#Denominational Shift

[pastorjeremynorton]

A Name-Change Story

Explore our transformation from Whitehorse Baptist to Mountainview Church—a story of vision, faith, and embracing change for community engagement. #MountainviewChurch #Transformation #vision #namechange #baptist #baptistchurch #change #culture

The journey of transformation from Whitehorse Baptist Church to Mountainview Church. As the lead pastor of Mountainview Church, formerly known as Whitehorse Baptist Church, in 2018 I had the unique opportunity to guide our congregation through a significant transition—a name change. In many ways, this journey wasn’t just about altering a title; it was about reflecting the larger identity of…

[flame-shadow]

being a kid obsessed with dinosaurs while being raised christian fundamentalist (i think?) made for some very interesting moments.

books would say that dinosaurs lived hundreds of millions of years ago. my parents would say the earth was created 6000 years ago. so for a while, i thought dinosaurs were fake like dragons. and for a long while after that, i never paid attention to the estimated years because they were all clearly false.

books would say that dinosaurs evolved over their millions of years of existence, at some point some developed feathers, and that birds probably came from dinosaurs. the pastors and sunday school teachers would say that evolution wasn't real and that god created the birds as they are. i was confused and disappointed, because evolution made a lot of sense and sounded really cool to boot.

documentaries would show fossil sites and talk about how the rock can be dated. one time, i heard that god left dinosaur fossils for us to find as enrichment. another time, i was told that satan planted the fossils to sow doubt among god's followers. i thought it odd that some people thought god would want to trick his people with such an elaborate hoax.

years later, i heard someone say that god created the universe to look like it had always existed even though it was created relatively recently, and that's why the light from stars further than 6,000 light years have already reached us. i was reminded of the explanation of god putting apparently millions of years old fossils in the ground.

more recently (within the past decade and therefore i was no longer a kid nor a christian), i've heard the people who raised me to believe the things above reciting new "facts" that people have since come up with to explain away more recent scientific discoveries and conclusions. a few years ago, my grandmother had someone speak at her church, and afterwards she bought some of the books they were selling and shipped them to me. whereas twenty years ago, she'd have told me dinosaurs couldn't have existed, now she had sent me books about how actually dinosaurs were created 6000 years ago along with humans and all the other animals. these "facts" were corroborated by some other relatives next time i shared a meal with them.

they can't even keep their false facts straight because the old stories don't make sense anymore, even though the new stories aren't any better!

and i keep coming back to my early interest in dinosaurs.

the one that my mom was reluctant to allow me to pursue because of the perceived falseness of their existence. the one that i felt i had to carefully regulate what facts i expressed interest in lest my mom decide that dinosaurs were banned from being talked about the way pokemon was. and i was so so deliberate to pepper in the occasional qualifiers like "even though the bible says that's not possible, 150 millions years is a long time ago!" or "i know they're not actually going to turn into birds and this is just a drawing, but this one with the feathers does really look like it could become a bird someday."

thank god for dinosaurs (haha), because im not sure how long i would've been mired in such a closed-minded worldview otherwise. even though satan didn't sow the fossils in the earth, they did cause me to doubt the veracity of what i was taught.

[starlooove]

The whole made up “tim is seen/treated as an employee by everyone’” thing is funny vs just how much Steph and spoiler as an identity got disrespected by literally everybody. Like not even hated just the casual disrespect for her is soooo

[eosofspades]

going to be an insufferable media bro again but one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to children's movies and tv shows is "THIS WAS MADE FOR KIDS????!1?1!?" a la prince of egypt, anastasia, coraline, 9, etc, and basically anything else that falls into the realm of "dark" or "scary" stories or "heavy" themes. like i don't know how to tell you this but yeah man little kids are more than capable of understanding mature themes and nuances and they LOVE stories that will actually satisfy the desire for adventure and conflict that their brain craves and stuff that will make them think rather than mindless films crammed with pop culture references and "harmless" content (which in turn renders them not only deeply boring and stupid but prevents them from saying anything). like i get that youre trying to stress the impact of a scene or whatever but can you please do it in a way that doesn't treat kids like theyre stupid and unable to think critically about stories

[scarletspider2the2ndpower]

“A Mighty Hunter Before the Lord,” Scarlet Spider (Vol. 2/2012), #6.

Writer: Christopher Yost; Penciler and Inker: Ryan Stegman; Colorist: Edgar Delgado; Letterer: Joe Caramagna

[glassballdinosaurs]

Ugh

[homiebromantic]

it's been a weird of year of not being the worst but still bad /:

[01zfan]

glasses | s. es

nerd!eunseok x reader | 6.4k words

eunseok in glasses does something incredibly crazy to me…

contains: blowjob, the reader kinda plots on him im ngl LMFAO

glasses: one | two

eunseok pushes his glasses up by the thin metal resting over the bridge of his nose. the slides projected onto the whiteboard in front of him is no longer a blur, but he still has to narrow his eyes to see the table containing the numbers. eunseok convinces himself that he’s tired and that his constant need to refocus his eyes would be cured by a long nights rest. he doesn’t even want to consider having to schedule an appointment to the optometrist. the thought of being on the phone is already nauseating enough, but having to remember his insurance and speak in a cheery voice? 

“i rather die.” eunseok mumbles to himself, barely above a whisper as he looks to the board and then back to his notebook.

he rather wait for the semester to be over and then get his mother to schedule the appointment for him when he goes back home. all eunseok would have to do is bump into a few things around the house and squint a little harder and his mom would have the appointment marked on the fridge by the end of the night. 

eunseok was too busy looking back and forth between his notebook and the whiteboard to notice you tapping the eraser end of your pencil against your notebook. the sound was usually enough to get the attention of eunseok, a quick look back to show his annoyance. you would see the irritation subtly on eunseok’s face in the form of a furrowed eyebrow or a side eye—but each time he realized it was you he would smooth out his features and go back to looking forward. 

almost always you would grant eunseok the silence, let him focus in the tiny secluded area of the lecture hall where you two sat. occasionally when the people surrounding you two actually felt like participating in class instead of shopping on their computer you wouldn’t do it at all. but when you were feeling extra annoying and feeling extra desperate for a sliver of eunseok’s attention you would go back to tapping on the paper of your notebook. you would tap it even louder, watching the back of eunseok’s head as he shifted from side to side trying to tune the noise out. when he tilted his head to the side you knew he was in your trap and all you had to do was lean your head against your fist and sigh.

the sound of exasperation was always enough to set eunseok off—if that’s what you could even call it. his evidence of being ticked off was only turning around in his seat and looking at you the same way he did before. from the moment he turned around in his seat you could already see his annoyed face crumbling, his narrowed eyes focused on your moving pencil in an attempt to show you he wasn’t mad at you but rather what you were doing. you still continued to tap your pencil against the blank page, pretending to look at the board while all of your attention was actually on him.

you played your little games with eunseok and you played them well. you knew he had the tendency to sit in the secluded parts of lecture halls and lock himself away in his apartment playing games. you knew that his eyesight was shit and that he never talked to anyone ever, much less anyone of the opposite sex.

you wanted him so bad. 

the fact that he was completely clueless to it made you want him even more. 

you didn’t know how to deal with it anymore. you never leaned towards a specific male archetype, but the common denominator between all of them is that they were always easy to read. you had experience in men that screamed they had experience—even if that wasn’t always the case. you knew that when you were going over to their place to take notes it would end with you on your knees or them between your legs, but with eunseok, it was different. when you went over to look at his notes you actually ended up taking notes. when you went over to hang out, you would always end up on his neatly made bed with no underwear on while he played some game on his computer. 

eunseok was so painfully honest it made him unpredictable. you didn’t know if he was so patient with you due to attraction or if he was a nice person. you didn’t know if he blushed because he was picking up on your flirting or if his rosacea was flaring. you didn’t know if he stiffened when your hand brushed against his because he liked you or if you were invading his personal space.

your friends didn’t even believe eunseok was into the opposite sex. each time you would tell your them about another sexless encounter, they would only shake their heads and laugh.

“that man is gay.” giselle would say, looking at her lunch tray.

“gay as fuck.” yunjin would agree. 

but you didn’t believe it. they were never there to see eunseok respond to your wide eyes and profuse apologies with a flushed face and a quiet it’s okay. they didn’t see the way he opened doors for you or would clear his throat and avoid eye contact after you told him how good he was at his little games. you knew there was something there, and that people like eunseok just needed a little push. 

so when class was dismissing and eunseok was throwing his backpack over his shoulder your eyes followed him and you cleared your throat.

“eunseok.” you said.

instantly he turned to face you. he stopped in the middle of grabbing his jacket and you bit you looked down at you desk to stop yourself from smiling. 

“i know there’s that assignment due tonight,” you paused just to bask in his full attention. “i don’t really understand it.”

eunseok is grabbing his jacket out from the folded seat beside him as he nods his head. he grips the collar and focuses on it when he speaks.

“you can come over, i just might be—”

“playing league?” you ask.

when eunseok’s entire face goes red before nodding sheepishly, and you laugh as you start packing your own things.

by the time your computer is in your bag you have already made up your mind that you make your move tonight. he doesn’t make it obvious that he is waiting for you at the end of the rows of chairs but he moves a little slower when he sees you still packing up. you move a little faster because of it and eunseok cuts his eyes away from you to look down the classroom towards the door. 

on the days after class where you would follow eunseok back to his apartment he would always walk ahead of you. you didn’t know why he did it, forcing you to follow behind him like a lost puppy as he walked quickly across campus. eunseok would only toss looks over his shoulder towards you like he half expected you to give up and go back to your dorm instead. but you have your mind set and you follow behind him quietly all the way back to his place. eunseok lets you get in front of him as he heads up the stairs, and you watch him shuffle in the pockets of his sweats before pulling out his keys. he fumbles with them a little and almost drops them when you purposely get closer to him.

