#I still have her standalone and I'm still waiting on another one from the series

[imhenritz]

If you are uncomfortable or don't like this for Sanji and Mc, please don't feel like you have to write it or even answer me.

What if Mc gets pregnant in the far future, all the fluff and cuteness of Sanji caring for her.

Being polite like that makes me want to do it more. Don't worry, I had this on my list for a while. I got carried away so there'll be three parts for each trimester. I hope this does your request justice!

Reader’s Name: Mc (Stands for Main Character but made it look like a name)

Note: This moment STILL takes place in the future from my “Giving Him the Love He Deserves” series. It can be a standalone, but it ties in with the story I’ve written before.

[First Trimester] The sunny day embraced the Thousand Sunny as it sailed across the endless blue sea, the gentle breeze carrying the laughter of the crew. On the deck, Mc stood, her hand resting protectively over her small baby bump, her face glowing with the radiance of impending motherhood. Sanji, her devoted husband, hovered nearby, his eyes never leaving her for more than a moment.

“My darling, my love, please, let me do that," Sanji insisted, reaching out to take the basket of fruits she was carrying. His eyes were filled with both adoration and concern, his protective nature in full swing.

"I can handle it, Ji," Mc chuckled, appreciating his care but also wanting to maintain her independence. "I'm not that fragile, you know."

"But you're carrying our precious little one," Sanji argued, his tone gentle but firm. "I won't forgive myself if anything happens to you or our baby."

Chopper chimed in, his small stature not diminishing the authority in his voice. "Sanji-san is right, Mc. It's crucial for you and the baby's health that you don't strain yourself."

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew, being their usual playful selves, seemed to have temporarily forgotten about Mc's condition. Luffy and Usopp, in their typical boisterous manner, were engaged in a friendly wrestling match nearby, completely unaware of the delicate situation.

In a moment of chaos, Luffy and Usopp, fueled by their competitive spirits, nearly toppled over Mc. Sanji, with his lightning-fast reflexes, swiftly maneuvered her out of harm's way, his protective instincts kicking in. Chopper, witnessing the scene, couldn't help but scold the oblivious duo.

"Oi, you idiots! Be mindful of Mc's condition!" Chopper scolded, his tiny hooves tapping in irritation. "She's pregnant, and you need to be extra careful around her!"

Robin approached with a calm smile, placing a reassuring hand on Mc's shoulder. "Chopper is right. We must be considerate, especially now. Mc, if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask."

Nami chimed in, her eyes softening with understanding. "And if any of these guys forget, just say the word. We'll make sure they behave."

Usopp and Luffy, finally realizing their oversight, exchanged sheepish glances before offering apologetic smiles. "Sorry, Mc! We got carried away," Luffy said, scratching his head.

Usopp nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we promise to be more careful."

[Second Trimester]

The Thousand Sunny sailed smoothly across the endless expanse of the Grand Line, its crew bustling with their usual activities. Amidst the cheerful chaos, Mc stood on the deck, a radiant smile gracing her face despite the slight bulge of her second-trimester pregnancy. Sanji was never far from her side, his hands almost always around her, protective and attentive.

One sunny afternoon, as the crew gathered for lunch, Mc felt a gentle kick from her growing belly. Her eyes widened with surprise and delight, and she softly gasped, "Ji, the baby kicked!" Her voice carried excitement and wonder.

Sanji's eyes lit up with sheer joy. He dropped to his knees beside her, his hands tenderly placed on her stomach, waiting for another sign of life. "Really, my love?" he murmured, his voice filled with awe and anticipation. The crew, sensing the moment, hushed in anticipation.

Suddenly, there it was – a tiny, yet unmistakable kick beneath Sanji's fingertips. His eyes widened in amazement, and he let out a breathless laugh. "I felt it!" he exclaimed, his face lighting up with pure happiness. His joy was contagious, spreading through the crew like wildfire.

Excited chatter filled the air as the rest of the Straw Hat crew gathered around, their eyes wide with wonder. Luffy, the carefree captain, approached cautiously, his usual exuberance momentarily subdued by the significance of the moment. "Can I... Can I feel too?" he asked, his voice soft and earnest.

Mc nodded, her smile never fading, and Sanji guided Luffy's hand to her belly. As Luffy felt the gentle kick, his eyes widened, his grin reaching ear to ear. "Wow! That's so cool!" he exclaimed, his excitement palpable.

Not wanting to miss out on the moment, the rest of the crew eagerly lined up, each taking their turn to feel the life growing inside Mc. Robin, placed her hand on Mc's belly, her eyes reflecting her deep fascination. Chopper carefully pressed his hoof against her stomach, his expression a mix of wonder and professionalism.

Nami, couldn't help but tear up, her heart touched by the beauty of the moment. Usopp beamed with pride, feeling a sense of camaraderie with the little one even before their arrival.

Brook hummed a soft, lullaby-like tune, filling the air with a soothing melody. Franky, couldn't stop grinning, his laughter echoing across the deck.

Amidst the joy and excitement, Luffy, usually known for his reckless behavior, became surprisingly careful around Mc. He offered her a hand whenever she needed it, making sure she was comfortable, his playful antics momentarily subdued by a newfound sense of responsibility.

As the crew marveled at the miracle of life, Mc revealed her stomach, proudly displaying a small set of feet marks on her skin, a tangible proof of the life growing within her. The crew gasped in amazement, their eyes wide with awe and affection. [Third Trimester]

On a sunny afternoon aboard the Thousand Sunny, the Straw Hat Pirates were going about their usual business.

Amidst the bustling activity, Mc was gracefully making her way through the ship. She was in her third trimester, her pregnancy bringing an undeniable glow to her face. The crew, well aware of her condition, treated her with utmost care, ensuring she never had to lift a finger.

