their individual pasts and why they now stand on stage. It's great.

Now for the Event Stories, feel free to read any story from "Starry Diamond Tragic Orion" up until "Royal Retainer"

Although now I gotta bring up some caveats. Anything with Seiran is not going to matter to the main plot of ReLive, and if you're curious about them, then that gets into Stage Play Territory which is much easier to follow but not in ReLive.

And honestly same with the Seisho only stories. They're fun, don't get me wrong, but they kinda don't affect the developments of the cast at all.

Starry Diamond is a live show that had some Revues, so some of the relive events are just rehashings of those. Except Venus & Cupid Story, which is a sequel to Zeus no Chuusai from the Starry Diamond Live, and that revue is actually super important to the Yumeoji Sisters's story but it is not in ReLive.

And once you've had your fill of those stories, you can start reading Main Story Chapters 12-18, Arcana Arcadia. And this one is really good. Iirc, the main revue starlight writer came in for these parts. There's some info that directly leads into the movie. And it's honestly great.

But the issue is that there are intermission bond stories that need to be read in the middle of the chapters. If you are reading it online that can be kind of pain, but in the game I think it's in the right order? I could not say for sure since I don't actually play it. Anyways, here's the vague order according to the wikia, but I'm not 100% on this

Chapter 12: 1-2

Chapter 13: Tower, Hermit, Empress, 1-3, High Priestess, 4-5, Magician, 6-9, Hanged Man, Strength, 10-15

Chapter 14: Wheel of Fortune, Chariot, 1-2, Lovers, 3-14, Faith, Hierophant, 15

Chapter 15: 1-2, Devil, Sun, Justice, 3-15

Chapter 16: Death, Charity, 1-15

Chapter 17: Temperance, 1, Fool, 2-4, World, Judgement, 5-15

Chapter 18: Hope, 1-9, Emperor, 10-14, 15/Moon

So yeah, after this you have basically free reign to read the remaining event stories. The next big ongoing plot seems to be about Siegfeld Junior High, but that one also isn't really connected to the previous stories at all.

Also some cards have connecting bond stories even without events, such as the Frontier Rangers, Orpheus, Camelot, Snow White, and Yin-Yang.

But for real, I think the best way to get into the story is to read the main story and then see what characters you like. Then you can read along all their bond stories and events that they star in, and maybe you'll find other characters that stand out. If you are missing any information, usually characters will reference whatever they are talking about, so you won't be completely lost.

So yeah, I hope you have fun with the relive story! It touches on a lot of the themes from the show and honestly I just really liked seeing the characters again. And also Arcana Arcadia is great, just so great.

[kyleoreillylover]

Polaroids and Kisses 📸- Loyalty Prequel

Summary: How a kiss sparked the flames of a 20+ year relationship/friendship.

tagged:@southerngirl41 @venusesworld @jeysbae@reci1996@tbonesteakwithasideofmashngrav @hope4more @selena-tyler-564 @saintaquarius@whatdoeseverybodywant@raya-hunter01

word count: 1912

a/n: could be read as a standalone but is part of the loyalty universe. Hope ya'll enjoy!

You will never forget your first kiss with Sami.

Most people would assume that because of his bubbly, sunshine persona, that it was a moment crafted out of a picture perfect rom com. Your favorite flowers planted on the ground, soft music playing in the background, and maybe even a gentle breeze to carry the scent of romance. But no, that's not how it happened with Sami Zayn.

The year was 2009, and it was the night you won the Ring of Honor Championship. It had been the main event of the PPV, the first in which a women headlined, and Sami and Kevin had listened to you ramble excitedly all week about how much this opportunity meant to you. Sami had seen the dedication and hard work you put into every match, and he couldn't have been prouder when you emerged victorious.

The celebration was in full swing backstage. Balloons, confetti, and the joyous atmosphere filled the air. Sami, despite not having a match that night, was buzzing with energy. He found you amidst the celebration, a bright smile on his face.

You were mid-conversation with Finn Balor (who was your opponent but real life friend) and Becky, but you sensed Sami's presence and turned towards him with an even bigger smile. "There he is! The man of the hour!"

Sami wasted no time and pulled you into a bear hug, your feet slightly off the ground. "I told you that title was yours, champ!"

You laughed, feeling the genuine happiness radiating from Sami, the euphoria of the victory coursing through your veins. "We did it, Sami! This is for everyone who supported me, including you, and Kevin."

You saw Kevin walking in the hallway, presumably trying to find you, and you called out to him. "Kevin! Get over here, we're celebrating!"

Kevin grumbled something under his breath but made his way to the celebration. His usually tough guy act crumbled at the look of genuine happiness on your face, and he cracked a smile when you released Sami and brought him into a hug.

"Did you see me out there!" You rambled about the match, excitement bubbling out of you. "When I hit that finishing move, I knew it was over. It's like time slowed down, and I could see the title in my hands."

Sami and Kevin exchanged amused glances, both appreciating your enthusiasm. The three of you continued the celebration, sharing laughter and stories from the night. As the party began to wind down, Kevin saw the perfect opportunity for the two of you to be alone and decided to play the role of a considerate friend.

"Hey, I think I left something in the car. Mind helping me grab it?" Kevin suggested, shooting a knowing look at Sami.

You raised an eyebrow, but agreed, "Sure, Kevin. Sami, you holding down the fort here?"

Sami nodded with a smile. "Go ahead, I'll be right here."

As you followed Kevin towards the parking area, he made small talk about the match and your victory, but you could sense a subtle tension in the air. Once you reached the car, Kevin opened the door for you and gestured for you to go in first.

"Thanks," you said, slightly confused but appreciative of the gesture.

Kevin took a deep breath before getting in after you, and for a moment, there was an awkward silence. He looked at you, his usual confident demeanor replaced by a hint of nervousness.

"Listen, I know I can be an ass sometimes, but tonight was a big deal for you, and I didn't want to ruin it," Kevin admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

You chuckled, "Kevin, you're not ruining anything. We're celebrating, remember? Besides, you've been supportive tonight."

He sighed, "Yeah, well… I wanted to give you a moment alone with Sami. It's obvious he's got a thing for you."

Your eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, what?"

Kevin smirked, "Come on, don't tell me you haven't noticed. The guy's practically glowing when he's around you. And I've seen the way you look at him too."

You felt a blush creeping up on your cheeks. "I… I don't know what you're talking about."

Kevin chuckled, "Sure, whatever you say. But just keep it in mind, alright? Sami's a good guy, and you deserve someone who makes you happy."

Before you could respond, Kevin opened the car door and stepped out, leaving you in a state of shock. You sat there for a moment, processing his words, and then decided to head back to the celebration.

When you returned, the party was still going strong, and Sami was engaged in a conversation with a few colleagues. You joined in, but your mind was elsewhere, contemplating Kevin's unexpected advice.

As the night progressed, the group gradually dispersed, leaving you and Sami alone in the celebration aftermath. You both ended up sitting on a bench outside the arena, the cool night air a welcome change from the heated atmosphere inside.

"Tonight was amazing," you sighed, looking up at the stars.

Sami nodded, "It truly was. I'm so proud of you, Y/N."

A comfortable silence settled between you, but the tension from Kevin's words lingered in the air. You decided to address it, unsure of what Sami might think.

"Kevin said something interesting when we were alone," you began cautiously.

Sami turned to look at you, curiosity in his eyes. "Oh? What did he say?"

"He mentioned… he thinks you have a thing for me," you admitted, watching Sami's reaction.

Sami's cheeks turned slightly pink, but he didn't look away. "I, uh …well, yeah, I guess I do," Sami admitted, scratching the back of his head nervously.

Your brain shut down at this revelation. The adreadline from the match, the celebration, and now this unexpected confession from Sami had your heart racing. You stared at him, processing his words.

"Oh." Was all you could manage to get out, and Sami's face turned to panic at your lack of response.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make things weird, and I-I didn't want to ruin the night for you." Sami stammered, his eyes filled with genuine concern. "I understand if you don't want to be best friends anymore-"

"Sami!" You interrupted his confession, placing a hand on his shoulder to calm his nervous rambling. "You're not ruining anything. In fact, I appreciate your honesty."

Sami looked at you with a mix of relief and uncertainty. "You do?"

"Yeah," you smiled, "Because I like you too."

Sami felt as if hearts were doing a synchronized dance in his chest. The relief on his face transformed into a bright, genuine smile. "You do?"

You nodded, your own smile mirroring his. "Yeah, Sami. " God you looked stunning, yellow dress, curled hair perfectly resting on your shoulders, the glow of victory still evident on your face. You were almost at the same height because of your heels, and any other time he would have teased you for having to wear them to be closer to his 6 foot frame, but tonight was different.

Sami couldn't believe his luck. The night that already felt like a dream turned into something even more magical. He reached over, taking your hand in his, his smile never fading.

"Is this real life?" You giggled at Sami's remark, and Sami couldn't help but chuckle along with you.

"I think so," You replied, giving your hand a gentle squeeze. "And if it's a dream, then I hope I never wake up."

And with that, you slightly leaned up, and pressed your lips onto Sami's.

The kiss was soft, sweet, and filled with the shared joy and excitement of the night. Sami's initial surprise melted into a reciprocated warmth, and he closed his eyes, savoring the moment. You sighed into his mouth, gripping onto his shoulders, and he licked your bottom lip as a reward.

As you pulled away before it got too heated, both of you wore matching smiles, and the air was charged with a newfound connection. Sami couldn't help but express his elation.

"I never expected this night to get even better," Sami admitted, his eyes still gleaming with happiness.

You laughed, leaning into Sami's arms around your waist. This setting would be the most ideal for people-a crappy arena with dim lighting, remnants of the celebration scattered around, and the distant sound of equipment being packed away. Yet, for you and Sami, it was perfect.

"With you, I always feel like I'm living in a perfect moment," you confessed, resting your head on Sami's shoulder.

Sami tightened his grip around you, savoring the warmth and comfort of having you in his arms. "I feel the same way. You make everything better, Y/N." And he couln't resist, and brought you into another kiss, this time more heated then the first one.

The kiss deepened, fueled by the emotions of the night and the mutual feelings you both had just confessed. Sami's tongue swirled around yours, and the world seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of you in that magical moment. Eventually, you both pulled away, breathless but content.

Sami rested his forehead against yours, his eyes filled with adoration. "I think this is officially the best night of my life."

You giggled, pecking his cheek. "Mine too, Sami. Mine too."

"Come on lovebirds, we have to clean the ring before they close the arena," a voice interrupted, and you both turned to see Kevin standing there, a playful smirk on his face.