“make yourself comfortable.” eunseok closes the door behind you and kicks his shoes off. “i have some food in my fridge too.” he adds.

you silently nod while you kick off your own shoes. eunseok was so quick to leave the dorms to get his own place that he didn’t care to buy furniture. when you walked into his place in the living room there was only a loveseat and a television that sat on the floor unplugged. his kitchen didn’t have a table due to the fact that eunseok ate all of his food sitting at his computer desk. you remember bringing up how bizarre it was that eunseok only had one set of dishes.

“i don’t expect people to come over.” he always said.

each time he would only look at you confused as if you were the weird one for wanting to sit at a table to eat. but the lack of furnishing in eunseok’s apartment always gave you the excuse to go into his room and sit on his bed. so you two did your little dance that ended with eunseok sitting in his gaming chair and you sliding onto his bed. 

he casted another glance your way as his computer came to life. you started pulling things out of your backpack to pretend like you were going to do anything besides think about eunseok and making a move on him. after a beat of you only having your things out on his bed eunseok reached into his backpack and pulled out his journal. he opened it to the notes about the assignment and scooted his gaming chair over to you. he got up in his seat slightly, leaning to your body to show you his notes.

“this is what i wrote about the assignment.” you made it painfully obvious you were looking at the side of his face and not the notes that would help you with the assignment you already turned in. “let me know if you need help, okay?” he said.

eunseok turned his head and cleared his throat when he noticed you staring. he hesitated for a moment, as if he was unsure on what to completely do. but you cut him some slack and cleared your throat too before turning back to your textbook and notebook.

i will.” you said.

you got comfortable and moved to lay on your stomach while eunseok scooted back to his computer. he wasn’t sure if there was something in the air as he opened up discord and asked his friends if they were free to play. he had spent his whole life being more or less invisible, but now it seemed like he was in your sights all the time. he didn’t even think his bestfriend was in his apartment as much as you were. you were never in his living room—granted he didn’t have much to do outside of his bedroom—you opted to sit on his bed that he was forced to make every morning now. eunseok knew he had no reason to impress you, but he couldn’t stop himself from neatly making his bed every morning in the off chance you would invite yourself over after class. he had to game to distract himself from the fact that there was a dangerously pretty girl laying on his bed. he didn’t believe his eyes each time he took a glance behind to see you, and he knew his friends wouldn’t believe it either.

while eunseok cued up for a game, you let yourself come to a boiling point behind him. in any other case you would’ve felt ridiculous for trying to subtly seem as appealing as possible to someone. you laid on your stomach, you flipped over, you made as much noise as possible in an effort to get him to look at you. when you finally got up and rested on your haunches the nervousness started sinking in. embarrassment should’ve been coursing through your veins as you pushed your chest forward and practiced the sultry look in your eye and your flirtatious script over and over again. you should’ve felt pathetic at the effort you were putting forward while eunseok continued to play on his computer without a single clue. you knew you were in too deep when even the thought of him being disgusted at your advances didn’t deter you.

“eunseok.” you said it quietly, trying to pierce between the sound of his air conditioner and his fingers that were tapping on his mouse and keyboard.

when he didn’t respond, you shuffled closer to the edge of his bed.

“eunseok.” you repeated.

eunseok’s head that was locked onto the computer moved to the side as he picked up your voice. you could tell by the rapid clicking that something important was happening in the game, but you liked seeing his head take a quick peak over his shoulder to see you in his peripheral.

“hmm?” eunseok’s head moved as he followed the fight. “do you need help?” he asked.

you were perched on his bed putting yourself on display for him while he was engrossed in a game. 

“yeah.” you lightly nodded your head and brought your hands to rest on your thighs. “i need help.” you said.

when the fight was over and eunseok’s screen froze you prepared yourself. you shuffled your body one last time as eunseok started turning in his seat.

“which part are you—”

eunseok froze in every sense of the word once he got a glimpse of you. he didn’t even turn all the way around in his chair before he stopped completely. part of his body was facing his computer screen as his eyes darted to your thighs that were pressed together, then to your chest as you shuffled in place again. the excitement replaced your embarrassment as you watched eunseok try to gather himself. 

“which part are you—” he pointed to his open composition book in front of you as he readjusted himself in his gaming chair. “which part are you having trouble with?” he asked.

you couldn’t help but tilt your head to the side at him. if he wasn’t so obvious readjusting himself you would’ve thought you had this all wrong. he still made the feeble attempt to talk about your work, as if you weren’t on the completely wrong page of your textbook and you didn’t even have a pencil out. but you played it out when you realized you finally had eunseok’s attention in the way you so desperately craved. he was yours completely, evident in the way he quickly pushed his headset off his ears to rest on his neck when you parted your lips to speak. 

you pretended like you were going to start your sentence twice, just to watch his eyes widen and see him slightly lean in so he wouldn’t miss a word. eunseok turned in his seat completely when you started sliding your legs over the edge of the bed. his eyes flitted to your thighs that were pressed together before going back up to your face.

“can i just show you?” you asked.

you liked playing this game. you felt achievement at the sight of blush fanning across his cheeks and lighting his ears crimson. you had to bite your lip to hide the smile when you saw eunseok run his palms down his sweatpants after he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“yeah.” he said quietly.

you slowly slid off of eunseok’s bed and felt the tension thicken. the journal and textbook on his bed was long forgotten as you got closer and closer to him. you focused on the lights of his headset and the low sound of people talking coming out of the headphones. eunseok focused on the newly exposed parts of your stomach as your shirt rode up your body. he focused on the soft skin of your stomach and the way you fit in your pants. a comfortable outfit you wore for class almost made him go crosseyed. when you were too close eunseok’s sweaty palms went from his sweats to gripping his armrest. he had to tilt his head up to follow you as you came closer and closer.

when you were as close as you could be, you looked down at eunseok sitting in his chair. his knuckles were white by the time you made it in front of him, and although his eyes were still fixed on your face, it seemed like he wasn’t looking at you fully. he didn’t dare to speak as his eyes darted from your nose to your eyebrow, then the spot on your neck that he always seemed to settle on. you reached out as an experiment, just to see him seize up and straighten his back. 

his gaming chair went back to accommodate his leaning weight, and you smiled. you let your hand rest on his cheek that was warm to the touch, and eunseok’s eyes got even wider. his pupils shook watching your every move, and his body started shaking like a leaf when your other hand went to his shoulder. you took the chance to lift your leg, and eunseok immediately brought his legs together to give you room. silently you clambered on his leaning gaming chair, your knees on either side of him as his hands gripped the armrest even tighter.

with eunseok frozen underneath you, you played with him some more. you innocently jostled his hair, fixing the dent in his locks caused by the headset. you tilted your head with a pout on your face, pretending not to notice the even deeper blush eunseok’s face and now neck was covered in. you brought your face even closer to his, earning a quick deep breath like he was prepping for something. instead you looked past eunseok to his computer screen. you saw the messaging app he had told you about before in passing, something used to communicate with his friends while they gamed together. you saw eunseok was in a voice call, the green rings lit up around people’s profile pictures periodically as you saw people ping eunseok in the text chat.

jinsu: we can’t end on a loss…

darkness: @eunseok HELLLLLLLLOOOOOO

haniiiii: was that a girl i heard in eunseok’s room or am i hearing things?

tonyangduck: you’re hearing things.

anton: if we don’t queue in five seconds i’m going to bed.

you drifted your hand down to eunseok’s shoulder, smoothing out the fabric of his shirt. you saw his hands loosen on the armrest to rub his palms on the leather. you imagined his hands on you instead touching you in the same way. you were already making all the moves, you decided to wait patiently for it to become too much for eunseok until he touched you. so you eyes the lines of his neck upwards until you ended on his lips. you licked yours and you watched in amusement as eunseok’s tongue quickly did the same thing.

“can i kiss you?” you asked quietly.

you swore you saw the green rings around people’s icons light up and the increased sound of someone yelling through his headset. the chat suddenly went crazy, but you were focused on eunseok’s quickly nodding head. you smiled and looked at his lips and his eyes that were like saucers before you leaned in. you kept your eyes open a beat longer just to see how eunseok would prep himself for your lips. instantly his eyes were closed and he tilted his head to the side, so desperate and ready for you. you smiled into the kiss from the confidence boost, and brought your hand to his cheek to kiss him better.

eunseok’s lips were unmoving against yours at first. you couldn’t blame him, you purposely touched your lips to his light as a feather just to see his reaction. you were shamelessly experimenting on him in an effort to drive him as crazy as he’s made you. eunseok puckered his lips and you placed a chaste kiss on his pout before pulling away slightly. you watched eunseok screw his eyes shut before they fluttered open slightly. behind his thick frames his face seemed magnified. you could see the whites of his eyes so clearly from here, and how he looked at you with some much adoration. 

you pressed forward again, this time coming so close to eunseok’s face you felt his lenses against your skin. you kept your lips unmoving against his and tilted your head to the side. when you felt one of eunseok’s hands leave his armrest to sit on the bare skin of your waist you finally started moving. your hand that rested on his cheek kept his face in place while you poked your tongue out to run it over his bottom lip. eunseok stiffened underneath you and at the same time you let your weight fully settle on him. his grip on your waist tightened when you felt his dick in his sweats press against your cunt.

just as you were driving eunseok crazy, you started losing even more of your mind. having him right where you wanted—where you needed—him for so long made your desperate. you didn’t stop kissing him as you started lightly lifting your hips to settle them back on eunseok’s. your other hand that wasn’t on his face clutched his shoulder as you started tilting your head to shove your tongue in his mouth. when you got a breathless moan from eunseok after pressing down your hips exceptionally hard you started sucking on his bottom lip and grazing them with your teeth. eunseok finally started gripping your waist with a force that matched your desperation. you opened your eyes to see him lost in you, completely unaware that his thick frames were foggy. his hand drifted down to your ass to keep you in place on his lap. you had to put a hand on his shoulder to push him away when you felt him lift his hips upwards to meet yours.

eunseok opened his eyes after taking in a deep breath of air. you watched his chest rise and fall in his white tee as he blinked rapidly. hi slips were sheen with sweat and his flushed face started becoming splotchy. you started smiling while trying to regain your breath when you noticed eunseok’s hand stayed on your ass while his other one still tightly gripped his armrest. he was completely silent, you could see his eyes searching for what to do next behind the fog. you flicked your head towards his computer screen before grinding your hips back down on his.