As Mc entered the common area, she found some members of the crew engaged in a hushed conversation, their faces a mix of seriousness and determination. Curious, she approached them, her eyes widening as she caught snippets of their conversation.

"...make sure we have towels ready..."

"...remember the breathing exercises Chopper taught us..."

"...don't panic, stay calm..."

They were discussing what to do when Mc's water broke, a topic they had taken quite seriously, despite the inherent awkwardness. Mc couldn't help but chuckle at their sincerity.

"What's going on?" Mc asked, her laughter bubbling forth.

Luffy grinned widely. "We're practicing for when the baby comes! We gotta be ready, just like in a battle!"

Zoro, nodded in agreement.

Nami chimed in, her practicality shining through, "We've read books and even consulted with Chopper. We're fully prepared!"

Usopp chimed in with enthusiasm, "And we have a secret weapon – Franky built a portable, super-comfortable birthing chair!"

Franky flexed his muscles proudly, "Super!" he exclaimed, his signature pose emphasizing his excitement.

Chopper piped up, "I'll be here to help, Mc! You and the baby will be in good hands."

Sanji, with his usual chivalry, took Mc's hand gently, his eyes filled with love and excitement. "We're all here for you, my love. We'll welcome our little one into this world with open arms."

As the crew continued their preparations, Mc felt an overwhelming sense of warmth and gratitude. Their antics and genuine concern made her heart swell with affection. The Straw Hat Pirates weren't just a crew; they were a family, and in that moment, Mc knew their little one was already surrounded by boundless love and extraordinary adventures waiting to unfold.

══════════════════

Thank you for reading!

Check out the Masterlist too!

Stay tuned for more Future Fluffs aboard the Thousand Sunny, starring Mc and Sanji’s adorable married life, and the Straw Hats joining in on the fun!

Don’t miss out on the fluffs:

Breakfast in Sunny

Caught in Act

Lover

Antics

[bbyhellfire]

our phantom of forever

➠ summary: eddie is resurrected by vecna, only to realize you don't exist in the upside down.

➠ pairing: eddie munson x afab!reader (she/her pronouns)

➠ word count: 1.3k words

➠ warnings: angst city, death, resurrection, allusions to suicidal thoughts (eddie wishing for death), swearing, reader moved to hawkins with her parents, vecna being vecna.

➠ a/n: pushing the 'eddie is alive' agenda 😌 i have a couple ideas about eddie making a deal with vecna that i'm debating turning into a series or just standalone one shots, so let me know what you think! and let's continue to live in delulu

It was stupid, running away from Vecna in the Upside Down. It wasn't like he controlled it or anything. But Eddie Munson isn't exactly known for his smart decisions.

He makes a mad dash from the Creel House the first chance he gets. He's alive, resurrected by the very monster responsible for his death. Eddie should be relieved that he can feel his heart beating as he runs through the decrepit streets of Hawkins. The never ending fog blurs his vision, not that it matters. Upside Down or not, he knows where he is going. No alternate dimension can change that.

All Eddie wants is you. He wants to curl his wrecked body around yours and cry into your neck as you tell him everything will be okay. He knows it won't happen, Vecna won't be so quick to let his new plaything go. But the hope is still there, and it's enough to take him across town towards the direction of your home.

If he can't physically be with you, then at least he can be surrounded by you. A piss poor replacement, but he'll take what he can get.

The ash-like spores make his lungs burn with every jagged breath. His body, still weak from his death, begs for him to stop, but he is already here. The navy blue paint is chipped and vines have broken through the front windows, but it's still your home. The world around him blurs into a watercolor of black and blue as he rushes through your front door and up the stairs to your bedroom.

Maybe you'll be waiting for him. You'll greet him with open arms and a teary smile and –

Nothing.

You're not there. In fact, none of your belongings are there. Not your bed, not your desk, your posters, your clothes. The room is empty.

What the hell?

He moves towards your bathroom. The counter should be covered in your toiletries. The doodles he'd given to you should be taped up along the mirror.

An owl with "You're owl I need" written on the bottom.

A mug with "I love you a latte" etched in the front.

Another of a cat holding a sign that says, "I've got felines for you."

The bathroom is as empty as your room. The only things waiting for him are those fucking vines, slithering out of the bathroom sink like a bouquet of snakes.

No, no, no.

Vecna controls this universe, right? So it's not completely unreasonable that he could make you disappear. Right? That has to be it. This is just Vecna. It's all Vecna.

"Do you really think so little of me? After I saved your life? Think, boy."

Eddie's head shoots up to the mirror, expecting to see the monster standing behind him like this is some sort of horror movie, but he's alone. Of course Vecna has an omnipresent voice that echoes throughout. Of course he fucking does.

He's never gonna beat the God complex allegations, Eddie thinks as the vines in the sink start to move. A little nudge of encouragement so to speak.

He bolts out of your room and down the hallway to your parent's bedroom.

Empty.

He tries the linen closet.

Nothing.

He practically tumbles down to the first level. Your living room, dining room, kitchen, even the garage. Everything is devoid of you and anything connected to you.

Dread is settles in the pit of his stomach. He is running out of places to check. All he thinks to do is scream. And he does. He wails and wails until his vocal cords hemorrhage. The dull taste of blood in the back of his throat makes him add obscenities to his screams. Maybe it'd be enough to echo through the other side. Hell, he'd take your parents materializing to scold him. He'd take anything as long as it means you're there. But nothing ever comes. It's just him and his pain.

It's like you never existed.

Only when he's back in your bedroom, standing in the exact spot where your bed should be, does he remember Nancy's diary. Ice cold realization turns his organs into stone.