You chuckled, feeling a rush of gratitude for Kevin's timely interruption. "Alright, alright. We're coming."

As you and Sami stood up from the bench, Kevin offered a knowing smile before turning to head back inside. You exchanged a glance with Sami, both of you sharing a silent understanding of the momentous turn your relationship had taken.

And even though you had to clean the crappy ring and pack up the arena, you didnt care because in that moment, under the starry sky, with the echoes of celebration fading into the night, you knew that your first kiss with Sami Zayn would be a memory etched in your heart forever.

You laughed as Kevin and Sami chased each other to clean up, the joy of the night still lingering in the air. You spotted Becky walking and jumped on her back, beckoning her to run with them. "Show them how the ladies do it!" The two of you giggled as Becky carried you off towards the arena, joining in on the post-celebration cleanup with enthusiasm.

Sami and Kevin worked alongside you, sharing jokes and stories as you worked efficiently to clear the ring and the surrounding area, and when the night was finished, you grabbed your flip phone, and turned the camera on.

"No pics!" Kevin glared half-heartedly at you, but you all ignored him, and Sami wrapped an arm around you both as Becky hugged you as you snapped a photo. The picture captured the essence of the night – the messy arena, the tired but content smiles on your faces.

But what they didn't see was Sami's hand wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer to him, and the warmth of his touch sending shivers down your spine. It was a moment frozen in time, a memory you would treasure forever.

And it was a moment Sami would both love and regret for the rest of his life.

[epickiya722]

If you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top favorite fics that you've written (feel free how much that you want to list)? Why they're special to you? Is there a specific inspiration when you wrote them?

Thanks if you want to answer....

I'll tell you, all my fics are special to me and most of the time, I find myself having fun writing them. Writing isn't just a hobby, but a way for me to release pent up feelings I have or express an idea that came to me.

To name a couple...

Beware of the Bunnies - It's the first fic I wrote for "if Miruko was Midoriya's mentor". It was fun writing that fic, especially when it's a fic for my two #1 faves. I honestly didn't expect the amount of attention I got for it!

Not Red, Black - I sometimes like branching out from writing warm-hearted, funny fics and this is one of those times. Another AU idea I had, but if Miruko and Midoriya were eldritch-like creatures and related. Unlike its prequel, this one stepped more in horror imagery and I think the direction the fic took.

Forbid a Woman from Being Great - Yes, another Miruko fic and one I actually wrote out of spite. When it comes to this fandom (as with any), is how double standard they can get. With Miruko, I have seem people hate her for being "too aggressive" or "too mean", but praise other characters for those same traits or even give excuses for their behavior. Or with fanservice, the same people who complain about it also thirst over the male characters getting bloody and shirtless. I don't hate characters like Dabi, Shigaraki or Hawks but I can't stomach how their fans act when it comes to Miruko or any other character really. It was actually a Hawks fan that irritated me enough to write this fic as well as get me out of the writing funk I was in.

An Absolute Menace - This is a fun little fic. It's part of a series of Class A and occasionally B partaking in antics. With this one, writing Koda as this troll was new, but fun.

Let's SK8 Over the Rainbow - This is actually a SK8 series that I wrote and it's still one of my favorites. It started off as a headcanon (Reki allowing Koyomi to paint his nails) and then spiraled into a collection of short stories themed around colors and I love colors so much. One of the fics, You're Lime Green Jell-O, I dove into expanding a character that only appeared once in SK8. Her name is Miki and she has green hair and I remember seeing her and going "You, you're getting some personality, a story, etc." Best decision ever. I just loved writing Miki and I think it was the first time I wrote a whole story for a character that only had two lines in canon.

Tu es le Moment Auquel J'appartiens - Another series I adore. I wanted to write some jealous Vanitas since I don't think I had seen a lot of Vanoé fics where he was the jealous one while Noé was more oblivious. Not at the time, I don't know about now since I haven't read a VNC fic in a long time. The title translates to "You are the moment I belong to" which is a line of lyrics from the anime's first ending song that I love so much.

It's the Pink Hair, Isn't It? - Do not get me wrong! I do love the AUs I see where Sukuna and Yuji are brothers, but the idea of this fic came from what if they were identical strangers and not related in the slightest. Even funnier, in the fic, Kenjaku and Suguru are siblings that look like twins, but Kenjaku is older. My favorite scenes probably have to be Kenjaku and Yuji interacting and Sukuna and Yuji meeting. I've also been cooking up a sequel so I can write more of Kenjaku and Suguru being siblings and Yuji's brothers and I do mean all nine older brothers. (I relate to Choso so much.)

Your Heartbeat Is My Comfort - Ever see a beautiful piece of fanart and you want to write a fic about it? That's what happened here. I saw this FushiIta art post here and it was like BAM! I had to write a fic. It was also another I didn't write something comedic, but more somber, bit of tragedy yet comfort in there.

Maybe Someday We'll Meet Again - I'm all for the Teacher Geto AU! However, this fic came from a what if scenario had Suguru and Yuji had met when they were younger and I always how Kenjaku was even aware of Suguru's technique. So I put both ideas together and thus this fic was born. It isn't dark, but little less comedic than others and I tried my hand at focusing on more of Yuji's strangeness and innocence here along with Suguru's character before he became a curse user.

You Are My Special - Again, another time I went for less comedy and fluff and tried with something else. I actually don't know how to categorize this one in terms of genre. SPECIALZ was stuck in my head for a long time and it got when I really started thinking about the lyrics and decided why not try writing something from Kenjaku's POV about Yuji? It may have took forever to write, but I'm glad I did. I actually wanted to write a companion piece of sorts but from Sukuna's POV about Yuji.

The Pink Sky and Cherry Blossoms - I actually just posted this fic and I'm glad I waited to answer this ask because of it. I was rereading the manga and came to Uro's fight with Ryu and Yuta and instantly fell in love with her character and thought about how would it have been like if Uro met my other favorite, Yuji? They have some similarities going on there and it was eye-opening writing those into this fic, especially with Uro's character. I wasn't around when that arc came out, so I didn't know how the fandom acted towards her, but for me, I just felt there's more to her than the surface. She's the Miruko of JJK to me as Yuji is the Izuku. Just as I would love for Miruko and Izuku to be a duo in a big sis-lil bro/mentor-mentee way, I love the same for Uro and Yuji.

The Craving That Paints Your Lips Red - The last fic I wrote for 2023 and a sequel to another fic, I wanted to try my hand at the horror again. But more tame, but still "Oh my gosh". I'm writing a post about it, but I have thoughts about Yuji and Sukuna's relationship and sometimes I have this feeling that Sukuna wants to corrupt Yuji, kind of like shape him to be the next him almost. Not for certain, but it's an idea that kind of struck me. For this fic, I wanted to explore a more horror fic side of Yuji housing the King of Curses. The best part of this fic for me is how I unintentionally stuck with the idea that Yuji keeps getting back up no matter how many times Sukuna tries to break him.

That list got longer than intended, but again, I have a lot of fics I have enjoyed writing! I'm glad to have talked about them and I thank you for asking! 💜

[wondereads]

Weekly Reading Update (06/23/24)

Reviews and thoughts under the cut

Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler (8/10)

This was my first ever Octavia E. Butler book, and it didn't disappoint! The way this story used Anyanwu and Doro's relationship to comment on power dynamics and issues in the world at large blew my mind; I found the discussion of eugenics particularly interesting. They were both such intensely flawed yet compelling characters. This book skirts the line between fantasy and sci-fi (something I'm looking into for my thesis as a peripheral issue), and it definitely made me wonder about the world. I wasn't aware going in that this was a prequel situation, but even then I do think I was a bit dissatisfied with how things left off. That's just my personal taste though.

Haikyuu!! Vol. 41 and 42 by Haruichi Furudate (10/10)

It usually takes me around half an hour or so to get through a volume of manga, but these took me a couple of hours. Why? Because I had to keep putting it down because I was crying so hard I couldn't breathe. As someone who has read a plethora of books ever since I was young, it takes a lot to get me to cry, especially that hard. I was sobbing. Furudate has created such wonderful characters and then puts them through so many struggles that I can't even be mad about because it's highly realistic that someone pursuing a sport would run into this! Seeing Hinata break down followed instantly by the third years graduating and the Brazil arc had me miserable in the best way possible. I usually never rate manga or graphic novels five stars because they're usually super fast-paced and so much relies on writing style for me when I read novels, but this just broke me.

Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter (46%)

This is a very cute book so far. I could probably tell you exactly what's going to happen from this point onward, but it's a genre convention for romcoms to be predictable. Liz is a fun protagonist; she's quirky in a way that has a reason and isn't annoying. There's good chemistry between the leads with some great banter, and you really can't ask for more than that. However, I will say the constant song references are starting to irk me, especially with the lyrics included in the writing --I don't know, it just reminds me too strongly of my early fanfiction years.

Moon Rising by Tui T. Sutherland (45%)

If there's one thing about me, I love a mind-reading protagonist. Moonwatcher is probably my favorite perspective of the Wings of Fire series, even if I wish she'd speak up sometimes. Sutherland did a great job making her similar to Starflight, since they're the same tribe, without being a carbon copy, and while mind reading might seem a little too omniscient, her inexperience and general social ineptitude keep it from becoming overpowered. I'm thrilled to see the return of Peril, whose story is left open from the previous arc, and I'm excited to learn more about the other new characters (Winter, Qibli, and I believe Turtle) who have their own interesting introductions.

The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien (43%)

Despite my fantasy obsession, this is my first time reading The Lord of the Rings (though I have read The Hobbit). While it is definitely much slower-paced than the average modern fantasy, I'm enjoying myself so much. If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know I'm a worldbuilding nut, so this is like my dream book. There are so many tangents to tell stories about the history of Middle Earth and all the goings-on of the world, and I keep noticing little details and wishing they'd talk about those too. Tolkien is also a rather funny writer; Bilbo's passive aggression in particular made me giggle. While this a bit of a dense story, it's definitely living up to its reputation so far.

Boys With Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell (42%)

This is a project for my part-time job, so I'm not sure how much I can actually divulge, but let me just say this: this book is compared to The Raven Boys in its summary, and it's living up to that.

Her Wolves by G. Bailey (7%)

I won't lie, the writing of this book so far does not give me hope. However, it could still be a fun read even if the grammar and syntax aren't the best. Also, funny thing, this book is set in the future on Earth. I did not know this. I thought it was a high fantasy. So imagine my surprise to see a landmass labeled "America Court" on the map. My misunderstanding was cleared up soon, but it still made me laugh.