“you should probably get that right?” you asked.

instantly eunseok is twisting in his chair, typing something before closing out of everything and turning the monitor off. you stayed on his lap, enjoying the view of eunseok looking at his computer while you held onto him for stability. 

when he twists back in his chair facing his bed his hands don’t go back to your hips. his glasses still have fog on the lower part of the lens, and you can get over how eunseok looks for you in this current state. out of breath with his swollen lips. before you know it you reach your hand to his face and take off his glasses. you slide them on your face as you slide off his lap and onto the floor in front of him. 

instantly eunseok responds to you. he blinks his eyes rapidly to adjust to the change in his vision and he sits up a little more in his gaming chair. you keep your eyes on him, despite being able to barely see from his prescription. you imagine you look just the same as he did before with your pupils shaking behind his foggy and smudged lenses. when you’re completely on your knees in front of him eunseok reaches forward slightly and blindly shakes his head.

“you don’t have to.” he stammers 

eunseok scoots forward in his seat like he’s about to go down to the floor with you. your eyes go from the shy look on his face to his dick that jumps in his sweats with every move he makes. when you press your hands to his thighs wordlessly he stays in place. his hands ball into fists and your eyes widen at him submitting to you so fast. he already looks so grateful and already wrecked just from you being on your knees slotted between his legs—how could you not want to go further?

“i want to.” you say while your hands creep upwards to his waistband. “you have no idea.” you add.

eunseok truly had no idea. he thought at the most you were just using him for occasional help on your assignments. you seemed clueless in his presence, but he realized once you got high marks on your tests it was just a facade. ever since then, eunseok has been trying to figure out why you spent so much time with him. he never would’ve known that you wanted to kiss him and that you wanted to get down on your knees for him. he still didn’t believe it when you tugged at his waistband softly as a silent command for him to lift his hips off the gaming chair. eunseok listened to you immediately, and within seconds he felt his sweatpants pool at his ankles while his dick sprung straight up.

“oh my god.” eunseok sighed.

he leaned back fully into his gaming chair and brought his arm up to cover his eyes. he looked down from the crook in his elbow to see your blurry outline stare at his dick. he felt embarrassed as much as he felt relief when you wrapped your hand around the root of his dick. he bucked into your hand and pulsed in your grasp. he was lightheaded just from a touch and a stare.

“you’re big.” you said simply.

you still sounded amazed as you gave him simple strokes. eunseok couldn’t let go of his armrest as he felt you squeeze your hand around the tip of his dick. he didn’t know whether or not to be modest, if you wanted to hear the pitiful sounds he was holding back by biting his lip. all he could do was weakly move around in his gaming chair while he was completely at your mercy. for a moment everything else fell out. anticipation creeped over his body as he heard you shuffle forward. his computer whirred and his brain became fuzzy when he felt your lips press a kiss to his tip. eunseok’s whole body twitched. he didn’t realize what he was doing until he felt his legs press harshly against your sides, essentially caging you in.

you pulled back and pushed his glasses back up your nose. his precum made your hand glide up and down his dick, and eunseok was practically fucking your and while actively becoming weaker in front of you. but you still asked the question, speaking with a pout before looking up to his unfocused eyes.

“can i suck on your dick?” you asked

“please.” eunseok spoke immediately, his reservations crumbling as he scooted towards the edge of the bed. “if you want.” he begged.

you shuffled forward the rest of the way before taking him partially in your mouth. his tip pressed into your cheek and you could feel your skin protruding from you. you rested on hand on his shaking thigh before moving your head to take him deeper.

eunseok really will need a new glasses after this. the pair belong to you now. he will gladly go the rest of the semester—the rest of his life—without his frames if it means you’ll wear them. eunseok will use his poor vision as an excuse to come to your face as close as possible just to see his thin metal frames magnify your eyes. he will rely on his other senses, he is already getting used to it. eunseok smells your shampoo carried by the wind each time you bob your head. he hears you gagging on him and the wet sounds of your hand as you jerk off what you can’t reach. he tastes the remnants of your lip gloss and chapstick on his lips, he’s already fallen into the habit of licking his lips to taste you faintly. 

the only sense that betrays him is touch. because eunseok knows one hand is gripping the root of his dick and the other is softly pressing into his thigh, but when you gently kiss his tip again he swears he can feel you everywhere. your hand drifts to his taut stomach and the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. eunseok has to screw his eyes shut and tilt his head back to relieve the pressure. 

after you pull him from your mouth eunseok lets out a sigh that racks through his body. he feels your flushed skin against his thigh as you lay your cheek against him to recompose yourself. your hand makes up for the loss of your mouth, but eunseok selfishly wishes he was feeling your warm tongue lave his dick again. he is still a mess and still satisfied regardless, evident in the way his body shakes. he’s sensitive everywhere. he’s hyperaware of his nipple that graze his white tee every time he lets out a particularly labored breath. 

he feels you speed up your hand, and he can’t stop the noises from slipping past his lips. hisses and whines join with the wet sound of your hand on his shaft. he feels your laugh vibrate against his thigh, abnd you playfully lean forward. when your teeth graze a vein at the root of his dick he hisses and twitches. 

“sorry for laughing.” eunseok grips the armrest a little tighter hearing your hoarse voice. “you’re just too cute.” he hears you say.

eunseok tries to will himself to speak, but taking away his eyesight completely makes him focus on everything else even more. he heard the hesitancy behind your compliment, and he feels you nervously shift on your knees. he wants to reach out at pat your head, or to caress your cheek the same way you did to him but he just can’t bring himself to look. he blindly reaches out his hand, aiming for any part of you. he can feel the familiar metal rim of his—your—glasses against his middle finger and pushes them up. he can feel your cheeks raise against his leg and hears your breathy giggle again.

“thanks eunseok.” 

he lets his hand gently rest on your cheek. he can feel the tears in the corner of your eye under his index finger and the spit collecting at the corner of your mouth underneath his thumb. he feels you all over him again, a prickling sensation that starts in his stomach and spreads across his entire body.

for a moment eunseok just focuses, his eyebrows furrow as he stares at the back of his eyelids and he tries to will away the sweat that begins to bead at his hairline. he feels like a bottle of coke being shaken, on the verge of making an embarrassing mess.

“do you like when i wear your glasses?” 

eunseok’s eyes snap open at the desperation in your voice. he can practically hear your pout, he imagines the look on your face you’d always get when focusing on a problem in class. he looks down at you and even if his vision is blurred he swears he can see you clearly. he can see your face so vividly laying on his flexing thigh as you pick up the pace of your hand. he can see your teary eyes behind his thick frames and your sniffling nose. eunseok presses his hand slightly into your face as he swallows thickly.

“i like it alot.” he says, way weaker than he expected.

he sees your smile. he feels the end of your lip curling underneath his thumb.

“what else do you like?” eunseok hears your taunting tone as you tighten your grip. his back comes from the chair as he lets out another groan and you lift your head from his thigh. “i like compliments, ya know.” you say.

just when eunseok figures out something else to say you take him all the way back in your mouth, until your nose and the metal bridge of his glasses press against his stomach. he can feel you gagging around him and he almost chokes on his own words.

“i like you.” eunseok says. his hand is still on your cheek as you go up and down. his other hand digs into the armrest so hard his nails bend. “so pretty and smart. even if you act like you’re not.” he adds.

your laugh causes you to vibrate around his dick. if you didn’t preemptively have your hand pressed against his thigh eunseok would’ve bucked into your mouth again. he just shakes his head as he becomes overwhelmed. your teeth graze his length again and eunseok opens his mouth as aah aah aah slips past his lips.

when eunseok feels his tip prodding your cheek again he loses it. his balls tighten and he feels a cold sweat line his body.

“i’m close,” eunseok feels you all over his body again as he hits the back of your throat. “where can i?” he asks.

eunseok looks down and despite his terrible eyesight, he can tell you’re looking directly at him. your eyes pierce through the fog, and although you don’t answer him you show no signs of stopping. you pick up your pace, loosening everything so eunseok hits the back of your throat. he starts vibrating in his seat, his headset that was around his neck slips off and falls behind his back.

“wait a second.” eunseok stutters. 

he remembers his terrible diet lately consisting of instant ramen and energy drinks as you gag on his length again. he lifts himself up from the chair as he feels your hands massage his balls. he’s going to burst at the seams and you don’t seem to care. you don’t even notice the poor state he’s in until eunseok detaches his shaking and suddenly weak hand from the armrest to hold the other side of your face. he can feel your slack jaw in his hands, and his vision gets blurry again when you hollow out your cheeks and suck harder. your stronger hand over his keeps him from pulling you off, and your in my mouth, i don’t care if it tastes like battery acid is muffled by eunseok’s twitching dick. he can only helplessly rut into your mouth as his face scrunches up and heavy pants rattle his chest.

when eunseok releases, it’s first a prolonged groan. he thinks it’s the loudest he’s ever been his whole life when the first spurt paints the inside of your cheek. he doesn’t know if you can even taste him on your tongue, he’s convinced it slips right down your throat as you continue bobbing your head up and down. eunseok’s body becomes so loose as he continues to cum that his hand is limp against your face. the only thing that keeps him there is your hand that’s wrapped around his index and middle finger tightly. the rest of his hand useless twitches against your cheek as he slumps further and further into his gaming chair. all of his senses are kicked into overdrive, it’s so overwhelming eunseok thinks he might burst into flames with you between his legs.

when everything fizzles out, and eunseok fights through the blur in his mind and can form a thought beyond your name, you still continue to suck on his tip. he. has to regain his strength to pull your off of him, and he isn’t sure anything is real until he hears the quiet pop of you releasing him and his limp wet dick slapping his stomach. 

his head lulls to the side and he can see the blurry outline of your tongue peaking out past your lips.

“sorry.” eunseok says sheepishly.