He tries not whimper, "She isn't here, is she?"

"No, she's not, but you already knew that." With every word, the fog thickens into a violent red until the monster responsible for all of this appears in front of him. Eddie shakes his head in furious denial as the date in Nancy's diary taunts him.

November 6, 1983.

It's like you don't exist in the Upside Down because of you don't exist. Your family wouldn't move to Hawkins until the following month. It wouldn't be until the start of the spring semester when you and Eddie would properly meet, paired up for a science project. By February, he'd build up the courage to ask you on a date. His adoration for you would bloom with the spring flowers. He would be head over heels in love with you by the fall.

But with the Upside Down frozen at a point in time where he didn't even know your name, you won't be here. There will be no record of you, no liferaft to cling to as his humanity is thrown into freefall.

"No, it's not fair! This isn't fucking fair!"

"The human existence is anything but fair. Your life was an excellent example of that."

Eddie knows that very well, but he doesn't need this walking smear stain reminding him like he's a toddler. He remembers every taunt, shove, and outrage that formed his life. They were his to experience, not anyone else's. They were his life no matter how unfair it may have been. Vecna didn't get to use them against him.

Now, he is angry. He lunges toward the monster, but vines shoot out to wrap around his waist before he can reach Vecna. They throw him back violently, wrapping around his middle and neck to keep him flush against the wall. The tendril around his waist tightens until he stops moving, his arms pinned to his side. Another vine slithers around his neck, squeezing until he has no choice but to look up at the monster of the Upside Down.

"So ungrateful even after I gifted you the chance of another life. Do you understand I can take that away from you? And then how would you see her again?"

Eddie grimaces, scrunching his nose and glaring with all the resentment building inside. He knows where this is going, the manipulation so obvious it's insulting.

The weight of his situation presses down on him harder than the vines bundling his body. He finally cries. Fat, angry tears run down his dirty cheeks as he glares at Vecna. Eddie hopes he looks as pathetic as he feels. Maybe Vecna will be disgusted and realize he made a mistake resurrecting him. He is not a killer, not a hero, not a villain. He is just Eddie.

He wishes for a reinstatement of his death sentence. He'd rather his body be picked apart by demobats than a life shackled by shame and defeat.

"I'm not unreasonable, Eddie," Vecna takes heavy steps towards him. "You can see her again, if it's what you really want. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it. I just need you to do something for me."

The tears keep falling, his vision blurring from the splotches in the shape of you. He thinks of you, the way you smell, the comforting feeling of your hand in his, the sweet nothings you'd whisper when you thought he was asleep. He remembers the nights you'd spend wrapped in his sheets, eyes glassy from all the weed you'd smoke, as you talk about the future.

That is all he will ever have of you – memories. Memories that will fade until only the pain of what could have been remains.

What else is he supposed to do?

"What is it?"

divider by @/silkholland

[whump-me]

My Patreon is officially live!!

New whump writing is going up 2-3 times a week, with a focus on ongoing novel-length stories. Interrogation whump, spy whump, lab whump, sci-fi and fantasy elements, lots and lots of emotional whump… basically the same stuff I post here, but more of it.

There are three tiers available:

$3/month: Early access to everything that goes up here. The plan is to always have one story going, with new chapters being released 2-3x/week. Once the last chapter is released on Patreon, the first chapter will be released on Tumblr. For the average novel-length story, that means subscribers will be reading about two months ahead.

$5/month: Early access, plus side stories and bonus novels. Approximately twice as much whumpy writing as the previous tier. Stories released to this tier will be exclusive to Patreon for a minimum of one year.

$7/month: Cleanly-formatted downloadable copies of every completed story in epub and mobi format. (Epub is readable on most e-reading apps and readers, including Kindle. Mobi is a legacy Kindle format.) This is the easiest way to read if you prefer to wait until the story is complete, or if you like to reread.

And if you can't join the Patreon, or just don't want to? No worries! I'll still be posting loads of stuff here.

(Name note: for now, I'm publishing these stories on Patreon using the same name I've previously used to publish more traditional--read, less overtly whumpy--urban fantasy novels, while I decide whether to publish all my novels under the same name, or use that name exclusively for urban fantasy. These stories may be published under a different name in the future.)

Obscure, a Mind Games novel, is the first story I'm releasing to Patreon, and the first chapter is available there now. (You might remember the Mind Games setting from my Whumptober 2023 stories.) New chapters will come out 3x/week.

When Obscure is complete on Patreon (which will be in mid-March), I'll be posting it here on the same schedule: three chapters a week until it's done. (If you want to get on the taglist for when it's available here, let me know.)

The first Patreon bonus content--which will be the first half of Defect, another Mind Games story--will be posted at the beginning of February. (As with my Whumptober 2023 stories, these novels all stand entirely alone, sharing a setting but nothing else. They can be read in any order, and you don't need to read one to understand the others.)

Story descriptions under the cut:

Obscure

Forgetting is dangerous. Remembering is deadly.

Elias: the man sitting handcuffed in an interrogation room deep in a secret underground facility. On the surface, he looks harmless. But his mind is a weapon—he can erase memories with a thought.

Kirill: the man on the other side of the interrogation table. He has a weapon of his own—he can see inside other people’s memories. All he has to do is make them feel a strong enough emotion, and their minds are his. And no emotion works quite as well as fear.

Elias has worked for decades to save the Enhanced—people born with superhuman abilities—from being abducted and forced into black-ops work. Now his captors want the names of everyone who has ever helped him. If Kirill’s methods of persuasion don’t work, he’ll simply use Elias’s fear to slip into his mind and plunder his memories.

But he may get more than he bargained for.

Decades ago, Elias erased a set of memories that tie the two of them together in a way neither of them suspects. And those memories are about to come to light.