[gloriousmonsters]

what is the new book concept?? (if you don’t mind sharing — but if you do mind it’s ok not to reply)

also what is that font you used btw? is there a full alphabet somewhere and if so would you mind sharing the link? i like that it’s a very understated gothic-looking serif. or very calligraphic looking i guess

sure thing!! with the understanding it's a lot more half-baked than most of the ideas I've been talking about, so i'm going to briefly walk you through the few ideas that went into it before explaining (also briefly) what it is so far, lol. Also, the font is Fondamento - it was one of the fonts available in Photopea (free online photoshop-like) which I used to make the cover, but it looks like it's also on Google Fonts. If you want to know how I did the bronze metallic-ink-ish look for the text I can expound on that as well, btw, or you can just enjoy the font :)

So I've been having a resurgence of my Tempest emotions

(for those who are unfamiliar. i would summarize it, but it would take a long time. just. find a summary and read it with a MASSIVE grain of salt that's labeled 'prospero is an asshole and nobody understands Caliban but tumblr user gloriousmonsters and the poet Robert Browning')

and this time reading it was especially having fun with the parallels between Caliban and Miranda's characters and also thinking about how EXTREMELY weird and screwed up their relationship would have been growing up.

Despite interpretations/stories based on it sometimes having it otherwise, in canon neither of them seem to have ever seen or spoken to Ariel (at least in capacity as A Person You Can Talk to; Caliban is more aware of the spirits Prospero commands in abstract, at least). Aside from Prospero, who is notoriously not good at being present for what he's supposed to be looking after, they are the only human being the other one knows. It's serving twisted Eden vibes. It's serving tmg's 'the last man on earth'. it's serving 'not that Prospero would have encouraged it, but to an extent they must have seen each other as family, right? especially in Miranda's case, considering she grew up her entire life with him. the psuedoincest is off the charts'. Then shit goes bad (in whatever way you want to interpret) and now suddenly they're in a place of seeing each other daily, because Caliban does literally everything around the place, but having an uncrossable rift of mutual hurt and betrayal between them* that has little choice but to curdle and get worse because neither of them can do anything to change their situation. Depending on how lines are assigned, they never speak to each other in the play. And they have nobody else to talk to save for cursing out Prospero (Caliban) or trying to get in two words between Prospero's monologues (Miranda). And then the play events happen and they just part ways because Prospero has decided it, after probably expecting they'd be stuck in this forever. And then the next-to-only person you've ever known is on a different landmass and you're probably never going to see them again. it's So fucked.

Anyway I was revolving all of that with quiet awe in my head, and going 'man, I want to write a fucked up Caliban/Miranda book, but I don't have a non-play plot and I don't want to just write a prequel'

Then I encountered Caliban upon Setebos for the first time, and despite the fact i could still nitpick some things it slaps insanely. Only good Tempest fanfiction. It's a long poem consisting of Caliban theorizing about Setebos--a god his mother supposedly got her witch powers from, but that Caliban knows very little about. He theorizes that Setebos is either indifferent or malignant or both--impossible to predict, driven by whim. The only other divine force is 'the Quiet', an even more inhuman and incomprehensible force that doesn't do anything at all; cosmology is cruel, the world a sandbox under the eye of a god with as many arms as a cuttlefish, capricious and sadistic, whom we can only hope will someday grow decrepit and sleep, which is the closest to it being dead we can pray for--

It was about this point I realized Caliban/Browning was inventing the Lovecraft mythos 50ish years ahead of schedule, and got hit by the lightning bolt of 'PUT ELDRITCH BEINGS IN IT' and, five seconds later 'CALIBAN DESERVES TO BE A MAGICIAN' and five seconds after that 'miranda deserves to break out of being her father's Perfect child, let's set it in the future and kill Prospero off'

So Bitter Heart (taken from a line in the poem, 'Caliban/a bitter heart that bides its time') is conceptually a dual perspective novella/short novel focused on how about nine years after the conclusion of The Tempest, Miranda (unmarried, I'll handwave it; Ferdinand bores me so much sorry dude) finds her father dead and surrounded by rambling half-incomprehensible notes, remnants of a type of magic that's far different from his old ways, and a creeping sense of Wrongness that begins to slowly manifest in distortion, mutation and decay of elements of reality. People search for solutions while Miranda tries to find the source of the bizarre power in her father's notes and what hidden books she can unearth from his study, but she hasn't made it very far before a man comes to Milan at the behest of someone who's decided we should throw magic at the magic problem--a man she's heard rumors of as the hot new 'guy you keep in your court for a bit to show him off at parties because he's learned and also Moorish or something, he has this crazy backstory that's probably fake but is a lot of fun, also he does magic probably' in other cities, but never met.

A man who, when they meet face to face, turns out to be Caliban, who after about a year of 'finally peace and quiet' realized that living completely alone on an island was going to drive him insane and also he still really wanted revenge on Prospero (and had a lot of ambiguous ideas about what he wanted from Miranda) so he scraped together what Prospero had left behind and taught himself magic for the next few years until he could figure out a way off the island. He's extremely annoyed that after that, and after spending more years building himself up and finding his footing in the outside world, Prospero had the nerve to die RIGHT before he showed up, even if he wasn't promised a reward if he can stop people's arms from turning into fishes and shit he'd find out what did it so he can give it a piece of his mind. Miranda understandably never planned for this scenario and has a really hard time knowing what to feel about it, but she and Caliban form a tentative truce in order to try and figure out wtf Prospero was doing before he croaked.

There'll be intercut flashbacks to their past and the time they spent becoming incredibly codependent and eventually tipping into confused romantic attraction and sexual experimentation, which both of them have tried very hard to convince themselves was a bad idea for one reason or another, it clearly wasn't and will never be good for them, etc; and of course in present day they both immediately resume having bitter gothic sexual tension and trying to ignore the instinct that, now they've met each other again, they're the only two real people in a world of dreams and spirits.

Also they have to find the entrance to an eldritch realm and figure out what's coming through and how to stop it, and have a lot of insanely weird and pretentious thoughts/conversations about God and sin and abuse and vengeance/hatred and so on. So that's the mess Bitter Heart is at the moment :P

*ymmv may vary on how justified on either side depending on the situation, obviously

[ltleflrt]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers!

Thanks for tagging me @prosopopeya 😊

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

112 (also 112 unanswered asks in my inbox, oops lol)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1,998,134

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Dragon Age, Mass Effect, SPN/Destiel, Baldur's Gate 3

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Kiss the Baker (9,346)

Satin and Sawdust (8,306)

Cursed Or Not (7,797)

No Words (7,754)

Addicted To You (6,079)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! In order to conserve spoons for it, I only answer comments on my long/chaptered fics, and don't answer them on my short one-shots. Which makes me feel guilty sometimes, but setting up an exception is the only way I can manage my social anxiety about it.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

No Such Thing As Ghosts

This is a one-shot that I always answer comments on because if someone takes the time to read a MCD fic, they deserve extra gratitude, and probably milk and cookies and a box of tissues.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I write romances or smutfics, they all have happy endings lol

Probably the sweetest thing I've ever written is Where The Heart Lives which was for an October writing challenge a few years ago.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

It's happened, though it's rare. There was a troll that targeted me on FFnet like 10 years ago who was so over the top with their hatred that it was actually funny. Every once in a while I'll get a comment that irritates me, but it's not really hateful stuff, just something I disagree with.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yeah, original sci-fi alien smut was a thing for me when I was a teenager. For fanfic, I loooove writing smut. Some of my short fics are just smut. My favorite kind of smut involves being in a shower or a bathtub. It might just be masturbation, or full on sexual escapades, but there's water involved.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I don't like crossovers, so no. I have a lot of ideas for fusions, but I haven't written any. I tried to do a Pacific Rim/Mass Effect fusion, but I only ever got 1 chapter, and it's the only fic I've deleted from AO3.

For reference, I consider a crossover something that includes characters from both universes in a story together, and a fusion is a story where characters from one universe live in the other universe, but there's no meeting of characters from both. Like, Dean is a Templar who knows Knight Captain Cullen in Dragon Age, vs what if Dean is the Knight Captain instead of Cullen.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of *knocks on wood*

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, a few. One of them isn't on AO3 and I lost the link, which I'm sad about. But now I only give permission if it's going to be posted on AO3, so they show up under my name.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not exactly, but @jupiterjames and I have worked so closely together that it's almost co-writing. @bendingsignpost wrote a prequel to a shortfic I wrote tho... does that count? That probably counts. Here's the series:

Bookshelf Boys by bendingsignpost, Ltleflrt

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

They all feel equal in my heart, but I've written the most for Destiel, so they're probably a tiiiiny bit more important to me lol

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I'm starting to think I'm never going to finish anything ever again lol

My current posted WIPs are

Reaching Out (Dragon Age)

Shameless (SPN/Destiel)

I desperately want to finish them, but my brain is very NOPE about it. There's also the Untitled Haunted House AU I've been talking about for years now, but I've never posted any of it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Capturing character voice in dialogue. Also shower/bathtub smut 😁

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptions. Of anything. People, places, emotions. I feel like I suck at all descriptions.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I like to do it, but I definitely have to get help since I'm hopelessly monolingual. And I like when other authors do it too.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Dragon Age, specifically DA2. It's what got me into reading fanfic in the first place, and eventually sparked the urge to write.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

This answer changes every time someone asks me the question lol... today's favorite is Peace because it's the most recent thing I've worked on and there are 2 people commenting on it, and I'm having a good time with it.

Tagging: @jupiterjames @mittensmorgul @slytherkins @valleydean

[spikybanana]

fic writer tag game

@to-proudly-go thank u for the tag pal <3<3 (I very definitely love your poetic angst & your art)

How many works do you have on ao3?

25 :) 15 for hp and 10 for star wars

What's your ao3 word count?

144,107!

What fandoms do you write for?

hp and star wars, though I've definitely brought the marauders fandom habits (delusional obsession w main character's dad and his best friends) straight to the prequels

What are your top five fics by kudos?

"trust" the inscription said (hp/wolfstar)

then he came home (hp/wolfstar)

don't let's die as heroes (hp/jegulily)

the prophecies spoke of you and I (sw/obikin) (which is also my most recent work, so it's crazy to me that it's up here)

slipped back in (hp/wolfstar)

Do you respond to comments?