“don’t be.” eunseok feels your hand let go of his to wipe your lips. “i liked it.” you say.

eunseok feels both of your hands press into his relaxed thighs. he hears you quietly whimper, and suddenly eunseok remembers you have been on your knees on his hardwood floor for too long. instantly he regains his strength to give you support by holding your forearms. he helps you up, and his freakishly finds satisfaction in the tiny sounds you make from your legs being in an unnatural position for a prolonged period of time.

in seconds eunseok is looking up at you again, only difference it’s harder to see you. he is also painfully aware that you are still fully dressed and seem fine while he has his pants down at his ankles and his cheeks are still burning red. eunseok is forced to see the effect you have on his clearly when your hands take your glasses off and gently put them on his face. 

he lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he sees you perfectly. your lips are swollen and glossy, your face shines from the blue light from his computer screen. he can’t stop himself from pulling at your forearm until you come all the way back down to him. he also can’t stop himself from bringing his other hand to your chin and bringing your face to meet his. he doesn’t pull away from you even when he runs out of breath and you have to hold onto his armrest for balance.

when you pull away eunseok watches you run a hand down his face affectionately before you kiss the tip of his nose. he tastes himself on his tongue as you grab his headset from behind his back and put it back on his ears. he ignores the light that indicates they’re still on as you turn his monitor back on. your hand pulls back when the screen lights back up. eunseok watches your eyes widen before you laugh.

“what?” he asks, still looking up to you.

“your friends are trying to talk to you, i think.” you say, still laughing.

eunseok reluctantly pulls away from you to turn in his seat. his eyes widen just like yours when he sees the recent messages.

anton: nah no way…

tonyangduck: GTFO OF VC @eunseok

jinsu: eunseok ur nasty as hell.

tarotime: what i miss?

eunseok felt his body heat up again as you reread the chat over and over again trying to hold back your laugh.

he really needed to get a new pair of glasses.

i hope you guys enjoyed! here’s my ko-fi if you wish to give a one time tip or commission me🕺

[jenscx]

BET ON IT — ahn yujin x f!reader

stereotypical jock ahn yujin is given a bet by her friends; take you, one of the smartest students in school, on a date. too bad you’re aware of the bet.

TAGS — literally all fluff, jock!yujin, yuj gets rejected a lot, popular x kinda nerd trope, ice hockey players r so fine, cursing

WORDCOUNT — 4.3k

when you first stepped into your new class, the tall brunette girl sitting at the back had caught your eye. she was wearing a varsity jacket and on her face adorned a boyish grin.

your cheeks had heated up when she sent a glance your way, and that’s when you realised, you had just found your newest object of infatuation. ahn yujin was just another hallway crush, blending into the crowd of high schoolers and standing out when she passed by your locker. she was eye candy for you and whenever you would see her, your day got significantly better.

once you were more settled in the school, you found out that yujin was unobtainable. way out of your league. a typical jock with a scholarship to an ivy league school. one that cared for neither studies nor academics. her only passion? playing ice hockey and with people’s hearts.

you had realised the latter when passing by a toilet cubicle. the sobs inside were too emotional and excruciating to ignore. despite your best efforts, your fist ended up knocking on the door and you had asked, “are you okay in there?”

inside of the cubicle was a girl, sobbing her eyes out. apparently, ahn yujin had promised to take her out on a date and even invited her back to her house but ended up ditching her. you had frowned, you could never have imagined the puppy-like girl you saw on the first day doing such a thing.

your infatuation for her slowly disappeared as you heard more and more stories of the atrocious things she would do to people. stomping on flowers, laughing at confessions and spreading rumours about people. ahn yujin was an asshole and a jerk. unfortunately she was an attractive one.

“y/n,” jiwon whispers, “is the answer x equals to negative five?”

you look up from your worksheet, for which you had doodled ahn yujin’s familiar smirk and quickly covered it.

“no. my answer is positive five. i think you made a mistake in the quadratic formula,” you explain, taking a peek at jiwon’s working. jiwon frowns and a shadow appears next to your desk.

the shadow actually startles you slightly. since the end of year examinations were nearing, lessons meant for teaching content were swapped to self-study sessions. normally, not a single person would move around, in fear of jeopardising their grades to fool around with friends.

thus, you were extremely confused as to why ahn yujin stood next to your table, eyes crinkling in a smile.

“hi,” she says, “i wanted to ask, how did you get a positive five for your answer?”

you can only stare at her in shock. due to her scholarship being on the line, you had thought yujin would have the top students tutoring her, as she had to keep an average of 70% for every semester.

so why was she talking to you now? wasn’t jang wonyoung a better option to ask?

“uhm, i think you forgot to…” you stare at her worksheet, “times 2 to the denominator.”

yujin’s eyes widen and you can’t lie that it’s adorable. jiwon shifts next to you nervously and you place a hand over hers, comforting her nerves.

“thanks! i owe you one!”

“oh… there’s no need…”

before you can even complete your sentence, she bounces back to her seat and smiles brightly at you. a quick whip of your head faces you with jiwon.

“did ahn yujin just talk to you?” she mumbles.

you rub the back of your neck, “i guess she did.”

for the first time in three years, you felt your feelings of infatuation resurface. ahn yujin, the girl at the top of your school’s social pyramid, just talked to you? and looked adorable while doing it?

and what does she mean by ‘she owes you’?

you just hoped it wouldn’t interfere with your studies. yujin was an enigma, one that would need countless hours of observation and detailed assessments to figure out her true colours. was her playboy act all a facade? or was this nice and cute classmate that you had actually just another one of her acting personalities to get what she wanted?

there were so many questions in your head that you didn’t even notice the bell ringing.

jiwon pulls you up and links your arms together, flashing a smile which snaps you out of your daydream.

“let’s go meet rei,” she says. you nod in agreement and let yourself be pulled all the way to the cafeteria. only at the table, you realise that you had left your phone back in the classroom.

rei had soon joined the table and you stood up abruptly.

“i left my phone in class, i’ll be back soon!” you inform your friends who wave you off. a quick few steps and you had arrived back at the classroom. notably, it was empty as students had all crammed to the cafeteria for a quick break before going back into revision.

except for the trio that sat at the back.

you raise your eyebrows and instantly recognise the smirk and brown hair of ahn yujin. she had kim gaeul and jang wonyoung sitting beside her, both of which had questioning looks on their face.

without much thought, you were planning to just walk in and take your phone swiftly. yet, the mutter of your name had made you pause in your steps.

“what was that with y/n during class?” wonyoung asks, head tilting in curiosity.

“what was what?”

gaeul scoffs, “you definitely knew how to do that question.”

“hm, did i? didn’t i look more like a stupid jock just needing assistance from one of the top scorers?” yujin laughs.

“you literally have me, the actual top scorer. y/n isn’t so stupid to buy your whole act. she’s actually a challenge,” wonyoung says. despite them discussing your intelligence in the open, you felt pride simmer at wonyoung thinking you were too smart to fall for yujin’s tricks.

“watch me.”

“okay… if she agrees on a date by the end of this month,” gaeul picks at her fingernails, “lunch is on me for the rest of the year.”

yujin chuckles, “it’ll be too easy.”

“and don’t fall for her,” wonyoung adds.

“still easy. this will be the easiest bet of my life.”

you hear the chair scraping against the floor afterwards. still debating on whether to retrieve your phone, you decide to ponder on what the bet entailed for you.

so one, yujin was definitely still a jerk. two, you would have to agree to a date by the end of the month for her to win. and three, she had no idea that you knew of this secret agreement.

huh.

you smile, finally having the upper hand over yujin for once. maybe this bet would teach yujin a lesson and help you live out your young fantasies.

“y/n!” you almost instinctively start to walk faster at the sound of yujin’s voice. all eyes turned to look at you and jiwon’s grip on your wrist tightened.

“good morning,” you nod. in one hand, a chocolate milk carton and in the other, a chemistry textbook.

yujin smiles sheepishly at you, “i was wondering… were you free this afternoon to tutor me in chemistry? i heard you were the top student of our year—”

“i’m not. wonyoung is,” you reply firmly. yujin falters for a second before bouncing back, “she isn’t free today since she has student council duties. i already tried asking her!”

if you didn’t know about the bet, you genuinely would have believed her convincing act.

“ah, well, i’m not free today.”

“oh? why?”

you gesture to jiwon, “going on a date!”

at that point, you hadn’t realised the impact of your words. those four words changed the trajectory of your life.

“d-date?!” yujin gapes.

you thought she looked like a fish. meanwhile, jiwon was desperately trying to drag you away from the crowd that was forming to witness ahn yujin being rejected.

“yup. so i can’t help you,” you say and wave goodbye to yujin, who stays rooted to the ground, almost jaw-dropped. truly, this was amusing. her reaction was terribly funny, considering that she had never once in her life been rejected before. and for you to be the one to do so? amazing.

yet, jiwon didn’t find it funny and began cursing you for ruining her school year. once word got out that her best friend was the one who rejected yujin, she would not be able to live a peaceful life.

this cycle of rejection only continued despite jiwon’s attempts to hide you from yujin. the requests ranged from, “can you help me with calculus?” to, “there was a new tteokbokki store that opened near school, wanna go together?”

you soon realised that yujin was determined to win this bet. with the countless amount of sweet post-it notes taped to chocolate milk cartons that appeared on your desk every morning… how could you not?

yujin had willpower, you acknowledged that fact. it was just a shame that you had overheard the conversation. maybe she would have actually won the bet by now.

while you were gloating about yujin’s loss, the jock was almost heartbroken with the number of futile attempts.

“she just isn’t falling for it!” yujin exclaims.

wonyoung raises an eyebrow, “i told you she isn’t that stupid. and your methods are so lame.”

“i thought they were cute,” yujin sniffles, pouting. the mere thought of her not being able to persuade a girl was devastating. this would mess up her reputation! she wasn’t the one who chased others!

“you’re not winning this bet,” gaeul states, snickering at yujin’s misfortune.

yujin, despite their claims, was still persistent in trying to get a date. it didn’t matter what she needed to do, she would do it. anything to win this bet.

she couldn’t lose her hard-built reputation as a heartbreaker. that was crazy. if she had to get down on her knees to beg…

well yujin might just consider it.

unbeknownst to the things yujin would do for a date with you, you walk with jiwon peacefully, almost reaching the front gate when your best friend halts.