Obscure is part of the Mind Games universe, a series of standalone stories about ordinary humans with superhuman abilities and the people who want to use or destroy them. This novel is 65,000 words long, or about 200 pages.

---

Defect

Their creators designed them to be the perfect weapons.

They forgot to make sure they could control their creations.

Sparrow’s explosive powers make her a living bomb. She spends her life locked away in a fireproof cell, brought out only when something needs to burn. But the longer you contain an explosion, the stronger it becomes.

All she knows is that she wanted to see the sky. Then came fire, and screaming, and death. Now she’s lost on unfamiliar city streets, hunted by her creators and the civilian authorities alike.

Mary went from being a failed experiment to a lab assistant prized for her intelligence and her perfect obedience. But after years without useful results, her lab is slated for shutdown. That means the dissection table for Mary. Unless she captures her creators’ rogue weapon and proves her lab holds the secret to controlling her power.

Mary offers Sparrow the thing she thought she could never have: freedom. Freedom from her creators, and from her own uncontrollable power.

It’s a lie.

Mary accepted long ago that there’s no such thing as freedom for people like them. There is only survival—and she’ll do whatever it takes to survive.

Defect is part of the Mind Games universe, a series of standalone stories about ordinary humans with superhuman abilities and the people who want to use or destroy them. This novella is 42,000 words long, or about 140 pages.

[worldunbent]

well my volunteer shift for tonight got cancelled so i'm starting my natsuyuu reread with volume 1... it's been years since i read the early volumes (and it's my first time reading the official translations) so this is basically a brand new experience.

getting used to the rather plot-heavy past 40 or so chapters and then just jumping back to the beginning is a bit of a trip. the pacing of the series has evolved so smoothly and slowly that you don't notice it in process, but the difference becomes way more obvious once you travel back 120+ chapters. that's not a knock on the early chapters at all, because i think they're all fantastic standalone stories. they're just so different from the current series!

but despite all that, the themes are extremely consistent and i kept getting surprised at how many moments in these first four chapters can be connected with a straight line all the way to the present.

chapter 1

i'm going to restrain myself and not laugh at every early nyanko. his design had charm! it's just so different from his current look!

Sensei: I've spent such a long time in that ceramic cat that my body's gotten used to it. My true form is very graceful and elegant, you know. Natsume: Oh yeah?

it’s soooo cute that it takes approximately 2 minutes for natsume to start treating nyanko like an actual cat.

Sensei: Reiko couldn't get along with humans. So she started to pick on yokai. She bullied them into duels and crushed them. She was born with substantial mystical powers. She made them promise that the winner would get power over the loser, and then had them write their names down to ensure their obedience. This book is the collection of those names. Natsume: So... why do you want it, Nyanko sensei?

reiko’s methods of defeating youkai are very… prosaic lol. this could be because this is essentially a pilot chapter and midorikawa hadn’t fully developed the worldbuilding rules, but i also wonder if we can justify this with her “substantial mystical powers.” she can accomplish with a baseball bat or her foot what exorcists need elaborate rituals to do. or it could just be the terms of her duels! also, the “kick me” panel cracks me up.

HMM... i started to write something up on this but i think i need to return to it later.

Sensei: It's easy to do, but many yokai are vicious. You won't last long. I'd advise against it. Natsume: I'll be fine. I have you, sensei. Sensei: Say what?! Natsume: I didn't want to get involved... but I kind of owe it to [text is cut off]. If I end up dying partway through, the Book of Friends will be yours. Please, sensei. Will you help me out?

natsume is super quick to propose a partnership with nyanko and begin relying on him. again, this about economical pilot writing, but it’s still interesting when you compare it to the pacing of other relationships.

Sensei: ....Are you sure? I can have the Book when your life ends? Natsume: Yeah, I'm sure...

the shoujo bubbles showing up here are. so

“I bet she was waiting… for the yokai to come find her, to get their names back. As many as she could find. And the yokai felt lonely being no more than one of many…” this reminds me of hinoe in the most recent reiko-centric chapter, but more generally, complicated bonds of loyalty and servitude, reciprocal and nonreciprocal, seem to be some of midorikawa's favorite dynamics to draw on. putting a pin in this.

chapter 2

this touko is so cute. shigeru is a nonentity in the first volume.

you may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like

Sensei: Bad dream? Natsume: Because you were on me! Sensei: You must've left yourself vulnerable. Weakness lures demons. They take advantage of it. Be strong if you don't want to get eaten.

madara brings up survival of the fittest mentality for the first time, which is another consistent theme - the value of individual strength vs sharing your struggles with others. but the latter hasn’t really been addressed as an option yet! natsume kind of speedran thru part of this by enlisting nyanko as his bodyguard, but it will take him a lot longer to start learning to share burdens with other humans, or to allow the emotional vulnerability aspect to enter into it.

Natsume: I'll come to worship you. I can't promise to come every day, but I'll bring you offerings. Shrine god: You can't, Natsume. You're my friend.

this chapter hits very hard for me in general, but especially this exchange. the first volume of full of relationships with marked power dynamics, but now we finally get some friends. weh.

no specific screenshot for this, but i get a bit emotional reading midorikawa’s sidebar notes. i don’t know how old she was when she started writing natsuyuu, but it’s 20 years younger than she is now. i wonder if she still has the same editor she’s talking about in these notes!

WELL MAYBE. weh!!

chapter 3 natsume’s flashbacks to the various youkai he encountered as a child are way creepier than i remembered. screenshots not included due to image limit, but midorikawa has been good at conveying unease very quickly from the very beginning.