I always do eventually!! even if it's the smallest comment I like to send a smiley face in reply. It's just that I might take forever coming up with what to say, especially for the super nice ones ;3;

What's the fic you write with the happiest ending?

hmm I'd say don't let's die as heroes for the marauders (literally turns 3 canonical funerals into a wedding) and Designation for obikin. & I usually write happy endings (minus canon fics) even if they're more "the future is uncertain but bright" rather than happily ever afters

Do you get hate on fics?

none so far! & they better not because if I do get hate I will cry

Do you write smut? What kind?

listen. listen. this is a whole Thing. as your neighbourhood ace, smut is like science fiction/horror to me. which is to say I have written both mlm and wlw sex scenes lol. it happens very rarely, but it has happened before & will happen again.

Do you write cross-overs?

I hope you know that I'm constantly thinking about how sirius/remus and anakin/obi-wan are homomorphic creatures and I really want them to meet. but also, so far, no. except if you count the wolfstar sw au sitting in the docs.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not afaik!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

not afaik either!

Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

I don't think so, but I would absolutely love to try

What's your all time favourite ship?

wolfstar and obikin are the same ship actually, so both. (unserious)

What's your WIP you like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I read back on What You Will earlier today and scared myself so possibly that. (it's a jegulily parody of Shakespeare's twelfth night, and has already been rewritten from scratch twice, so maybe mayyybe there's a sign)

What are your writing strengths?

errrrr. occasionally poetic-ish description? I like writing pretty vibes. and occasionally punchy-feely stuff. where you stand above & survey a life through tiny poignant snippets far apart. quite a few of my fics are like that

What are your writing weaknesses?

so many. definitely more than I'm aware of too. I feel I'm awful at pacing & easily get bogged down in tiny details, which is why long fics have not worked out for me lol. It's also hard for characters to feel real to me, like I'd just stop in the middle of a story and think "my darling I do not understand you at all"

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I definitely love when I see them, but I've not tried it myself. it feels impossible to merge Mandarin and English in a way that feels natural (or write it down in English characters), even though come to think of it I do it with my brother all the time. huh.

First fandom you wrote for?

drarry! and I still wanna go back sometimes

Favourite fic you've ever written?

awh but I always like them better before they're words on the screen/on ao3. ideas are just pure vibes and potential yk? rather than a dozen annoying imperfections you're not good enough to fix. lol sorry, if I have to pick, Once Upon a Green Haze. it's unfinished & only has 3 chapters for now, but I like them.

I've seen this going around the dash for a while now, so open tag :)

[shobringer]

Hello there!

It's about time I did a post like this. Hi, I'm Charlie, known to my close friends as Charles or Ferre, and I love writing.

I'm a polytechnic student, and am currently studying for my diploma in Story and Content Creation (for media). I am a huge theatre fan, mainly Les Miserables, and I kinda go batshit crazy over Star Wars at times.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alright, with all the introductions out of the way, I've been thinking about being more active on Tumblr so I'll be opening writing requests to anyone who may be interested. I mainly write Star Wars and Les Mis, you may check me out at archiveofourown.org/users/CharlesAndCo for the works I have published. (I implore you to ignore my Marvel fics...) But before everything, I do have several boundaries when it comes to writing for requests, so please, I hope you'll respect them if you're thinking of requesting for any fics.

I will absolutely not write /reader fics, even gender neutral readers or male readers.

The ships I specialise in are as follows: for Les Mis, Valvert, Enjoltaire, Courfius, Combeferre/Jehan; for Star Wars: Obikin, QuiObi, Anidala. I would not be opposed to exploring other ships, but I will put my foot down if it comes to any ship I am uncomfortable with, which does not happen often but if it does, consider this a warning.

If I have any ongoing WIPs when you request, especially oneshots that are meant to be gifts to my friends, I will not prioritise your request over the works for them. I love my friends to hell and back, the only way to get around this would be to become my friend, I guess.

NSFW is... well, it depends. I may or may not write NSFW depending on how I feel about it. To put it simply, I have had bad experience when it comes to sex, and so sometimes certain things do trigger me and bring back bad memories. So unless you really think that I would enjoy writing the NSFW request you send in, I'd appreciate it if you mainly stick to SFW works. Thanks :)

If I am uncomfortable, due to any reason, with the request you send in, I will probably very politely decline to write your request.

I write trans stuff as well. HMU if you want me to write a Trans!Javert fic for ya ;))))

I'm pretty versatile when it comes to writing. If you have any specific writing genres or styles you wish me to write, include it in your request and I'll see if I can meet your expectations. For example, if you want me to write an introspection for you, say it in your request, and I'll gladly write it for you!

What you could request:

Les Mis (Musical, 1972, 1978, sigh 2012)

Other musicals like Newsies,

Moulin Rouge (movie my beloved, wouldn't mind musical too)

Falsettos

Catch Me If You Can (musical)

Little Shop of Horrors

Jesus Christ Superstar

(Maybe...?) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Star Wars (mainly Prequels, may write OT though)

If any other musicals that you might want to request is not in this list, you could check with me if I know it/would write it. And yes, Hamilton, DEH, BMC ain't on here, I will not be writing them, thank you.

More might be added, as I discover and watch more shows.

That's about it from me for now. Idk if I'll get any requests from anyone that ain't my friends (not to say that my friends can't request anything, y'all would actually have priority), but I was bored and I need to start writing more. If you've made it to the end here, thanks for reading.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information about tags:

[danikatze]

How about B, I, K, M, N, O, U for the alphabet ask thing?

Alphabet Asks

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

hahah well TJ.. as you know you've been very influential when it comes to ships - especially for Naruto. First one that comes to mind is KakaGai, but there's also YamaSai and KankuSai and ShikaCho. All of them I still love <3 Also, thanks to you I shipped GaraShir before I even watched the show. And there are just countless ships from other fandoms that I'm not (really) a part of that I have a soft spot for, because you sell them so well :))

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

Errr I guess you could say HP? But that's not Tumblr's fault - all it did was share the messed up things Rowling said and did and gradully all of the moments HP got tiny kid me through rough and lonely times started feeling like a very big lie and I can't even think of it fondly anymore.

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

Oh gosh, so many, but let's go for Fjord from Critical Role. All the little and big steps he takes towards learning to accept himself throughout the campaign and the way they don't come all at once but are spread out over like a hundred plus episodes, including inevitable steps backward. The strength it took for him to walk away from the one who gave him conditional power and to accept unconditional love that is extended by his friends and the Wildmother. His arc just makes me so emotional and happy every time I think about it. I love him and I love his journey and I cannot wait to see it animated.

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

Yamato from Naruto seems like a perfect friend. He's kind and loyal and usually a reasonable, level headed person who can calm you down in stressed situations. But he's also someone you can have fun with!

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

For Saraiya Goyou: 1) anyone other than me making stuff for it lol. Usually I don't mind it so much, but sometimes I almost desperately wish I would see the tag update and it's not something I made. 2) drawings and fics from the past are mostly for Yaichi and Masa. I'd love more art and writing for other characters and pairings (romantic or otherwise) 3) sneakily shared fan translations of the prequels and spin-offs would be great lol. They're never going to be translated officially, but scans are taken down immediately as well. I bought Futagashira but I have no way of reading it unless I learn to read Japanese myself ^^;

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

Shuffle produced Pulling Teeth by Green Day. "I'm all busted up, broken bones and nasty cuts, accidents will happen, but this time I can't get up." That's definitely Meg and Zagreus from Hades. They beat each other up on a regular basis lol and I was so bad at this game in the beginning I got Zag killed by her a lot (sorry Zag..) Not top 10 ship for me, but I like them well enough!

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

1) Matsu from Saraiya Goyou: during my first reread the manga, after I learned that he loved Yaichi, I fell in love with him through his subtle and heartbreaking expressions. That's when I really got to know and understand him more. I love that he's charming as can be for his job, but doesn't know how to behave around his friends. He's so skilled and he knows it, yet has such a low self esteem. He's just a highly skilled, very pathetic little grumpy guy that deserves all the love in the world. And I give him as much as I can. 2) Caduceus from Critical Role: perfect, big, chill cow man who has the best advice and calming words for others, but can't recognise his own problems, let alone how to deal with them. He's so dumb and wise and I love him. 3) Gerry from the Magnus Archives: he's one of those people that seems to be full of contradictions. He's so bitter and stubborn and impatient and crude, but in a way that feels friendly? His life was so full of grief and horror from the moment he was born and he just wants a break from it all, but at the same time he can't stop himself from helping people who are about to fall - or have already fallen - victim to the horrors. The fear and defiance he lived (and died) with is heartbreaking and admirable.

[tossacointoyourhotmess]

What's the best book to film adaptation you've ever seen?

This is a tough one cause that depends on if you’re asking in terms of direct book accuracy or in terms of a brilliant book has inspired a brilliant movie even though there are differences.

Let’s look at some examples.

Jurassic Park

I’m a Jurassic Park fanatic. I love the movie so much. Its a comfort movie for me, and I’ve seen it so much I can recite the whole damn thing to you. It’s a book adaptation I’m obsessed with.

Is it a phenomenal movie based on a book? Yes.

Is it book accurate? It’s not even close. Characters die in the movie that live in the book and vice versa. Character relationships are completely changed. Characters themselves are completely changed. Would you believe me if I told you that Gennero the snivelling lawyer is actually really macho and brave in the book? There are entire sections that don’t make it into the movie but end up somewhere else the movie franchise in a somewhat different but still recognisable form. And the entire book was switched from a genuinely scary survival horror into a family friendly action adventure.

So in terms of brilliant book to brilliant movie, it’s one of the best. In terms of book accuracy, it’s one of the worst because it bears very little resemblance.

The Middle Earth Saga

I’m going to start with The Hobbit trilogy here because people love to shit on that as not book accurate. And it’s not. But is actually brilliant on lore accuracy, and I will explain that.

There are things that happen in that trilogy that do not happen in the book. If you read The Hobbit, and only The Hobbit, you will not find half of the movie trilogy. However, if you read the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, you will find the movie events in there. And these events were happening at the same time as the events in The Hobbit.

You don’t find out in The Hobbit what Gandalf was doing when he wasn’t with the company, but you do find out exactly where he went and what he was doing in the appendices. And it’s the same as the movies. You don’t see how Gandalf and Thorin meet in The Hobbit, but you can read about it in The Unfinished Tales by JRR Tolkien. And it’s the same as the movies.