“ah,” jiwon says out of the blue, “I can’t go home with you today. i need to show the new exchange students around school.” you frown but nodded anyway.

“i’ll see you tomorrow then?” you ask. jiwon sends a smile and quickly walks back to the school doors. you sigh, taking out your airpods when a tap on your shoulder spins you around.

ahn yujin again.

“hi,” she flashes a grin, “mind if i walk with you?”

“don’t you normally go that way?” you point in the opposite direction. yujin turns her head and laughs, “so you’ve been observing me?”

you think for a moment. “no, but your fanclub is waiting there for you.”

like you said, a group of girls and boys alike were standing at the other gate, eyes darting around for yujin. she tilts her head, reminiscent of your puppy back at home, and says, “i’m walking this way so i don’t get bombarded by them.”

“fair enough,” you take out your airpods again and try to drown out yujin’s attempts at conversation.

“hey!” she continuously taps you on the shoulder. you ignore her.

“don’t ignore me!” you do that.

“y/n-ssi..!”

ugh. you think. who the hell said that yujin was like a puppy? (you.) she was more like a parrot that couldn’t shut up.

“yujin-ssi,” you huff, “keep quiet.”

said girl just turns to you with a pout. eyes glistening with hope when you falter ever so slightly. with a sigh, you take out your airpods and raise an eyebrow.

“okay, i won’t ignore you anymore.”

“great! i was wondering,” yujin pauses, a hint of hesitation in her voice that you’ve never heard before, “do you wanna grab lunch together? wonyoung heard from jiwon that you liked the cafe nearby, i’ll pay.”

your voice wavers, “uh, sure.” no one could blame you; your favourite cafe paired with a free meal? anyone would have accepted (regardless of the puppy-like girl who shrieked in excitement).

“great!” yujin discreetly grabs your wrist, pulling you to walk faster. slightly taken aback, you willingly let yourself be pulled away.

on the way there, the typically chirpy yujin doesn’t say a word and instead keeps quiet. it’s only until you both find a seat in the cafe that she speaks up.

“y/n-ssi, do you hate me or something?” you watch as the jock twirls the fork in her hand, eyes gleaming with curiosity. perhaps she’s never experienced being rejected before.

“you’re just too much for me.”

“oh? what do you mean by that?”

you choose your next words wisely, “it’s a bit strange to have someone popular talk to someone so mediocre.”

yujin’s head snaps up, fury in her eyes. you think she’s about to storm out, offended by your words. yet, she grasps your hands into hers, passionately saying, “how could you be mediocre?! y/n-ssi, you’re like the most intelligent person in our grade, and you’re super nice and helpful too!”

you feel relieved. her outburst was just defending you. giggles escape your lips as you reply back, “nice and helpful? after rejecting you so often?”

the sight of yujin’s cheeks being flushed makes you marvel. it’s a rare sight to see the jock so flustered. she’s usually so composed and witty.

“ah… i was a bit insistent and annoying, i understand why y/n-ssi avoided me…” yujin mumbles shyly, letting your hands drop onto the table. your hands feel cold without yujin’s warmth but you quickly diminish that thought.

stop it, yujin is just playing with you.

you straighten up naturally, catching yourself before replying with anything flirty. you had to remember that yujin’s primary reason for talking to you was because of the bet.

unfortunately for you, yujin notices your change in demeanour.

“are you okay?”

“yeah,” you eye her carefully, “i’m just hungry.”

yujin sends you a toothy grin and starts another conversation. you end up talking about her puppy, azzo, her ice hockey training and your art portfolio before the food arrives. you realise even though ahn yujin was a stereotypical jock, she was probably smarter than most.

“y/n-ssi, can i call you unnie?”

you raise your eyebrow, “how do you know my birthday?”

yujin looks startled. frazzled, she quickly replies, “i just asked wonyoung… she’s close friends with jiwon…!”

“doing background checks on me?” you say, stuffing your mouth with the red velvet cake in front of you.

“no… maybe, yes? i was just curious!”

“you just want to talk informally, don’t you, yujin?”

the jock bows her head down, you hate how you find it cute.

“yeah… you caught me.”

you smile, “okay, you can call me unnie.”

it’s like yujin just won the lottery with the way she’s grinning. you would tease her even more but it’s better not to get attached to her.

after this month, she wouldn’t even bat an eye at you.

soon, you finish up your cake and yujin does too. when paying, you sense yujin’s impatience and chalk it off to being her realising that you wouldn’t wield so easily. shrugging it off, you try your best to make a quick exit before yujin drags you to somewhere else again.

after paying, you swiftly leave the cafe, only to be caught in yujin’s grasp again.

“unnie, can we exchange contact info?” her eyes are shining now. you hesitantly nod and hand her your phone.

yujin 🐶 [4.38pm]:

yn unnie! ^^

“there! i sent you a message,” yujin exclaims, “where’s your house? i’ll walk you home!”

“huh?! no… yujin, you should go home, i can walk by myself…”

the puppy-like girl only pouts. you’re mostly helpless to her, unable to really say no to a face like hers.

“unnie, i need to know if you reached home safely! bad guys would obviously kidnap a girl as pretty as you!” yujin scoffs. you try to hide your blush as you finally nod again.

yujin brightens up and takes your hand into hers, “let’s go!”

you feel bad for the younger girl; she was usually the one who played with other people’s feelings and now, she didn’t even realise that she’s the one getting played with. you wonder if yujin has ever seen the aftermath of her entertainment. would she be shocked that she caused someone so much pain? or would she just laugh?

the closer you got to your doorstep, the more you didn’t want to leave yujin. fuck, you think, that’s a bad sign.

how did yujin manage to attract you in only a day?

what the hell type of sorcery was she using?

“thank you for walking me home,” you bow, “send me a text when you get home too.” yujin nods but she stares at you expectantly. maybe she wanted you to invite her into your house?

that wasn’t going to happen though.

“uhm,” you mumble unintelligently. not even giving it a second thought, you quickly plant a kiss on yujin’s cheek and run into your house, slamming the door behind you.

what the fuck! you and yujin both think, your hand covering your mouth, shocked that you even did that. meanwhile, yujin traces the outline of your lips on her cheek with her fingertips, her face resembling a tomato the longer she stands outside your door.

yujin 🐶 [5.02pm]:

unnie…? ㅠㅠ

yn unnie 🤍 [5.03pm]:

IM SINSORYR

I DID IT WITHOUT THINKJNG

yujin 🐶 [5.03pm]:

ure too mean…

kissing me then slamming the door

yn unnie 🤍 [5.03pm]:

im sorry yuj

yujin 🐶 [5.04pm]:

ur lips r so soft tho?

do u use the laniege lip mask? ㅋㅋ

yn unnie 🤍 [5.04pm]:

what are u saying…

go home…

yujin 🐶 [5.04pm]:

yes ma’am!

(￣^￣)ゞ

ah fuck, you flop onto the couch, cheeks aflame, ahn yujin, i think you’re winning that bet.

it’s an early morning, gaeul hums happily, bathing in the sunlight. sometimes she’s glad that she has the window seat, when the sun rises and sets, she gets to watch it all. other times she’s not so grateful. like when it rains heavily and the raindrops splash at her.

life is great—

“yah, kim gaeul.”

the girl opens her eyes, facing an irritating sight; an ashamed ahn yujin. she only looked like that when her suitors yell at her, or when her mother nags her for her grades.

having known yujin for years, it was probably the former.

“which girl was it now?” gaeul huffs.

“y/n unnie.”

gaeul almost falls off her chair, did yujin win the bet? already worrying about her pocket money for the year, gaeul ignores everything yujin says, not until she hears, “i want to call the bet off.”

“what?!” she shrieks, “she didn’t agree to a date?”

yujin shakes her head, deflated but not for the reasons you’d imagine.

“i didn’t ask her on one,” she explains, “because… it didn’t feel right to do something so reckless.”

gaeul widens her eyes, naturally gesturing for yujin to continue. how could something like asking a girl on a date scare yujin? it was second nature to her at this point!

“asking y/n unnie on a date…” yujin’s gaze feels dreamy now and gaeul thinks she’s staring at a different person, “ah… it feels wrong to do it now..?”

“why? you wanted to win the bet though?”

yujin’s gaze hardens, “the bet isn’t as important as her.”

“y-yujin?! you’re saying that…”

“gaeul unnie, i like y/n.”

there’s no need to further explain. ahn yujin, the typical high school jock, falling for a girl that she only talked to for her own entertainment. how did she even manage to fall for you? yujin doesn’t know it herself. maybe it was after that day at the cafe, when you actually showed interest in her life. maybe it was the many online conversations you had with her, talking about mundane things. maybe it was the first day you locked eyes, yujin subconsciously always kept an eye on you afterwards.

or maybe it was all of that combined.

you tap your feet nervously on the bench. after you had kissed yujin’s cheek, she always brought it up, genuinely asking why your lips were so soft or even boldly declaring that she wanted another. maybe because it was rare for you to be so affectionate. even with jiwon and rei, skinship wasn’t so common. honestly, you weren’t sure what you were even doing with yujin. after many midnight conversations, you would consider you two friends. or perhaps even close friends.

yujin had forced you to wait for her to finish practice so she could walk you home. it was almost a routine at that point. there was some speculation of you two dating and you could imagine how happy that made yujin feel. yet mysteriously, yujin hadn’t made any super flirtatious advancements on you. the month was ending soon and the bet would end in her loss. so why wasn’t she doing anything? (not that you wanted her to do anything).

“y/n,” you turn your head. why on earth was kim gaeul and jang wonyoung staring at you from behind?

“yes…?”

the two girls glance at each other and rush up to you. you were currently standing outside yujin’s ice rink, watching her play hockey with her teammates. sometimes while playing a game, she would score and send you a wink. even through the helmet, you could see her mouth, ‘this is for you!’ it was embarrassing and cheesy but you still ended up flustered, covering your red face with your hair.