Natsume: Oh boy...

speaking of unease, panels like these are why i felt the need to use screenshots economically. tanuma bb you have come so far. i love the lighting in the center top panel.

another thing i love is midorikawa's assistants getting feature sidebar panels, which again i didn't screenshot because i was worried about running out of images for this post. but they're great.

Natsume: I'm sorry, can we do this later? Misuzu: Are you busy? Sensei: Exorcising humans. Natsume: Sensei! Misuzu: Oh? Then allow me, Misuzu, to help. It would be dull to never serve my master. And you saved one of my own servants earlier. Natsume: The frog... Sensei: No good deed goes unpunished. Natsume: You be quiet, Sensei.

misuzu’s introduction brings back the theme of servitude and mutual loyalty. i also completely forgot that misuzu’s introduction was tied to tanuma’s, something that will come back up like... 95 chapters from now. i am frequently surprised by basic narrative consistency.

natsume and tanuma are able to connect so quickly and again i wonder if midorikawa would have paced things differently if she’d known how long this series would last. but i’m not saying that as a criticism - the way they’re immediately drawn to each other is an important contrast to other dynamics that come up later.

chapter 4

Natsume (in narration): This might take a while... Natsume (speaking): Kitamoto, have you heard of Futaba village? Kitamoto: Hmm? My dad's from there. Natsume (in narration): What?! Kitamoto: Most of the people relocated around here. I've heard the name Taniozaki, so I'll ask my dad tonight.

another thing i forgot is that kitamoto and nishimura have always been here! for some reason i remembered them joining the cast later on, but they’ve been there from the start, even before they're named. kitamoto’s name does come up for what i think is the first time in this chapter, and i love how willing he is to help natsume, no questions asked.

i like this chapter a lot, but don't have much to say about it because it's such a standalone.

Youkai: We dance, drink, and gamble. There's a race where the prize is a yukata that allows the winner to take human form for one night. Natsume: What? Youkai: It's a whole night of carousing and frolicking. Natsume: What did you say?

the one thing i do want to point out is that's it's interesting that we have youkai getting agency over when they are seen! it's usually left up to the humans, regardless of whether the youkai would like to be seen or not.

[sleepless-crows]

🤍 welcome to my blog 🤍

♤ you can call me Lynnea

♡ i'm a minor

◇ i do not tolerate any sort of discrimination on this blog

♧ if i ever say something harmful or incredibly stupid, please correct me

🤍my interests🤍

op is a swiftie lol. i love taylor swift, she is mother. my favorite albums are fearless and evermore

you can tell from my popular posts i love the grishaverse. my favorite ships are kanej and zoyalai. my favorite characters are also kanej and zoyalai. let's talk about kanej and zoyalai. i love the sab cast but i do not love the show

those are my two main fandoms that you'll see on here. if you're part of both, we should definitely be mutuals!

i've also read all the riordanverse books and am a casual fan. but you can bet that this blog will have more pjo once tsats releases. my favorite character is reyna, my favorite book is the last olympian. and i'd be glad to have more riordanverse mutuals and talk about any of the books too

have you read the lunar chronicles? you should read the lunar chronicles. it was honestly my favorite book series before i read six of crows. there's an animated movie coming and you should really, really read it. i recommend it so much

i am currently, impatienly waiting for the 3rd book in the once upon a broken heart trilogy and i really need more people to read this. it's so good and the 2nd book is so heartbreaking, you will love it, please read it

sometimes i'll also reblog stuff about marvel, willow, and lockwood & co. other fandoms i'm a part of are super casual

i won't tell you to stream shadow and bone, but i will tell you to watch lockwood & co because it deserves another season so much more

🤍my favorite authors🤍

leigh bardugo – i love the grishaverse so much. i haven't read ninth house or that wonder woman thing she wrote. but i have read sab, soc, and kos. and i am just in love with her characters, her stories, and her writing. i could talk days and days about how much i love her books. i really recommend the grishaverse to anyone and everyone

marissa meyer – i have read all of her books except one i am still reading. i've read the lunar chronicles, renegades, heartless, instant karma, and gilded (minus the second book because i'm still reading it). i really recommend reading any of her books, i just love each and every single series or standalone she writes, regardless of the genre. you can ask me for recommendations if you want! my personal favorite is the lunar chronicles, next is probably heartless. i just fall in love with whatever she writes, no matter the genre, just like i do with taylor lol. please read her books, they're so, so good

rick riordan – i've read all novels in the riordanverse, there are too many side books that i'm not sure if i've read all books. i really, really love his books, and i'd recommend them to anyone regardless of age. my favorite series is the original percy jackson & the olympians series. next is probably magnus chase & the gods of asgard. my favorite character is reyna and i'm so excited for the sun and the star

[solarsavoy]

WIP Wednesday, Krystar!

For being the main subject of my Monday posts, it's kind of weird I haven't talked about this yet. So here we go.

Krystar is meant to be an epic fantasy targeted at new adults, age 18-25. Deshi, 16yo male, gets randomly isekai'd to another planet and obtains a god relic. It's meant to speak to anyone that's reluctant to do things out of the norm while also wishing to be somewhere else, like in their own anime or game. This is Deshi. He uses videogames as an escape and gets his wish only to find out that he actually has no idea what he's doing and everything is trying to kill him. And a lot of things get really close to succeeding.

I think he almost dies twice in the First Fragment. Gotta love those natural D20s. (AKA for those that don't know DND, he's very lucky without a luck stat. So very lucky.)