Peter Jackson went beyond the confines of one book to build The Hobbit trilogy because he wanted to show what was happening with all the characters, so he went deep into Tolkien lore so that he could tell the whole story. Because The Hobbit is a children’s book. Yes, it’s the official prequel to The Lord of the Rings but it is not meant to be as intense. Jackson wasn’t making a children’s movie. He was making a prequel to his masterpiece trilogy so he pulled all the intense adult drama from the wider lore while keeping the children’s story of the quest for Erebor, with trolls and dragons and gold, intact. And yeah, throwing Legolas in there and creating Tauriel was a decision, but such is the way with adaptations. Sometimes they change things. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But on the whole, I think The Hobbit Trilogy is a pretty good adaption of Tolkiens lore even though it’s quite wide of The Hobbit itself.

The Lord of the Rings. What can I say? It’s another one I’m obsessed with. Everything about it is phenomenal. The scenery, the acting, the music, the atmosphere, the sheer scale of it. But even the extended editions are slim lined compared to the books.

I wish we had Tom Bombadil. I wish we had the Barrow-wrights on the Barrow downs. Glorfindel deserves better. So does Beregond. And if you don’t know those names, that’s exactly why I say they deserve better. The Scouring of the Shire would honestly have been amazing to see. And where were the rest of the Dúnedain?

But some changes made to the adaptations work well. In the books, none of the Númenór descended men have beards. Actually, in Tolkien lore, these Men of Westernesse cannot actually grow facial hair. But can you imagine Aragorn, Boromir, and Faramir without their beards? It’s such an iconic look now that it’s hard not to. But they are absolutely clean shaven in the books. Even the very brief glimpse we see of Elendil at the Last Alliance shows him with a beard. What we see of Isildur shows him with a beard. But these two are not even descendants of Númenór. They are Númenór, or rather what’s left of it. They don’t have beards.

Arwen is a blink-and-you-miss-her character in the books. You see her at a Rivendell party in the corner of the room, and then at her wedding to Aragorn. That’s it. And these references maybe take up a total of 4 lines, if that. But she’s a significant aspect of the movie trilogy. Is that book accurate? Absolutely not. Is it a good change? Definitely. Side note; I bet you didn’t know she had brothers if you’ve only seen the movie. Elrohir and Elladan also deserve better.

As Gandalf and Pippin speed across Middle Earth on their way to Minas Tirith, they see the beacons already lit. Denethor had the good sense to call to Rohan for aid before Gandalf even turned up to tell him there was a problem. But Pippin lighting them against Denethor’s wishes is such a good moment in the movie that no one’s really arguing about that change. Denethor’s madness and cruelty is given more explanation in the book and it makes more complex, more interesting, and you can begin to understand how he ended up like that. But they just don’t tell you any of it in the movies. I’m not saying Denethor deserved better cause he doesn’t and I hate him, but it would’ve been more interesting if the movies allowed him to stay a complex prick rather than be a 2D one.

I could keep going but I’ve already written an essay 😅

TLDR: Jurassic Park and The Middle Earth saga come to mind but not in terms of book accuracy. But then, in the end, it’s very hard to find a completely book accurate adaptation.

[notebookmusical]

Aww that's so nice that you were watching a livestream while I was there. I'm so happy that I got to experience that and happy I got to go at all. It was really amazing and I already miss it. The thing with surprise songs is that it's really subjective..like a coworkers daughter apparently said she would have rather seen All of the Girls..which is also cool. I would've liked that too but it was better for me that Aaron was there cuz that doesn't happen every show. The only thing that could've possibly made it better is if she brought Hayley out too..lol. Anyway loved it so much and she did also wear the pink Folklore dress which is one I was hoping for. It was just so cool to even see the Folklore cabin in person too and the Vigilante chair dance.

Anyway..for my other ask..I usually don't read sequels or series. The only time I did was with HP or Twilight and that was when all the sequels were already out. But I totally get what you mean about cash grab and spinoffs. I'm interested in the new Hunger Games movie spinoff though! I think sometimes it's natural or it might be because readers want more. Like with this one, I think the book is like 10 years old and people have discovered it and seeing people like it inspired her to write more maybe? Also it works sometimes when you are writing a different characters perspective too..which is the case here apparently. If I did read series regularly, I would probably forget about it too though lol. Also..I loved the first season of Crazy Ex Girlfriend!!! I never got to finish it though cuz I stopped having Netflix..but I do like when a show is able to wrap up the story. I feel like that happens more often now actually..like when a show is based on a book so there is only one season. Then there's something like the new Sex and the City reboot show which seems kinda unnecessary but you still wanna watch for the characters lol. I did like how they updated part of it..like what it would be like for them now and in their 50s though..which made it seem a little fresh at least but it was just okay. I know people were unhappy with Gilmore Girls too..which idk how to feel about either. So I'm usually up for having more to a story or characters I love but sometimes it messes with what you already imagined in your head I guess. These two books do stand on their own though and you probably don't need to read the sequel either unless you want to and that's if you like it lol. I probably will though cuz I get curious and then I could let you know how it is. Also if you do end up reading Some Mistakes Were Made..you could let me know how it is, or I could start reading it again..or together maybe? I've taken a break from reading too this week since I was focused on Taylor but excited to get back to it. I hope you have an awesome trip in Chicago this week! 🩷

hi 🩷 friend!!!! i missed you while i was out of town 🤍 i hope you've been doin well! what have you been up to? have you read anything good lately? it is so, so interesting how people feel about surprise songs!! because to me i think they're just a bonus to the 43 songs that we're already incredibly lucky to hear, but i've seen people on tiktok/twitter/etc. genuinely upset and angry and claiming that their surprise songs like, ruined their experience or whatever and i'm like ... really? i just feel like the relationship "swifties" talk about taylor is ... very ... interesting, to say the least! my friends and i were so hopeful that hayley would be a surprise guest in seattle night 2, and they'd sing castles crumbling (we were also convinced that she'd acknowledge folklore though, and she didn't) because paramore was supposed to play in seattle the day after seattle night two but had to reschedule. and i'm SO happy you got the dress you wanted for folklore! i think the folklore outfits are just so, so pretty — they might be my favorite set of costumes for the whole show. i'm quite intrigued with the new hunger games prequel! i haven't read it yet (and i've actually only ever seen the first hunger games movie), but i really loved the trilogy when i was younger and have been thinking about finally sitting down and watching them (or maybe rereading, once i'm done with my current rereads). i do agree a prequel like this feels more natural, rather than say, shadowhunters, which has like 50 million books! if you ever get a chance to finish watching crazy ex girlfriend, i highly recommend it!! i also just love all the musical theatre references and i just think it's really well done. i haven't rewatched it since it aired, actually, but i do want to rewatch it soon! i am just very, very bad at watching tv! i'm currently watching the summer i turned pretty, and then when i'm caught up with that (or when i have a little more breathing room), i think i'll watch the second season of heartstopper! i was really excited about the new gossip girl (especially since a couple of theatre people are in it), but it just did not … work for me at all. and yes!! i would definitely be down for a buddy read of some mistakes were made if you'd like? i could start it next week if that works for you!! i just need to get my life together and hopefully finish one or two of my current reads first! i had a lovely time in chicago, thank you my dear 🤍 definitely dreading being back at work tomorrow!

[jabean-fanfiction]

Hey Jab! Hope you're doing good <33

These are from the ask game —

20. If you wrote a prequel fic to Don't Wake Me Just Yet, what would it involve?

27. (a slightly modified question) What's the process like to write A Light in the Dark?

42. Have you ever received a comment that particularly stood out to you for whatever reason?

45. What's something you've improved on since you've started writing fics?

Hey Q!! I’m doing really good. I hope you’re doing well, as well. ❤️

20. If you wrote a prequel fic to Don’t Wake Me Just Yet, what would it involve?

- You know, I actually sort of had a plan to (but it likely won’t happen. I’m having difficulties writing anything HP-related at the moment. It all just kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth.) BUT… I’d thought about writing a short-ish prequel from Harry’s POV. Something really dark that shows his descent into becoming a Dark Lord. I had a blurb in my head of Dolohov and another Death Eater (maybe Rabastan) showing up at 4 Privet Drive a week or so after the end of 5th year, and the death of Sirius. I headcanoned Harry leaving willingly with them — he’s just done with Dumbledore, with his lies, etc. and in his youth/immature mind the best way to get back at Dumbledore is to join his enemy. I also had Dolohov taking Harry under his wing and teaching him Dark Magic, and convincing Harry to overthrow Voldemort. Maybe by killing him — or more likely pulling a Oct. 31 1981 thing, where Voldy’s essence just kinda slips away somewhere.

27. What is the process like to write A Light in the Dark?

- Slow (hahaha). I generally have a pretty good idea of where I want each chapter to go, and I have an end-point written in my head that I’m working my way towards. But for each chapter I spend a lot of time researching Star Wars things (I love Wookieepedia), whether that’s for specific terminology, or places, or characters, or timelines, or deckplans for vessels… sigh… it all gets a bit obsessive, and I do step away from it from time to time because of that. Which is why it tends to take me awhile to post each chapter. I usually have a pretty good idea of which character POV I want to write the chapter (the default is always Rey). But sometimes it doesn’t work the way I want it to, and I end up writing it in another POV. I think doing that keeps it interesting for me. I will read the previous chapter before I start writing the next — especially if it starts right where the other left off — to make sure it still sounds the same. (I don’t know if that makes sense, but I don’t know how else to explain it. I find each of my stories sound a bit different from each other, and I just try to make sure that Rey sounds like Rey, rather than like Hermione or Alina, etc. if you know what I mean…). Sometimes actually starting the chapter is difficult, but once I get going and it feels right, I’ll spend a couple of weeks plugging away on it. I do edit as I write. I find that if I don’t do that, it can get away from me and I can loose the character’s voice. But once I finish the chapter, I reread it from start to finish, do any last minute editing. And then post. And then I edit again, because there is always something misspelled, or funky-sounding that I didn’t catch initially.

42. Have you ever received a comment that particularly stood out to you for whatever reason?

- All comments. Honestly. They all stand out to me. But I do especially love those comments that highlight each and every part that they like about the chapter. You know, comments like your comments 😉 I find the time you, and others, take to comment so thoroughly and so kindly really are a highlight to me. I tend to get quite overwhelmed by them because I never know how to respond without sounding like a blubbering fool. So it’s usually just a ‘Thanks so much! ❤️” or something like that.

- On a more personal note, I had a Professor/Grad Student teaching one of my fourth year Criminology classes, who told me that I was good at writing and that I should try to do something with it, in terms of career direction. I haven’t, at least in terms of anything Criminology-related, due to a bunch of chronic health conditions I have, which led to potential employers declining to hire me regardless of my qualifications (unofficially, of course). But it is something that has stuck with me for years. I’ve never ever had anyone tell me that I was good at something before. It was always, ‘Well, this is where you can improve…’

45. What is something that you’ve improved on since you’ve started writing fics?

- I think character voice? I’m not sure if that’s the proper term for it. But yeah. Character voice. Not saying that I’m perfect at it (far from it, tbh), but I have definitely gotten a lot better at it. That, and I think maybe world building too. I definitely put a lot more thought into it.