“we have something we need to tell you,” wonyoung starts off.

gaeul nods earnestly, “we’re very sorry but…”

you realise where this is going.

“ah, is this about the bet you guys and yujin made about me?”

wonyoung and gaeul both have their mouths agape, eyebrows furrowed. you almost laugh at their reaction.

“h-how did you know?!”

“i overheard you guys that day, i was going to get my phone but then i heard my name. sorry for eavesdropping.”

“no! we should be sorry for making that bet! but, if you already knew about it, why are you still hanging out with yujin?” wonyoung asks.

you chuckle, “i just wanted to see what she was planning to do. it was plain curiosity.”

“ah! but yujin likes you!” gaeul blurts out.

huh…?

“what?!”

“yeah! she told me a few days ago, that’s why she called the bet off,” the girl says. wonyoung groans, muttering about how gaeul shouldn’t have revealed that.

you absentmindedly say, “i like her too…”

the subject of your conversation immediately butts in, “you like who?”

you instantly clamp your mouth shut, heartbeat in your ears as you turn to face yujin. luckily you weren’t so out of it yet, if you were, you wouldn’t be able to control blurting out how handsome yujin looked in her gear. even brushing the ice off her jersey looked attractive to you.

“gaeul unnie, isn’t it time for us to leave?” wonyoung briskly drags gaeul out of the ice rink, leaving just you and yujin inside.

“aren’t you going to change?” you ask, facing a different direction from the jock before she manages to fluster you.

“i saw my two idiot friends talking to you, so i came here first,” she says, plopping down on the bench too.

“what were you guys even talking about?”

“oh… we were, uhm,” you stare at your lap, on top, your fingers playing with each other.

yujin senses you hesitate and places a hand on top of yours, holding it tightly.

“talking about… the bet you made about me,” you gulp, anticipating a huge, overblown reaction. you close your eyes but you don’t hear anything from yujin.

the silence begins to become worrying and you open your eyes, only to see yujin barely breathing, her eyes blown open and a pale face.

“unnie, i’m so sorr—”

“i’m not mad!” you quickly say, “i sort of had a crush on you on the first day of school, so having you interested in me, regardless of the bet, i mean, it made me feel good.”

“you had a crush on me?” yujin questions.

“yeah? like a hallway crush.”

“you’re seriously not mad about the bet?”

you shrug, “i was at first. but then your friends told me something.”

the girl’s body becomes stiff, more stiff than when you told her about your knowledge of the bet.

“they told me you like me, that’s what we were talking about before you came over,” you turn to her, “yujin-ah, is it true?”

yujin nods shyly.

“they’re so annoying… i wanted to have this cool confession but, ugh, unnie, i really wasn’t expecting myself to like you. is it crazy to say i’m happy that i made that bet? because it let me become closer to you?”

“yujin, before i accept your confession…” her eyes light up again, “can you tell me why you treated all those girls like that?”

“you mean…”

“you played with their hearts, how can i be sure that you won’t play with mine?” you ask.

yujin sighs, “honestly, i don’t know either but unnie, i need you to trust me that i like you a lot. i like you so much that i don’t know how to live through a day without thinking about you. everytime i experience something, i want to share it with you. please let me show my love for you.”

love… you smile, gently removing yujin’s helmet.

“you’re already thinking about love?”

yujin’s hair is unkempt, her bangs are swept messily, blocking her eyes slightly. yet, you can still see the whole galaxy in her eyes.

reaching out for her jaw, you pull her closer.

“ahn yujin, if you ever play with me, you’re dead.”

your lips are almost touching and you can feel her breath. almost panting already, yujin breathes out.

“there’s no point living if you’re not by my side.”

[kyra-cooneyx]

coffee — a.russo x reader

summary: you finally put an end to meeting up with alessia post-breakup

“if you stare at that phone any harder it might just blow up.”

katie dropped into the spot next to you on the dressing room, frowning at the lack of reaction she received. then you blinked and hummed but there was still a blank look on your face.

“you still with us nasa?” she asked, nudging you harshly. it knocked you out of whatever daze you were in and you scowled at her.

“katie that hurt.”

“it was supposed to,” katie scoffed, running her eyes over you. “what’s the matter?”

“what?” you glanced at her. “nothing. m’fine.”

“you’re a terrible liar,” katie shook her head. “and even if you weren’t, your body language would give you away. you’re very tense.”

“oh my god, go away and leave me alone.” you hissed, glaring daggers at her.

katie held her hands up in surrender and to her credit, immediately got up. but not even a minute later, you caught her whispering something to leah and then the blonde was heading your way.

“she’s such a snitch,” you muttered to yourself, staring at leah as she sat where katie did. “what?”

she stared back, a hard look on her face. “yeah, no, absolutely not. drop the attitude and tell me what’s pissed you off on that phone.”

“i’m not pissed off leah, i just—“ you breathed deeply, absentmindedly drumming your fingers along the device. “alessia wants to meet up after the match next week.”

leah shifted, eyebrows furrowed. “okay.”

really she had every right to be confused. despite breaking up over a year before due to your sudden transfer to arsenal, you and alessia had had multiple meet ups.

but they always ended the same way. and you could no longer take the heart ache that followed the morning after. the other ache wasn’t quite so bad.

“so what’s the problem?” leah’s question brought you back to reality and you shrugged slightly.

“i don’t think i want to.”

“then tell her that.”

the thought of rejecting her offer had occurred to you not long after the text had come through but you couldn’t do it. saying no to alessia was never easy and for some reason it never got any easier.

“can’t.” you mumbled and leah sighed at how sad you truly looked.

she didn’t really know what went on with you and alessia but she always noticed how down you were afterwards, the way you’d curl into yourself and push katie away when she poked at you in an attempt to cheer you up.

“well why don’t you meet yourself halfway?” leah suggested. “if you can’t not meet her, do something small and not what you usually do.”

you wracked your brain for the common denominator of your other meet ups. why did you always end up in bed with your ex girlfriend?

alcohol.

maybe if you didn’t go for dinner or meet at a local bar it wouldn’t end the way it usually did. maybe you wouldn’t wake up filled with embarrassment and rage, promising yourself that it would never get that far with her again.

maybe it wouldn’t end in tears. maybe alessia wouldn’t make you leave or she wouldn’t disappear before you woke up.

maybe maybe maybe.

“i still love her leah,” you said softly. “so maybe we can get coffee.”

after leah nodded in approval you texted alessia back with the suggestion, heart dropping when the read sign popped up but not a text bubble.

but then it changed.

you couldn’t tell what alessia really felt about the arrangement you proposed but she agreed and that’s all that really mattered to you.

-

“are you sure this is a good idea?” steph asked as you threw your hair up into a neatly messed up bun.

“it’s just coffee.”

“make it sure it stays that way.” the australian said pointedly.

you knew she was referring to last time. a dinner that ended with you both drinking a little too much, alessia’s words slurred but imprinted in your brain. let’s get back together. only for her to wake up the next morning seemingly forgetting everything she’d said the night before and leaving you a sobbing mess on the doorstep of beth’s house.

“no alcohol stephy, i promise,” you smiled slightly at her through the mirror. “just coffee.”

“just coffee,” she repeated. “i do not want to have you stumbling back here drunk out of your mind at stupid-o’clock in the morning because she’s kicked you out again.”

hearing it out loud made you shift uncomfortably. sure it wasn’t the first time one of the girls had made a snide comment about the situation, none of them had ever really done anything but comfort you.

“i’ll be fine steph.”

you grabbed your bag and shot out of the room before she could say anything else, heading towards the cute little coffee shop that was located just down the road.

but steph’s words echoed in your head, a pit forming in your stomach. what if it wasn’t a good idea? you couldn’t remember the last time you’d left alessia’s presence in a good mood. but maybe being sober would change it all. or maybe it would be the thing to really put everything into perspective.

did you want to go back to the girls miserable and filled with self-loathing again? no. and with every step you took, the battle in your brain got harder to win. the cons started to outweigh the pros and the pit kept getting deeper and deeper.

as you stopped near the coffee shop, you peered in to see alessia sat at a table, head bowed at she stared down at her phone, a single cup of coffee in front of her.

your hands shook as you pulled your phone from your bag, sending alessia a quick text to tell her that you couldn’t make it before quickly shoving it back into your bag and walked away.

it buzzed and buzzed but you didn’t look at it. you knew that it would be her asking why and then when you gave her some lame excuse, she’d convince to go anyway and you would, folding to her every demand like you usually did.

because when it came to you and alessia, it would never be just coffee.

[ohyousillything]

Boba is small and obnoxious, in a way only small tubies can be, squirming and thrashing around in his crib as he wails. He’s been told that Boba is denominated “a toddler”, by nat-born standards. CC-2224 is not impressed.

“What does the word ‘Boba’ mean,” he asks. The word has been bothering him for some time now.

Jango doesn’t raise his eyes from the datapad he’s frowning at, “It’s an old family name.”

CC-2224 considers this. Boba continues to wail at the injustices of the world. CC-2224 is sympathetic to that, at least.

And then the question pops in his head like an armed grenade.

“Can I have a name?” he asks.

Jango looks up at him, both eyebrows raised up to his hairline. There's a considering silencie, and then he says, like he's already regretting it, “You could.”

CC-2224 stares at him expectantly. Boba wails, mostly ignored.

Jango snorts and shakes his head, letting his attention fall back on his datapad, “You’ll have to come up with one on your own, kid. I’m shit at naming things,”

CC-2224 frowns, looking down at Boba, who’s finally beginning to realize no one paying much attention to his crying and he might need to adapt his strategies.He makes grabby fingers at CC-2224, who watches impassively.

Making an impulsive decision, he reaches into the crib and pulls the baby out, holding him at eye level like a hide up for inspection.

“I like the word kote,” CC-2224 says.

“Very modest,” Jango snorts, but he sounds approving. Newly christened Kote thinks he wasn’t looking for approval, but its nice getting it anyway.

Boba sneezes on his face, and the universe shifts.