The Fragment series, which will consist of five books, focuses on Deshi as he breaks out of the indecisive nature he's always had and rises up to save his soul mate, the princess. There's a lot of twists and turns that should turn the chosen one trope on his head, but no spoilers. Let's just say he's uniquely qualified, but he was picked at random. If anything, by accident. 😏

I currently have First, Second and Third Fragment written but only the First one is consumer ready. Even so, I've put it on hold temporarily as I figure out just how I want to self publish it. In the meantime, if anyone wants to become a Tier 1 Patron, I'll start posting the First Fragment by chapter twice a week. Once you've read the first book, Patrons will have an opportunity to become beta readers for the other Fragments. (Others I've asked to be beta readers already can still be beta readers whether or not you are a Patron.) If you'd like to support me as a writer and artist, become a Patron today!

Moving on. I also have half of the Fourth and Fifth Fragments written. (Don't ask. It's complicated and contains spoilers if I explain how that happened.)

After the Fragment series will be a standalone called Lost Fragments. Lost Fragments contains 3 smaller stories called Peace Bringer, Gerit, and Mythren. Gerit is finished, but I'm doing art (or slacking, really) for it as I publish it on AO3. It should be the only one I put on AO3 and I'll be taking it down when the other two stories are finished and I'm ready to publish the book. It comes with a lot of content warnings, but it's surprisingly wholesome despite them. You know, since it's popular at the moment, think Sandman. There are very dark and suggestive themes in Gerit, but the story is what matters.

These three stories are related to the world of Krystar, but do not interact with the Fragment series. At least directly. They sort of provide some background for the world. But it's really a sort of prelude to the second series of Krystar, the Echo series.

The Echo series will also consist of five books (all Stag's fault by the way) and focuses on the lives of five other individuals. The first one will be called Echoes of Stag. I have names for the others, but they are spoilers. 😏 And Echoes of Stag is complete. Just needs editing. It does have to be read after the Fragment series though, even though the spoilers are mostly in the epilogue.

The Echoes series brings all the other stories together and an end to the world of Krystar, which brings me to the 12th and final book, Reign of Mynt.

Reign of Mynt follows Mynti, Mythren's daughter, as she attempts to claim her rightful place as a Kares royal. Like Lost Fragments, it's a side story simply set in the same world, but there will be hints of all the happenings from the other books in this one. It would not be the way it is if the other eleven books didn't happen. 😁

Should be interesting.

And that is the general overview of Krystar! Thanks for reading. Let me know if you're interested in me doing a WIP Wednesday for Peace Bringer or Mythren. The other stories are either finished already/waiting for edits or contain spoilers, so unfortunately, those are the only ones I can really do a WIP Wednesday for. Have a good day!

[gravitasmalfunction]

Hi how are you! I'm super curious about what books you like to read and some recent faves maybe? (I'm totally not just trying to get recs)

Ah! I am flattered and also so sorry in advance (insert the "oh good, you will regret this" meme here).

I haven't been reading much lately, because cdramas, but I will claim Vanessa Len's debut Only a Monster and its sequel in the in-progress series, Never a Hero, as my most recent faves. It's got urban fantasy, time travel, parallel world sort of stuff going on with a young adult/coming of age, finding and reconciling oneself as a product of two very different cultures, sort of story. It's clever and emotional and romantic and exciting and tragic and basically I loved it. I can't wait for the next one.

Cut to spare the unwilling from scrolling-induced RSI:

My Libby app also reminds me that I enjoyed Lex Croucher's most recent historical romance, Trouble, very much, along with the earlier ones, Infamous and Reputation. Croucher is funny and I like her approach to addressing the social justice issues inherent to the genre and setting of the (nominally) regency romance. My favourite regencies are funny - see also Faro's Daughter, The Corinthian and Sylvester by Georgette Heyer. Amanda Quick's regencies are also usually good for this, too.

I have only read three Kylie Chan books (martial arts fantasy) but I ate them up with a spoon and also was mad at myself for not realising sooner that it's a series of serieses, but I read all of Earth to Hell, Hell to Heaven and Heaven to Wudang in three days straight. There's at least one series before that one and at least another one after, but it was perfectly enjoyable from where I started except now I know spoilers for the earlier books. But that's a me problem.

The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir - a recent enough fave and a rec, if you like your orphans traumatised, your sci-fi magical and your world-building drip fed by a capable and merciless author. If you don't entirely hate it on first read you have much enjoyment coming on second and third reads. The series is not yet finished but there is already several lifetimes of fanworks to tide us over until the next book(s) come out.

Some older faves, in no particular order:

Martha Wells' standalone fantasy novels, and her Ill-Rien novels. The Wheel of the Infinite and The City of Bones are very enjoyable standalones. And The Element of Fire is just *chef's kiss* if you're an enjoyer of angry, feral young women characters and hot, competent men with swords who can actually take directions.

Douglas Adams' everything, and most especially the Dirk Gently books.

Tom Robbins. How to explain Tom Robbins. The universe said to itself sometime in the early 20th century, let's make an American guy who can write women because he genuinely respects and loves them, and he will also write the goofiest, weirdest, most high-concept, new-age, sexual, gross, magical realist fiction the Pacific North-West in the 1970s and 80s will ever produce. Still Life With Woodpecker is essentially a journal of the author's experience with his new typewriter inserted into the body of his latest novel, a modern fairytale involving environmentalism and pyramids. Jitterbug Perfume is a historical fantastical epic about sex, immortality, beets and fragrance, amongst other things. Half Asleep In Frog Pyjamas is about a stockbroker and a psychic and frogs, among other things.

And to finish, I will rec Iain M Banks. The Algebraist is a standalone sci-fi novel and if you like it, you will almost certainly like the Culture series. The Culture series doesn't have to be read in publication order, or even in-universe chronological order; each book is standalone in its own right, but some reference in-universe historical events that are the subject of one or more of the other books. For first-time readers, I would recommend The Player of Games to start with. As well as being a fun story, I think it's a good introduction to the concept of the Culture, and if you enjoy the themes and motifs etc you will see them again in other Culture books. In no particular order, some of my faves are Excession, Inversions, Surface Detail, The Hydrogen Sonata, and Matter.