[justlettheraincome]

I wrote a prequel:

Sometime, at the TARDIS

After an especially bad dispute with Aziraphale, Crowley had left Earth for a moment to brood amidst the stars. He didn't stay lonely for long:

A blue police box that hadn't been in fashion for sixty years sweeped by, turned around and stopped a few feet away. "Hiya", a young voice that sounded a lot like his own greeted Crowley: "I'm the Doctor, wanna come in for a cuppa?" Disturbed in his sulking and without much else to do, the grumpy demon accepted the invitation.

They found themselves sitting on the TARDIS' threshold, their feet dangling over the vast nothingness. They were looking at the one planet both of them love most, even if it isn't in a remotely interesting area of the universe. Crowley had miracled himself a glass of red wine, while the Doctor was clutching a cup of tea.

"Are you alone?", Crowley asked.

"I haven't always been. I had a friend. We travelled the universe together. She made the stars beautiful. There were others. Martha, Donna. I've only been alone for a few hours now. Humans... you have to be careful. They walk into your life, laugh at you in the most charming and beautiful way and live in your heart before you even notice."

"What happened?"

"What always happens. Time. But I have to go on. Just me and the TARDIS. And a whole universe to explore." The Doctor opened his arms as if he wanted to embrace the whole universe and simultaneously show it to someone. Maybe Crowley.

"How do you do it?", Crowley asked desperately: "How do you go on? How do you never fall in love?"

The Doctor gazed into the distance for a moment, before focusing his eyes on Crowley: "I don't. The secret to never fall in love is to always fall in love. And it hurts. Every hour of every day, I miss them. I am the loneliest being in the universe. I am the last of the Timelords. I lost my family, my children, my lovers. But who would I be without them? If I had never cared enough about them to mourn their loss. Sometimes I feel so old. And I don't want to be left alone any more. But I have to go on. And I just can't do it on my own."

"Oh, dear", Crowley had listened to the rant silently, before carefully stretching out a hand to the being by his side: "It's bad today, isn't it?"

"What do you know about being a Timelord? Some nights, there's nothing heavier than 906 years."

Crowley smiled at the Timelord, who had wrapped his arms tightly around his knees: "I'm older than you, you know." He winked and pointed down to Earth: "I've been on this planet for 6000 years. And I've seen a whole lot before that."

"But you've never lost the one you love."

"No, I haven't. He is down there, you know. Still fighting to admit that he loves me back." His voice broke. The two nearly eternal beings stared off into the distance for a while. Companionable silence spread until it became suffocating.

After a moment that felt like an eternity, the Doctor clambered to his feet and held out a hand to Crowley: "Do you want to join me for a while?"

Read it on AO3:

Sometime, at the TARDIS (551 words) by Guin_Ever Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Good Omens (TV), Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who & Related Fandoms Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Crowley (Good Omens) & Tenth Doctor (Doctor Who), Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler Characters: Crowley (Good Omens), Tenth Doctor (Doctor Who) Additional Tags: Finally someone understands, talking it through, Crossover, Space Shenanigans, Crowley Has Issues (Good Omens), The Doctor (Doctor Who) Has Issues, The Doctor (Doctor Who) Needs a Hug, They all need hugs Series: Part 2 of Of Demons and Timelords Summary: The promised prequel. Crowley is sulking in space, when the Doctor stumbles over him and decides to stay for a chat…

I've met someone

"I've met someone" It was a notion, that Aziraphale had dreaded for a long time. There was a smile playing on Crowley's lips. Just the faintest notion of love hanging in the air. "You've met someone?", he repeatet. "Yes, lovely bloke", Crowley puttered on: "900 year old timelord, has seen the start of the universe and could actually name all of my stars…" There was a pain digging into Aziraphales heart. Crowley had met someone, someone who shared his ife experience. And his interests. Someone, who maybe wasn't so afraid of speed. Or his own feelings. Aziraphale felt the ground under his feet start to spin. "- anyways, I digress", Crowley finished the tangent. Taking a closer look at Aziraphale's face, he asked: "Are you alright?" "Yes, yes perfectly fine. Do go on my dear." Crowley shook his head slightly, as if to acknowledge that he didn't really believe Aziraphale. But his point seemed to be important to him, so he didn't dig further: "We talked about the problems of a nearly eternal life. And discovered that we had quite a lot in common." Aziraphale felt the ground sway again. He breathed in, softly. This was an important experience in Crowleys life. Even if he would have loved to be that guy instead of listening to Crowley going on and on about him, he owed Crowley the respect to listen to his feelings. "Including the regret of not saying something very important. And he doesn't have the chance to say it anymore. But I do. And I don't want to regret not saying it." What was Crowley going on about? Aziraphale had lost him somewhere on the way. Hadn't he just been explaining how great that guy was? "Right, okay, yes, so… We've known each other a long time. We've been on this planet for a long time. I mean, you and me. I could always rely on you. You could always rely on me. We're a team, a group. Group of the two of us. And we've spent our existence pretending that we aren't. I mean, the last few years, not really. And I would like to spend… The rest of eternity not pretending any more." With that sentence, Crowley seemed to deflate. Aziraphale needed a moment to register: "Not pretending anymore?" he repeated slowly. Crowley closed the distance between them. Yellow eyes pierced into sky-blue ones. He took another deep breath in: "Aziraphale…", there was just the tiniest bit of hesitation in his voice. A fear not yet fully overcome. "I love you."

[phantasieandmirare]

I'm reading Wheel of Time and just got to An Event in Knife of Dreams, putting it under the cut in case anyone else is reading them as a fresh face to the WoT universe too cause I don't want to spoil it

I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT, I KNEW MOIRAINE WASN'T DEAD, and right as I had just reached the point of 'What if she is and I'm just reading too much into this and I'm just going to be disappointed in the end when there's no pay-off to the foreshadowing I created in my head' but NO, I WAS RIGHT AND SHE'S ALIVE AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE A RESCUE ARC, LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[btsgotjams27]

this is us ~ jjk | 1

you start to fall hard for jungkook.

✨ title: this is us | (sequel to all grown up) ✨ pairing: jungkook x f!reader | ✨ rating: m/18+ | minors dni ✨ genre/au: drama, romance, angst, fluff, smut | est!relationship, age gap, bff's younger brother ✨ playlist ✨ a/n: if you haven't read the prequel to this, please do so here! :) you can read them here on AO3 & Wattpad

[ SERIES MASTERLIST ] | next ✨ 2 ~ back hugs and peppered kisses

chapter one: this is how you fall in love | wc: 5.4k warnings: kisses, teasing, jungkook is a horn-dog and is always up for sex with oc, jungkook gets an erection, jungkook teases oc for always (playfully) hitting him, memory of fingering, they're so in love it's nauseating but sweet

It was inevitable. You knew it would happen. Every cell in your body wanted to fight it. Fight the possibility of loving Jungkook even more than you already did. You were beginning to fall hard and fast. The small moments of back hugs and peppered kisses, the late-night runs to the convenience store, and the heated moments in the middle of the night, didn't help. The gentle whispers of sweet nothings, handwritten love notes, and the excitement of spontaneous adventures, were the beginnings of how you fell in love with an incredible man.

~ Three months after Yuna and Namjoon's wedding ~

"I want to take you out on a proper date. We haven't done that yet," Jungkook stated, opening the third pack of ramen to add to the pot on the stove.

Goodness, this boy can eat. You swore you had to restock your pantry every few days if he stayed over. Your grocery budget went up because of him.

You were sitting at the kitchen counter when you darted your eyes up from your computer screen, amused by how cute your boyfriend was. "You know I don't care about stuff like that, right? I'm perfectly fine with staying home."

You were a homebody and grew to love being by yourself. It was calming and peaceful, a great time to sit and think, especially through all the writing you needed to do. Although it was nice to go out every once in a while, you've known Jungkook for so long that you felt like you didn't need to 'date him' to get to know him.

"Yeah, but we didn't get to do the 'dating' thing. You kind of went straight to sucking my dick," he said with a smug smile. Then he ripped the next pack of ramen with his teeth.

That's four packs of ramen now.

You gasped. You couldn't believe the words coming out of Jungkook's mouth. "And whose fault is that?" you huffed.

A piece of the ramen bag stuck to his mouth, and he spat it out. "Uh, yours. You kissed me, remember?" He cocked his head to the side and grinned stupidly at his comment.

"I hate you."

He shook his head and smiled. "I highly doubt that. You love me."

You scowled and threw the pen that was next to you at him. He was right. You did kiss him first. Technically, it was his fault. He invited you out, sang a beautiful song, and slow danced with you. He knew exactly what he was doing when he texted you that night. Alright, you were also to blame for it, but it was mostly due to you being on the rebound and making yourself feel good.

Regarding his other comment, you liked Jungkook a lot, like a lot, a lot. But you didn't want to rush into saying anything you weren't ready for. You had said you loved him at Yuna's wedding, though you hoped he forgot about it since you were caught up in the heat of the moment. 

Sometimes you wanted to repeat it, especially at the night's end when you were together in bed or on the phone. And you felt at times he tried to say it as well, but he probably felt your hesitancy because he hadn't heard you mutter those three words since the wedding.

"Okay then, where should we go on this date?" you asked curiously, wondering what kind of boyfriend he was. You've only known him as the bratty young boy, but not how he treated his girlfriends. And grand gestures or elaborate dates weren't your thing, and you were a low-key kind of gal.

"Mm, I have an idea." He glanced at you and smirked. "Wear something nice."

"How nice? Like cute carnival type date outfit or…" Your thoughts trailed off now, thinking if you had anything nice to wear. It's been a long time since you've gone shopping for new clothes. Was your closet too 'millennial' feeling? What were the latest trends? What are young people wearing nowadays? What does Jungkook even like a woman to look like? These were the questions you were pondering.

"Remember when you came to open mic night? I really liked that outfit." His nose and shoulder scrunch gave away his excitement.

It was the night when you were vulnerable and susceptible to compliments from handsome men. Jungkook being one of them and had Jin say something to you, you'd be in a completely different situation.

Thoughts were running through your mind as you tried to remember your outfit. Ah yes, the black bodysuit, wide-leg pants, and black heels. There wasn't anything particular in mind when you chose that outfit. It's funny that Jungkook loved it.

You raised an eyebrow. "That's your favorite outfit?"