Kote's never seen the sun, but someday he'll understand this moment feels like sunrise.

[caelivir]

HOMECOMING — model!atsumu

fem!reader, smidge of angst, fluff/comfort, bad events are referred to as punches, hits, etc., wc ~1.0k

the universe is taking its cosmic fingers made up of stars and nebulas and folding them down one by one until only one remains as a testament to its current feelings.

the bird.

or in other words: a giant fuck you.

you don’t know what you did to incur the wrath of the universe. hell, maybe you didn’t do anything at all. regardless of which fact is true, what you do know is that it is using you as its punching bag.

accidentally knocking down your bowl of cereal became the first hit in a series of ruthless blows of a terribly bad day. shattered porcelain with sharp edges scrape at the first layers of your skin, drawing a sting you’ll have to deal with later.

the second blow comes when the cleaning of the sticky sweet mess of fruit loops and milk makes you late for a lecture, and it didn’t help that you sprinted on cuts.

a third jab strikes heavily when your laptop dies not even five minutes after taking your usual seat. it takes all the willpower in your bones to hold you back from screaming a curse. you now have to allocate time into an already busy schedule to make up for this fumble.

and if you think this day could not get any worse, it does. a bird shits green on your white shoes on the way to your job, and a group of students laugh as they witness it.

your shift at the café is the worst that it’s ever been. what are the chances that you’re forced to deal with not one, not two, but three whining and screaming customers? the common denominator of them all being that they can’t seem to understand that you made their drinks exactly how it was ordered. they hurl the cruelest insults for no reason, and yet your manager finds that all the fault lies with you.

by the time you get home to your apartment, you barely have the energy to stand. you collapse onto the couch, staring into nothing as your mind premiers replay after replay of your awful day.

you fumble around for your phone that’s stuffed in one of the back pockets of your pants. your fingers run straight to the top of your favorites within your contacts.

because if anything, if there was one person who could ground you back to earth and heal every part of you that’s aching, it would be him.

it would be atsumu miya.

but then that call goes to voicemail, and the tears that have been held back by your willpower that’s as strong as a dam finally crumbles, making you an inconsolable mess.

it’s not even his fault. he’s half-way across the world, swamped with photoshoots for luxury brands, interviews, and fashion events. he’s rightfully busy, but fuck, that didn’t stop it from hurting your heart nonetheless.

you’re barely able to calm your cries when the doorbell rings, followed by annoyance once again rising in your stomach. you wipe at your nose and brush away the last of your remaining tears off your face before prying your limbs off the comfortable couch.

without thinking to look into the peep hole, you swing the door open with a sniffle, dragging your puffy, red eyes to the person before you.

you freeze at the sight of a familiar mop of blond hair, boasting a wide and excited smile. stars twinkle in his eyes as he holds a bouquet composed of carnations, daisies, gardenias, and baby breaths in his hands.

“hey, pretty girl.” atsumu beams, pushing the arrangement towards you. his face falls slightly once he gets a closer glimpse of the state of your face. “wait, what’s wrong? were ya crying?”

your mouth quivers before you break once again. tears that you just ran out of start up once more. tears of relief and joy and sadness all in one.

you forget the flowers, opting for the comfort in atsumu’s firm chest. your arms circle around his waist, your head burying itself into his hoodie. you’ll apologize for the wet stains that are drenching the soft fabric of his clothes later, but right now you need this. you need him.

and atsumu, without uttering a single word, rests a loving and reassuring hand on your head as you sob into him, a way of saying that he’s got you.

you’re battling against your hiccups as you try to talk to your boyfriend. you pull away from his warm hold and weakly attempt to wipe your face.

“what are you doing here?” you sniffle.

atsumu grins softly at you, using his fingers to brush away your tears. “my last few days in london were supposed to be free days, but i missed ya too much and took the first flight back home. thought i’d surprise ya.”

“i was having the worst day ever.” you admit shakily. “and i was gonna tell you about it, and then you didnt answer my call.” your voice cracks as you say it. it’s pathetic, but it sparks yet another wave of crying.

atsumu immediately brings you into another tight hug, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “i’m sorry. i’m sorry i missed it. my phone died on the way here.”

“never let your phone die ever again.” you mumble into his hoodie, fisting the fabric.

he laughs, a mesmerizing expression that melts your heart into goo. “i promise. anything for ya, princess.”

atsumu forces you to look at him, caressing your cheek with his free hand as he cherishes every minute detail of your face. he leans in, pressing a gentle and fleeting kiss onto your divine lips coated in salt.

atsumu puts the flower bouquet into your hands. “so, how about we go in and ya tell me all about yer shitty day, and then i’ll curse anyone and everything who had a part in making my sweet girl cry.”

you chuckle, the first laugh atsumu’s gotten out of you since his arrival, bringing the flowers gifted to you closer to your face. “yeah. i think i’d like that.”

[charmedreincarnation]

I shifted using the void state!

I'm getting straight to the point because I know people don't like long success stories, but I used these two posts to finally shift to my desired reality and manifest my dream life.

Rotten’s Practical Guide to Shifting Realities

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zgrhCYyct7xV4j7d7qYFcoO8bAMx5Jqdb3NGoO81Oqs/edit

Reddit Post: The Power of the Void State

https://www.reddit.com/r/shiftingrealities/s/XMIo5TPYlM

Anyways, when I learned about the void state on Reddit, I was instantly captivated. I mean, who wouldn't be? The idea of not only using it for shifting but also manifesting my dream life for myself and my family felt like a dream come true. That's when I came across the second post I shared about the void state, and eventually, the first document I shared. They were incredibly informative and completely changed my perspective on shifting and the law of the universe.

I went on to stalk many of the recommended success stories on Reddit, exploring posts and comment sections that mentioned you. You seemed to be a common denominator in their journeys, helping them shift or guiding them with your posts. It made me happy to see your positive influence, even though your posts were from years ago and it seemed like you no longer have an account. Unfortunately, many other creators' posts were either inactive or banned due to Reddit's strict rules which is really annoying.

However, someone made a post about you, and one of your friends ended up commenting with your Tumblr account. So, I gathered a lot of valuable information from your account and a few others (like Fleur, Pink, Rem, Sexy Dream Girl, etc.) on Tumblr.

I must say, the Tumblr shifting and void community is miles ahead of Reddit and Amino. I was shocked that I hadn't come across this community before. Reddit is just starting to talk about the Law of assumption and the void, whereas you guys have been immersed in it for years. I even encountered some misconceptions on Reddit, where people still think the void can only be used for shifting and not for waking up in a whole new life. 🙄

Regardless, finding this app was the motivation I needed, and I discovered so much valuable information. I ended up using your theta wave method, combined with the first Reddit post I sent, to enter the void and shift to my dr. It's truly mind-blowing how easy it all was.

I can vouch for this process. All you need are the two Reddit posts I shared, as the guide is highly regarded within the shifting community, along with a few trustworthy Tumblr bloggers. I've been part of the shifting community since 2017, so I've seen it all, and I managed to shift within just two and a half weeks of finding these resources. Even though I was struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts, I realized it doesn't have to hinder your journey.

I wanted to share my experience here, and I might make a post on Reddit too. However, they have become stricter with success stories due to anti-troll measures, and it takes weeks to even months for anything to be processed. So, I wanted to share my journey here first.

I also recommend this: https://www.reddit.com/r/shiftingrealities/s/daFCQdyHim because it helped me understand what shifting really is. Manifesting too!

Lastly I'm 26 years old, and I've noticed that Reddit tends to have a more adult audience compared to Tumblr. At first, it felt nice to be surrounded by fellow adults discussing shifting. On the other hand, seeing Tumblr mostly filled with teens and younger adults made me wonder if it's easier for them, especially without the weight of responsibilities that often come with age.

But let me tell you, age is not a factor that determines our success in shifting. Whether you're 13 or 55, it doesn't matter. This is something we can all engage in, no matter our age.

Sure, there might be some challenges that come with getting older. As we accumulate more life experiences, doubts tend to creep in, and we become more logical. But guess what? Those doubts and logical thinking don't define our ability to shift realities. They are simply hurdles for us to overcome.

Hi love! I've spent some time going through all the resources you shared, and they've been incredibly helpful! Actually i have seen that guide in so many places, and it's truly enlightening. Thank you for sharing these amazing tools with us!

And yes, I wholeheartedly agree with what you said. age and doubt really do have no place in our journey they really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

I used to engage with @theastralplaneandbeyond5487 on Amino and Reddit too. He also has an informative YouTube channel and is in his 50s, I believe. His experiences and insights are rlly helpful and further show that age is just a number in this journey.

His journey showed me that we can do whatever we we want , regardless of our age. It's a beautiful reminder that we're all capable of creating and experiencing whatever we want 🩵

Also omg my Reddit era in 2021 was so fun. I’m glad it’s still helping people though my views have definitely evolved :D!

[bookofbonbon]

all a lie - coriolanus snow.

Pairing: Coriolanus Snow x Reader.

Warnings: Abusive relationship. Death. Descriptions of dead person. Spoilers for TBOSBAS.

Summary: Your relationship with Coriolanus Snow was all a lie.

Word Count: 1k+.

A/N: Sad girl hours. I found the angst fic. I HAD TO THROW IN THE DESTIEL LINE HAHAH (please tell me if you catch it - it's very obvious lmao).

Your engagement to Coriolanus Snow was an arranged one. It was no secret. Everyone in Panem knew. History would report that it was a pre-arrangement between best friends and co-creators of The Hunger Games, Crassus Snow and Casca Highbottom.

Details would emerge how when Crassus Snow’s wife birthed a son and Casca Highbottom's wife a daughter, the pair of bestfriends wanted to join their families; intertwining two of Panem’s most influential families for an eternity.

Feature after feature of the upcoming wedding would be written and published; networks broadcasting far and wide for all to see. It was of course, a bonus that the couple were also in love.

The headlines would call it things like fate and true love, and the people of Panem would fall head over heels for it. 

It was all a lie of course. A lie conceived by Coriolanus Snow. The arrangement, the engagement, being in love. None of it was real.