If you like any of these in particular, let me know, and I can dig around for some more recs like them!

Happy reading!

[saudadexmses]

Explore my bookshelf!

An estimate of how many physical books I own: I'll be completely honest I have no clue probably around... 100? or more? I'm terrible with keeping count but on my e-reader I have 114 which i have read 62 of xD

Favorite author: I'm going with two authors that I usually enjoy their works. One is Riley Sager, I read almost all of his books except 2 which at the time i didn't read so I kind of got spoiled for me, can't wait for the book of this year tho! Another author and the reason i started reading again more seriously Kate Alice Marshall, tho i think i enjoy her YA more than her adult novels.

A popular book I've never read and never intend to read: Game of thrones and Fourth Wing, there are probably more but yeah not really interested.

A popular book I thought was just meh: oh! Hidden Pictures, that was popular i think and it was awful all around.

Longest book I own: I have no clue.

Longest series I own all the books to: Okay so this is personal to me but there's this mystery series from my country that i used to love as a kid and i have all of them and read everything, i think that's the longest series i own, i usually try to avoid series depending on how many books it has.

Prettiest book I own: this one book that i forgot who it was about but it's a collection of tales and man it's so pretty.

A book or series I wish more people knew about: i do not have one i mostly read standalones but maybe the manga series Monster and The Beast, i love that manga so much i need to buy the last volume.

Book I'm reading now: Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

Book that's been on my TBR list for a while but I still haven't got around to it: These Fleeting Shadows and a House of Salt and Sorrows.

Do you have any books in a language other than English: I mostly read in English but no i have books in at least two other languages.

Paperback, hardcover, or ebook?: Ebook followed by paperback.

Tagging: anyone who likes to read! thank you @rowan-revelry for tagging me <3

[cosettepontmercys]

Hi Cossette! Happy 2024 and I hope you're having an enjoyable year so far 🎉

Speaking of 2024 albums, Kali Uchis' Orquideas came out today & I found it very refreshing - normally I listen less to R&B / Latin Pop albums in full but Kali's new LP is very cohesive! As of upcoming music releases, because most of my favourite artists released new albums last year, I find the 2024 release schedule considerably more quiet. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to new albums from: Bleachers, Faye Webster, Allie X, and Madi Diaz!

Also fingers crossed that we'll also get new music from Sabrina Carpenter 🙏

As of fantasy books, I currently have two physical books with me: Starling House (Alix E Harrow) and The Tethered Mage (Melissa Caruso). It's been a challenging time for me to read books electronically (the only device I electronically read on is the same device that I use for academia), so I really like being able to unplug & read something physically 💖

And ahh The Starless Sea is a perfect winter read ❄️ I rarely re-read books myself, but this is one of the few books that I revisit from time to time! My copy isn't with me right now as I'm still abroad, but I'm working on an edit inspired by this book so I've been slowly re-reading it on my computer.

Amongst the upcoming book releases, which new books / series are you most looking forward to reading? And do you tend to prefer standalones or series?

P.S. I'm looking forward to hearing Laufey performing Haunted & Letter To My 13 Year Old Self live!

hi jennifer!! happy 2024! i hope your year has been off to a great start 🤍

i haven't listened to kali uchis' new album yet, but i keep seeing these stunning vinyl pressings for it in one of the vinyl groups i'm in! i'll probably listen to it at some point for my 365 albums in 365 days challenge. i didn't realize allie x has a new album coming out; i'm so excited! and new bleachers so soon. i'm really hoping we'll get new sabrina music, although i'm not looking forward to fighting for tickets if she does another tour.

i read and didn't love 10 thousand doors of january, but i've heard really good things about alix harrow / a lot of my friends like her stuff, so maybe i'll give her another shot! i've also been struggling with reading books electronically as of late (although i don't read on the same device i use for work), which is why a bunch of my arcs have piled up 😵‍💫 i haven't actually touched the starless sea in a few days; i feel like annotating takes so much more time / effort / energy (which ... makes sense) but i'm hoping to get back to it soon 🤍 i can't wait to see your edit!!!

i tend to prefer standalones — or duologies! what about you? i'm really excited for the new ashley poston (a novel love story), a banh mi for two by trinity nguyen (a bit biased! i read an early draft of it), a dark and downing tide by allison saft (love allison saft! very excited for her adult debut!), a witch's guide to magical innkeeping by sangu mandanna, anatomy of a betrayal by grace d. li (loved portrait of a thief/her debut + have been eagerly awaiting her next book), the dark we know by wen yi lee (also biased! read an early version of this! but it's loosely inspired by spring awakening <3), and of course, emily henry's funny story (although i read an arc of it already so it feels like cheating!). what about you?

speaking of laufey, i finally bought bewitched on vinyl yesterday! it should be here sometime next week; i'm so excited to listen to it on vinyl :")

[friendlyneighborhood-writer]

4, 7, 11, 12, 14, 20, 25, 26, 34, 36, 43, 44 for the ask game :3

Holy crap, Timi, you went for it! Thanks for the ask <3

4: Have you ever been published, or do you want to be published?

I had an opportunity to be featured in a short story anthology, but I decided not to because the publishing company didn't sit right with me. It doesn't exist anymore either, so I'm guessing that was the right call?

I do want to be published some day!

7: Standalone or series?

I want to stay standalone, but almost every standalone I write ends up getting a sequel because the characters refuse to let me go lol

When it comes to reading, however, I do prefer standalones.