He nodded furiously, indicating a hard yes. "Noona, you were gorgeous that night. It was a mixture of sexy and sophisticated. It didn't show too much but just enough. I'm getting all tingly just thinking about it."

"Tingly?" you laughed. "So now I know what you like." Well, that meant you needed to do some more shopping. Not that you needed to impress him, but more of boosting your confidence and ego, and maybe a bit for him. There were still times when you felt 'old' when you were with him, whether it was things he was talking about or slang he was using. You swore Urban Dictionary was your best friend.

His ramen finished cooking, and he grabbed two chopsticks to try it. You were watching him as he slurped the ramen. His brows furrowed, suggesting it was indeed heavenly. Eating angrily was a cute habit you noticed when the two of you ate, and you didn't want to point it out if he caught himself doing it and would stop this ultra-cute habit.

"Is it good?" you asked, hoping he'd give you a bite. The growls in your stomach were beginning to grumble louder and louder by the minute.

He groaned in delight. "Oh–so good." He turned off the stove and continued slurping a mouthful of ramen as he came and sat next to you. He was such a boy, eating right out of the pot.

"Are you gonna share?" you asked with a pout, trying to give him the saddest puppy eyes.

He didn't budge. Instead, he moved the pot of ramen away from you, trying to hide it. "Noona, this is all for me. Make your own food."

"Kook! You made four packs of ramen!"

"Yeah, and?" He continued eating with no intention of giving you any.

"YAH! Share!" you cried, trying to take a bite of the ramen, but he kept you at arm's length, chuckling as his mouth was full. You wrapped your hands around his slim waist, tickling him so he'd give in.

"Noona!" he cried out, trying not to spill the ramen. "Okay, okay." Finally, giving into you and turning around to provide you with a bite.

You grinned, knowing he couldn't resist you.

You went shopping for a new wardrobe with Hyunie, your colleague and friend. She was younger, and you knew she'd help you in any way possible. You even looked up the new trends for the season to get some inspiration. The two of you spent all day looking for clothes and shoes. You wanted to look like you belonged with him, despite the age gap between you and Jungkook.

Everything you saw in the stores didn't feel like you. All the trends you saw leaned back into 90s fashion, making you chuckle. You supposed fashion loves to come full circle. The first thing you picked up was a cropped button-down sweater.

"This is so tiny. If I try to reach for something, my boobs will fall out." You put it back on the rack, shuffling through the following few things hanging.

"I don't think Jungkook will mind," Hyunie teased, continuing to browse the racks. She picked up a tank top. "How are you supposed to wear this?" It was a one-shoulder tank top, but there was a gaping hole. "Is your boob supposed to go here?" She stuck her hand through it and laughed.

You took the hanger in your hand and examined it, then also put your hand through it. Then a lightbulb went off in your head. "Ah! I think the hole goes towards the back." Jeez, what are people wearing these days?

Hyunie mouthed an "oh," and she took the hanger from you to hang it back up. "I wouldn't even wear half of this stuff. I don't have the guts."

"You're telling me that," you commented, unsure if you'd find anything you'd love.

After a few hours of shopping and trying many different styles, you returned to what you were most comfortable with. The two of you passed by a store that suited your style more, which you liked to call 'effortless chic' if that was even a thing. It was a mixture of comfy and casual and mostly looked like you rolled out of bed but could turn heads.

You chose a few items to try on. The first was a simple black slip dress, and it was basic, but you figured it was always good to have a little black dress in your closet for special occasions.

"Wow, you look hot." She couldn't stop eyeing you from head to toe and whistling as you modeled for her.

"Are you sure? Isn't this too much? My boobs are practically hanging out." You cupped your breasts, meticulously analyzing the dress you had on.

"It's the perfect combination of sexy and refined. It doesn't give away too much but just enough. That's what you want, right?"

You sighed, thinking about what she had just said. You were never the type to wear short and tight dresses or expose too much of your body. And Jungkook said he loved the outfit you wore on open mic night, which didn't show anything except maybe your shoulders. So you hope you have chosen the right outfit for your first date.

Jungkook was very secretive about your 'first date.' He wanted to keep everything a surprise. Would it be dinner and a movie? Or would it be something wild and crazy, like bungee jumping? You scratched the second one and thought about how he wanted you to dress 'nicely.' There's no way he'd make you do something extreme, would he? Then again, it's Jungkook, and he loved living on the edge. Another thought crossed your mind, "Oh god, he's gonna make us get matching tattoos or piercings or something." The last idea would be alright, except for the needles and the matching part. You were curious if you'd ever get matching tattoos with someone, no matter how long you've been with them.

After looking at yourself in the mirror for a few minutes, you wondered if the outfit was too much or just enough. The sheer black long-sleeve blouse paired with a lacy black bra underneath screamed desperate in your eyes. If you saw someone else walking down the street in this outfit, they'd probably pull it off with confidence, but you weren't sure if you had that same attitude wearing it.

"This is as good as it'll get," you sighed, turning to check out your backside, debating if you had time to change into something else.

Before you knew it, you heard the door buzz. You put on your heels and quickly ran over to the door. A deep breath left you as you tried to calm yourself. You weren't sure why you were nervous. You've known Jungkook all your life, and there was nothing to be scared of. It was Jungkook, only this time, he was Jungkook, your boyfriend.

You opened the door to find a bouquet of red roses held by your cute bunny boyfriend. You adored his nose scrunch when he was excited, and boy, was he excited.

"Hi," he uttered with a gentle smile and a glimmer of sparkle in his eyes.

"Hi," you replied with a wide grin spanning from ear to ear.

"These are for you," he said, handing them to you. "I realized I didn't know what flowers you liked, so I went with roses. I hope you like them."

To be honest, you hated roses. You thought they were very unimaginative and expensive for no reason. You found other flowers more beautiful but didn't have the heart to tell him. He was so cute and sweet; you didn't want to ruin the moment.

"I love them, Jungkookie. They're beautiful. Oh--and I really love peonies," you said, lying through your teeth while trying to throw in what you liked so he could remember it.

"Ah, okay. Got it, and I got it locked in my brain. Noona loves peonies." He pretended to take a mental note of it.

You told him to come in so you could get the roses in a vase. While filling up the vase, you noticed his look for tonight. It was simple, like he walked straight out of a magazine. His hair was parted off to the side, it was getting long, starting to hit the apple of his cheeks, but you loved it at this length. His black shirt had a few buttons undone, just enough to get a glimpse of his toned chest. He was sex on legs, and it was hard not to ogle him. And, of course, he was wearing tight denim jeans that hugged those delicious thunder thighs of his. Fuck, he looked so good.

"What?" he asked with an amused look on his face.

"Nothing…" you mumbled, trying not to be so obvious, being very attracted to your boyfriend.

"You're undressing me with your eyes. I can see it." He teased, walking into the kitchen, with one elbow leaning on the counter. Watching you from head to toe, putting the roses in the vase, not wanting to miss a single detail about you.

"Shut up, Kook." He wasn't wrong, though. You didn't even want to leave for the date at this point, and you'd rather have him fuck you relentlessly over the counter. "And what about you?"

His attention was finally on your eyes again and not your chest. "You've been staring at my goodies since I opened the door."

He scoffed. "Hmm, well, they're a nice set of knockers." His eyes moved down to your chest, and he smirked, "I have to appreciate whenever those babies are out."

You used your arms to cover yourself, now feeling ashamed of your outfit. You may be in over your head about this outfit. Could you pull it off?

Jungkook scrunched his nose and lightly chuckled at you. He held his hands for you to take them and pulled you close to his frame. His arms now wrapped around your waist, and your hands settled on his chest. "Are you getting self-conscious?"

You gave him a pout and nodded as you looked up into his honey-brown doe eyes. But now, feeling dumb for even doubting yourself and having him reassure you. You weren't sure what it was…why you always felt insecure, and he didn't make you feel insecure, and it was more of you not feeling good enough to be him and why he chose you of all people.

"Noona. You. Are. Insanely. Gorgeous," he stated in between, pressing kisses into each of your cheeks. He let the last one linger for a little bit longer. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against yours, gently nudging your noses together. "And sexy and beautiful, and you drive me completely insane. Do you know that?"

A small smile left your lips. "Mmhm, I know. I can feel how insane I drive you." His bulge pressed firmly against your stomach. You resisted doing anything that would hinder you from leaving the apartment tonight, but you couldn't help and tease him. You patted his crotch gently. "Easy bunny. We have a date to get to," you said, giving him a small peck.

He whined when you dragged him by the hand, heading towards the door. "You're the one who wanted to go out on a date."

Jungkook drove to an unexpected location. It was in a charming neighborhood. He slowed the car down, stopping in a random spot on the street. Nothing was indicating a restaurant or any public place with crowds of people.

"What are you doing?" you asked looking around.

"Can you grab something for me? It's in the glove compartment."

You did as he asked and opened the compartment, revealing a silky black scarf. You grabbed it, cocking your head to the side as you held it up, "Um, what is this?"

He bit his lip before chuckling lightly. "Put it on."

You became flustered, almost dropping it. "I'm sorry, you want me to do what?"

"Please…" he begged with a sparkle in his eyes.

You sighed before reluctantly tying the blindfold over your eyes. "I swear to god Jungkookie. You're the only person I'd do things like this for."

"Ooh, is this a kink you have?" He smirked, wiggling his eyebrows.

You could hear the excitement in his voice. "You're pushing it, Jeon Jungkook," you warned. Completely in the dark, not knowing what would happen next or where he was taking you.

Jungkook giggled before uttering a 'thank you, Noona', putting the car back into drive. He intertwined his hand with yours, brought it up to his lips, and pressed several kisses against the back of your hand. You let out a small smile, wondering what the hell this man was up to. He definitely kept you on your toes, that's for sure.

A few minutes later, the car rolled to another stop. He told you to 'hold on' as he came around to open your door. He held your hand to help you step out of the car. He stood behind you, asking if you were ready, and you nodded as he took off the blindfold.

"Jungkook, where are we? You didn't buy this house, did you?" you asked, mouth agape, staring at this insanely gorgeous house in front of you.

He wrapped his arms around your frame, and you held onto his warm embrace. "Beautiful, isn't it?" he said, kissing the nape of your neck. He could smell the citrus-infused perfume you put on and inhaled your scent.

"It's gorgeous. It must have cost a fortune." Still astonished that your boyfriend has a place as impressive as this one. He was doing well for someone his age, and you had to give him that.

He took your hand and led you to the front door. When he opened it, you let out a cackle because you realized it wasn't his house, and it was Jin's. A gigantic framed photo of himself decorated the entryway and a few other pictures of him and his family.