“I chose her also because I hate her,” you’d overheard him one day. A long pause; the drawn out silence broken only by the sound of his haughty laughter. You could hear the smugness in his voice. “She’s perfect.” 

None would know that the arrangement itself was false but you were constantly reminded by those who were privy to the true nature of your relationship with him that you should be grateful. How lucky you were that the noble Coriolanus Snow would honour the wishes of his great father for you after the shame your own brought.

“You should be thanking me,” Coriolanus hissed, face close to yours and his grip tightening around your arm. “Your father damned you. If it weren’t for me, if I didn’t come up with this arrangement for you, you’d be nothing. I saved you. I’m the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition.”

The hardest part was that you were starting to believe it too. Reality and make-believe blurring into one - it was becoming increasingly more difficult to discern what was real from what was not; unsure of right from left, up from down. Everything snatched away from you in a moment's notice and you should be grateful. Everyone in Panem is happy for you but, you.

But, Coriolanus lied about the engagement, he was probably lying about that too. 

Of course, it hadn’t always been this way. There was a time that existed when the two of you were friends, genuinely. Your father’s were friends, the very best and so were the two of you - you think.

In hindsight, you wondered if the downfall was inevitable, given the history; something broke down somewhere, your father’s weren’t particularly cordial in their later years. You had never thought that it would affect the two of you as well but, pinpointing when your own friendship with Coriolanus shifted into other was easy - the beginning of your mentorships for The 10th Annual Hunger Games and over the course of the next two months following that until it was dead… along with you father. 

You groan, loudly and keel forward. 

You press your free hand to your forehead but it doesn’t stop the barrage of images of your father’s lifeless body from coming to mind; slumped over his desk, nose bloody, face blue and a blank stare.

A journal would later be found amongst his belongings when Dr. Gaul and Coriolanus volunteered to clear out his things from the academy; a journal full of the ramblings of a mad, drug-addled man, that damned your father all to hell as a rebel. You were sure it wasn’t his - you couldn’t prove that it wasn’t. 

But one thing that you were certain of in all of that, was that there was only one common denominator - Coriolanus Snow. 

You try not to think about how his resentment for your father grew tenfold between reaping day and your father’s last, festering into something rotten. How this entire arrangement was likely revenge so, he would have you, Casca Highbottom’s daughter under his thumb and locked in his cage for the rest of your life to make up for the years of your father’s torment.

The newspapers would report The Revered Dean Casca Highbottom Succumbs to Morphling Addiction, despite the toxicology report finding traces of rat poison in his system; despite your father divulging that Lucy Gray used rat poison to win, smuggled in by Coriolanus Snow; despite you seeing Coriolanus Snow leaving your father’s classroom just moments before you found his body. 

“Snow lands on top.” you’d watch him taunt your father’s grave on the day your engagement was announced.

Coriolanus Snow was never really your friend.

You think you might be sick.

You remind yourself it’s all hearsay and speculation, the official reports read accidental overdose and you’d push that small voice that told you otherwise further and further into the darkest crevices of your mind because Coriolanus Snow saved you. 

“Darling,” Coriolanus calls, voice mechanical. 

You remain seated with your hand pressed to your forehead for a few seconds longer until it clicks - he’s talking to you. 

Hand sliding down your face, the band of your engagement ring is cool against your warm skin. Your elbow digs into your thigh as you rest your chin on your palm and look up at him  with what you hope appear to be sober eyes and as best of a smile as you could muster, given your current state. 

“The Vickers and Creeds are about to leave, we will see them out.” 

Not a question but a command as he holds his hand out stoically for you to take; eyes swimming with restrained rage - had they always been so cold? Perhaps or perhaps not - not that you particularly cared at the moment, you just wanted everyone to leave. 

If you could’ve, you yourself would’ve left the party a long time ago - a luxury unfortunately, not afforded to guests of honour. Not that you felt like a guest of honour. Quite frankly, nursing a migraine in one hand and a glass of champagne in the other whilst avoiding your guests for the duration of the night was not at all how you imagined your own engagement party to be but, that was exactly how it was.

There’s a familiar burning sensation in your nose, a prickling at the back of your eyes, the feeling of something stuck in your throat. 

You hiccup and something akin to concern flashes in Coriolanus’s eyes but it's gone as quickly as it came - you were probably imagining it.

“Put the glass of champagne down,” he tells you and you do.

You want to laugh- or maybe cry but, instead you take his hand, intertwine your fingers, hold his hand loosely and your jaw tightly and let him lead the way. 

-

All fics are my own work - I have not posted my work anywhere else.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters/places mentioned above.

Do not copy. Do not translate. Do not repost.

bookofbonbon 2024. All rights reserved.

[prolifeproliberty]

Problems with Trump’s new proposal to make insurance companies/the government pay for IVF:

1. IVF is immoral. Human life begins at conception. Human embryos are human beings. IVF commodifies, destroys, and endangers human embryos. An embryo created in IVF is statistically more likely to die before birth than to make it to term. Even in “ethical IVF” where only one embryo is created and implanted at a time, for a woman under 35 that child has a 49% chance of dying before birth. There is no other circumstance in which we would tolerate putting a child in a situation where they had a 49% chance of dying. For women over 35 the survival rate goes down dramatically. Since older women are more likely to be candidates for IVF (you have to have been trying for a while before it’s even recommended, and many women today don’t start trying until their 30s or later), the chance of death for many embryos created in IVF is between 75-95%.

It is impossible to know the success rate for natural implantation, because a woman cannot know if she has conceived until after implantation has already occurred. However, it would be reasonable to assume that the natural method of conception would be less risky for the embryo than creating an embryo in a lab and trying to perfectly time the implantation attempt, often by using drugs that artificially manipulate the mother’s hormonal cycle.

Note: in the article linked above, a 60-65% success rate is referenced before they get to the age breakdown. However, it should be noted that that rate is for “genetically normal” embryos, implying that you only get that rate if you’ve already destroyed any embryos that are not genetically perfect. But even if you decide to be a eugenecist and not consider generally “inferior” embryos to be people, that’s still a 35-40% risk of death, which again we would not tolerate for any other situation involving a child.

2. Religious freedom. For the same reason we have the Hyde Amendment to prohibit federal funding of abortion, and for the same reason that Hobby Lobby won their Supreme Court case, forcing either taxpayers or employers to fund IVF is forcing people to participate in something they consider to be morally indefensible. Both the Catholic Church and the Southern Baptists have condemned IVF, along with many smaller denominations and individual churches/religious groups.

3. It is not the best solution to our birth rate issues. IVF will not get us to replacement rates. We need cultural shifts that encourage women to start having children in their 20s (many fertility issues stem from waiting too long) and better overall health for women (healthy food, less environmental toxins). Let’s instead focus on letting RFK Jr. step in as part of Trump’s cabinet and work on getting the toxins out of our food and fixing nutritional recommendations to reflect the actual science, not lobbyist agendas.

[lemonhemlock]

I did not get into Game of thrones when it first started airing. In fact, I waited until it was long past it's heyday (around s6 or 7) to check it out because the marketing and the conversation surrounding it misled me into thinking it was nothing more than "grimdark" bullshit. As one famous YouTuber sarcastically called it "hot fantasy that fucks." So, I avoided Martin's work for literal years due to the impression that I got from online reactors and show-only casuals who did as you and a few others have described as his work being fundamentally misinterpreted.

Fortunately, I overcame my hang-ups, purchased the books (even the supplementary material) and fell down an entire rabbit hole of ASOIAF which led me to recognizing that this world he spent decades creating is far more complex than what had been portrayed onscreen. Regardless of the possibility of the books remaining unfinished (which I am fine with, personally), what George has created is a genuine work of art that I imagine took a tremendous amount of time and energy. So, for so many people online to behave like children and throw tantrums because they feel entitled to him (ew) instead of ushering forth more reasonable conversations and legitimate debates about the nature of his situation frankly makes me look at this fandom with a heavy dose of skepticism.

It is truly baffling to hear even professional critics and see articles describing George as being "ungrateful" or "unprofessional" when it has been well-documented just how often authors get locked out of the adaptation process and left to the wayside as consultants. Look at what happened to Rick Riordan and Christopher Paolini! George R.R. Martin is not the only author to have qualms with how a multimillion dollar studio has mishandled his creative work, and to act like he should remain silent just because he's amassed a certain degree of wealth is quite frankly, ridiculous. He shouldn't have to settle down, be grateful, and stay quiet because the greedy corporate executives and their media drones will get offended by actual criticism that could alter the perception of the adaption being revealed as mediocre for having departed from the source material.

TLDR: authors should be allowed to speak up about their art being sacrificed for commercialization.

Thank you so much for this message, anon! This needs to be talked about more, because I don't think a lot of commentators truly understand the vulgar, late-capitalistic sheen that seems to set in and slowly poison any ASOIAF adaptation. It honestly baffles me how quick some members of this fandom are to rush to the defense of, what is essentially (let's not be kidding ourselves here), a cashgrab by a giant corporation to the detriment of the actual artist and the actual creative foundation behind it.

Why else would "MAX" (if that is even their name) make another (or several other) ASOIAF adaptations? Not to stay true to any philosophical aesthetic vision, as it has become more than apparent with Season 2, but to increase shareholder profits by appealing to the lowest common denominator. Even the basic premise has been shifted in order to address popular trends and satisfy the mindless consumer that doesn't want to engage with anything deeper than their favourite tropes, prettily packaged:

from a story about a doomed ouroborous family superimposed on the pitfalls of feudalism, with villainy and heroism to be found on both sides, it has been simplified and reduced to a narrative that exalts white feminism and disqualifies anyone who opposes its girlboss protagonist. This is Sheryl Sandberg's version of Fire and Blood.

Truly, I think Sara Hess did (unintentionally) outline it the best: "civilians don't matter in Game of Thrones". They don't matter in Game of Thrones, but they matter in A Song of Ice and Fire. The entire heart of the series is contained in Septon Maribald's speech. The writers "kind of", must have forgotten, though.