You smacked Jungkook in the arm. "Yah–this isn't your house!"

He snickered because you were highly gullible and would probably believe anything he told you. "Gah, you're so cute," he stated, proceeding to boop your nose.

The two of you made your way through the magnificent house. You couldn't get over that this was Jin's place and was exquisite and spacious. The two of you stood in the dining room looking out into the backyard, which had a fantastic deck and a nice grassy area with a pool.

"I never said this was my place. You assumed." He scrunched his nose and chuckled. "Come on, this way."

Jungkook guided you around the house, weaving in and out of the hallways. You were curious and couldn't help but peek into a few of his rooms. You didn't know him well, only that he was well-off and apparently loved himself very much to hang a photo in the entryway. You supposed it took a lot of confidence for someone to do that.

Jungkook led you up a steep flight of stairs, and you couldn't help but stare at his perky ass, so you gave it a good smack for lying to you. He quickly turned around and glared at you. "Yah–Noona."

You giggled. "What? I couldn't help it. It was staring right at me."

He let you go first when you got to the top of the stairs. But before he opened the door, he asked you to close your eyes, not wanting to spoil everything.

A faint breeze tousled your hair as he helped you step outside. With your eyes still closed, he held onto your waist, guiding you to your destination, then a sudden hint of warmth filled your presence.

"Can I open my eyes now?" you pleaded. This was already the second time you were blindfolded tonight.

He hummed in response. As you opened your eyes, you found yourself on a rooftop deck overlooking the city of Seoul. The view itself was to die for. Jungkook went all out. If this was only for one date, you wondered what else he did for others. How would he top this?

There were candles everywhere, surrounding a table on the floor with a chilled bottle of wine and pasta ready for the two of you. Pillows and blankets were included since the nights in Seoul dropped in temperature. Then you noticed the plethora of peonies outlining the rooftop.

You gasped and turned to him. "You said you didn't know my favorite flowers."

"I might have told a little white lie…and I kind of, sort of know your best friend."

"So you knew I didn't like roses?"

He laughed. "You should have seen the look on your face when I gave them to you."

You smacked him on the chest. Goddamn it, Yuna. What else did she tell Jungkook about?

"Noona–you're a very abusive girlfriend, and I don't appreciate it," he teased as he crossed his arms and turned away from you. "You keep saying you hate me, hit me, steal my food. I wonder if this is how you treat all of your past boyfriends," he added, still looking in the other direction.

You walked over and stood before him, gazing into those honey-brown eyes. His perfect pink lips were so plush, just waiting to be kissed. Your eyes dart back and forth between his eyes before uttering, "I'm sorry."

His brows furrowed, entirely confused by your apology. "What? No, Noona, I'm just teasing. You don't have anything to be sorry for." He let his arms down and brought them to your waist, pulling you in closer to him.

"I'm sorry...because I never told you before getting involved with me. I love to hit my boyfriend, steal their food, and sometimes I'll even take their clothes and wear them. I might make my boyfriend buy very expensive things. And I could hog all the blankets in the same bed." You confessed to him with a slight smirk. "I hope all of that is okay with you, boyfriend."

His eyes lit up, and his mouth turned into a smile, showing off that bunny smile you loved so much. "I'm more than happy to do all of those and more. I'd do anything for you, you know that?"

You tiptoed, reaching up and gently pressing your lips into his, smiling as you pulled away. "Mm, good to know." You ran your hand through his hair, thinking about the sweet things he's done over the past few months. How lucky were you to have someone like Jungkook? He was the complete opposite of U-jin. Thank God. He was sweet, thoughtful, funny, caring, and so fucking delicious to look at.

"Shall we go on our date?"

You hummed in response, ready to be surprised by your boyfriend with whatever he had planned for the evening.

A lovely pasta dinner was prepared. Apparently, Jin did all the cooking. You found it awfully nice of him to let Jungkook borrow his house and even have him cook for the two of you. They must be close friends if he trusted Jungkook enough to let him have his date here.

The conversations throughout the night were silly and lighthearted, busy reminiscing about the past of the two of you growing up. You were reminded that you didn't get to hear much about his time away in California, and you only heard bits and pieces when Yuna caught you up on him. To be fair, he didn't update Yuna that often either.

"Okay, tell me about California because I don't know what you did out there."

"Just the usual…school, read, study, party…" he answered, groaning with satisfaction at every bite of pasta and bread. Not really caring about his response to you.

"Ouh, you partied, huh?" you said, "I guess you never got into trouble if you never called me."

His cheeks were filled with an overabundance of pasta, and he looked like a chipmunk hoarding his food. He gazed in your direction and shook his head. He finally swallowed his food and spoke, "Noona, I got into plenty of trouble," he smirked, "I just didn't want you to tell my sister."

"Yah--I can keep a secret," you huffed at him.

"I got arrested once." He was still stuffing his face with no intention of stopping.

You choked on your wine, almost spitting it out. "You got arrested?! Who bailed you out? I told you to always call me if you cannot tell Yuna! I swear to God, Jungkook, we should have kept a better eye on you. What if—"

"Noona, I'm kidding," he interrupted. "See how gullible you are?" Chuckling as he sipped on his glass of wine.

It took everything in you not to throw your shoe at him. What a little rascal, a cute one at that.

"Boyfriend--tell me something real, please..." you begged him.

He sighed. "I did do what I said, not the getting arrested part, but my time in California was mostly school, studying, and hanging out with friends."

"Did you have a girlfriend out there?" you asked him hesitantly because you hadn't had this conversation yet. He obviously knew about U-jin, but you didn't know about his past relationships. Previously, he claimed to have done many things with women, but you needed to find out for yourself.

"Mm, I guess I had a girlfriend if you could call her that."

"How long were you guys together?"

"We were on and off for a year," he mumbled and nodded, still thinking about his answer.

"Oh…" you acknowledged. "Was she the same age as you?" You were curious to know his preference.

"She was," he paused, trying to remember, "two years older than me, I believe?"

Your heart dropped when he answered. Another older woman…was he always into older women? Is that why he was into you? Did she teach him all the things that he knew now? You hoped the expression on your face didn't give anything away, but it must have.

"What's wrong? You can tell me." He finally put down his fork to give you his attention.

"Did you--love her?"

He thought about his answer for a moment. "I don't know if what we had is called 'love.' We had a lot of fun together, but she didn't want a long-term relationship."

"Oh, but you did?"

"I don't know, you can call me old school. I just pictured something different when I had my first girlfriend, you know?"

You nodded in agreement. That made sense. To want butterflies when you saw the person you liked, to have your heart race when they walked in the room, that was how you felt when you had your first boyfriend.

"Anything else you want to know?"

You smiled and shook your head. You didn't need to know anything else about her. Otherwise, you'd be in your head the whole time, speculating about Jungkook and this girl.

He leaned in over the table a little bit. "…can I ask you something?"

"Go for it."

He cleared his throat. "What pet names do you like? Or should I continue to call you Noona?"

You bit your lower lip, thinking about your answer. "Mm, I don't know? I didn't use many pet names in my previous relationships."

"How about angel?"

You cringed at the pet name. "No."

He gave a half-smile. "How about princess?"

Your eyes widened, almost gagging. "I--no, nope, absolutely not. Do not call me shit like that. I will choke you."

He clapped and let out a hearty laugh. "Noted. No angel or princess, but you're into choking. Got it."

"Kook–" you cried in annoyance. You were so close to taking off your shoe and chucking it at him.

"Kidding, not kidding," he chuckled. "Okay, how about babe, baby?"

"Babe--baby--hey babe…" you muttered and nodded, thinking you could get used to him calling you those names. "Yeah, yeah, I think those will work."

"Good. Now, onto the next portion of our date, babe."

He stood up, brushing off crumbs that settled onto his jeans. He held out his hand, waiting for yours. You took it willingly, excited to see what else he had planned for the rest of the night. You quite enjoyed dinner and loved that he didn't go over the top, minus the excess of peonies surrounding you. Other than that, it was exactly what you wanted, something low-key.

He led you back into the house, down the steep flight of stairs, and into the backyard, where lights were strung across from the roof's edge to the fence. You wondered how you missed this setup earlier, and maybe you were too busy fawning over Jin's house to notice. Jungkook guided you towards the circle of fluffy blankets and pillows facing a screen and projector on the ground.

You sat against a slew of pillows, excitedly staring at the popcorn, chips, and chocolate. Then your eyes widened as you spotted your favorite candy: Sour Patch Watermelon. When you grabbed the bag, a note fell out. It read, "Please don't have sex anywhere in my house. Kay? Thanks. - Jin." You softly chuckled.

"What's that?" Jungkook asked as he came over, hands filled with more snacks.

"Oh, Jin left a note asking us not to have sex anywhere in his house."

"Well…he didn't say anything about doing it outside. I think we're good to go." He wiggled his eyebrows and gave a devilish grin.

"Stop, we're not doing anything inappropriate at Jin's place. He asked us not to."

"You didn't stop me when we were at Hyunie's housewarming party."

You chucked a handful of popcorn at him.

The only thing you could remember from her party was trying not to make a sound as you sat on his lap. His hand began to slide in further and further up your skirt. Luckily, a tablecloth hid the naughty act Jungkook was doing underneath. He continued smiling at everyone and even kissed your shoulder as his fingers moved aside your lace underwear, slowly circling your clit. You bit down on your bottom lip to try and stifle your squeal but failed. Even Lee Sora glared your way, wondering what you were doing.

He put the rest of the snacks down and cuddled up next to you, laying his head on your chest. "I know you love it, babe," he grinned as he gazed into your eyes.

God, he really was so bad for you, but at the same time, he made you feel so alive. It was easy to forget your worries and troubles in moments like these, and your only focus was on him and him only.

You stroked his hair and softly brushed your thumb against his cheek. His eyes fluttered shut at your touch, feeling delighted by it. A soft smile left his lips before you leaned down to press your lips against his.

And that's when you knew you couldn't hold in the feelings that had been intensifying for the past few months. Tonight's date left you speechless that a man like him would be eager to make you feel infinitely loved, adored, and cherished. How did you get so lucky? How could you ever doubt giving him all of you?

When you pulled away, you let go of the fear of not fully embracing him and everything he encompassed. The ache in you irrevocably released when you tenderly cupped his cheek, gazing into an endless galaxy that was held in his eyes. A gentle smile swept across his face, "What?" he asked softly.

That's when you uttered those three words he had longed to hear, "I love you."

✨ next ~ back hugs and peppered kisses