11: Books and/or authors who influenced you the most

JULES VERNE

You wouldn’t guess it if you looked at what I write nowadays, but way back in the day when I first got serious about writing, I was writing sci-fi and adventure stories. So Verne is kind of what got me (back) into writing.

I think Cassandra Clare and her The Mortal Instruments series was what first got me writing urban fantasy, which is still one of my favourite genres to write today, so there’s that.

I think that’s about it, though

12: Describe your perfect writing space

Somewhere desolate but with an amazing view. I’m thinking like, a little house on the beach, all you gotta do is take the stairs down and you’re by the water. But it’s far away from people so no one will interrupt you.

But really, as long as I’ve got somewhere comfortable to sit, I can write anywhere lol

14: How do you deal with self-doubts?

By reminding myself that someone looked at 50 Shades and decided that was good enough to be published, so my writing can’t be all that bad.

20: How many WIPs and story ideas do you have?

Oh boy. Uh. Okay, let’s see.

I have… 4 WIPs and like, a dozen ideas?

25: Favourite part of writing

Remembering that this is a world and these are characters that I created out of thin air. It really does make you feel like a god lmao

26: Favourite writing program

I just use Word lol

34: What was the hardest scene you ever had to write?

Right, okay, so you might have seen me mention a story called Bad Moon Rising. It was a queer supernatural thriller that I wrote about four years ago? Anyway, I ended up turning what was supposed tone a short story into a full-length novel, which I finished two years ago.

There’s this scene near the end of the first part where the MC’s boyfriend has a breakdown in the shower after he kills someone that was absolutely heartbreaking to write. It’s a really sad thing because throughout the entire story, you get to know Noah as this really sweet, wouldn’t-hurt-a-fly kinda guy, and then it turns out he’s the killer (though he’s being mind-controlled and doesn’t realise it for the longest time). It was fun to write but also really hard.

36: Last sentence you wrote

Okay, here's the last line I wrote for a story that I plan to majorly rewrite. It's called How Not To Be A Necromancer, and I can't wait to give it another shot because the characters have been in my head for, like, a decade!

If life made sense, then Ebony would be alive, after all, or I would be dead alongside her.

43: What do you do if/when characters don't follow the outline?

I let the story be for a bit. Sometimes I get an entirely new idea that fits the characters better.

44: How much research do you do?

It always starts out as “oh yeah I’ll just look this up real quick” and two hours later I have seven new tabs open with things to look up lmao

So yes, I do quite a bit of research

[clara-licht]

You Belong With Me

Part of Best of Me Series

Summary: 5 times (Y/n) Stark felt jealous and 1 time it was Peter’s turn. (set before Just Out of Touch, can be read as a standalone)

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Word Count: 4.1k

Warning: mention of blood and maggots

Note: after a whole year, it’s finally here! Here’s another story set in the world of Just Out of Touch! This story can be read as a standalone, but reading JOOT might give you a bit more context. But if you haven’t read it, spoiler for JOOT, Hecate is (y/n)’s vigilante persona. (Y/n)’s pronouns are she/they, where they is specifically used when they’re out as Hecate. Since this story focuses on (y/n) and not Hecate, I used she/her throughout the story. In future stories both she and they will be used when there are both (y/n) and Hecate. Without further ado, enjoy the story!

Title Inspo: Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me

Best of Me Masterlist | Marvel Masterlist | Main Masterlist

——————————

1: Compliment

——————————

(Y/n) side-glanced at Peter who was pacing back and forth in her room. She let him mumble and curse at himself while she laid on her bed, bored.

"Oh I'm so stupid! How could I have done that?! Ugh, she must hate me now!"

She rolled her eyes. "You're not stupid, Pete. You're in STEM school by scholarship for a reason, you know."

Peter stopped his pacing to look at (y/n) with his big doe eyes and panicked expression. "That's got nothing to do with this!" He exclaimed.

Rolling her eyes again, she asked, "What did you do again?"

He groaned and banged his head on her bed, mumbling something.

"What?"

"I complimented her skirt."

If she had to roll her eyes again, her eyeballs would probably be stuck that way.

"What's so bad about that?" She asked.

Peter didn't even lift his head from the soft duvet. "I sounded like a pervert, (y/n)!" He groaned. "She totally knew I've been checking her out the entire year!"

(Y/n) shook her head exasperatedly. "You couldn't have known that. You just complimented one piece of clothing, Peter. She wouldn't know you've been staring at her clothes every day."

Peter only let out another groan and turned over, pulling the duvet to cover his face. "No, she definitely knows!"

"What did you say, exactly?"

"I said the color suits her and asked if it's new…"

"…So?"

He removed the duvet and stared incredulously at her. "What do you mean, so?"

(Y/n) shrugged. "I don't see what's so bad about that. I mean, it's flattering?"

"Oh, you don't get it!" Peter threw his head back. "I asked if it's new! Meaning that I already know her clothes and noticed that I've never seen that skirt before!"

"Now that you said it like that, you do sound like a pervert."

"UGH!"

Chuckling, (y/n) lifted the duvet and removed it from Peter, eyes glowing soft blue. "Calm down, Spidey. What did she say?"

"I don't know. I ran away afterwards."

Her chuckle turned into a full-on laugh as Peter turned away with a pout, hoping to hide his flaming face.

In between her laugh, she shuffled closer to the boy and ran her fingers gently between his hair. "Well, if it was me, I wouldn't think much about it. I would just be flattered that you think a skirt looks good on me."

Still pouting, Peter mumbled, "But it's not you."

Her laughter ceased, replaced with a slightly sorrowful smile.

"But it's not me." She agreed.

——————————

2: Jokes

——————————

"What's taking him so long?" Happy grumbled.

"It's only been 10 minutes."

"10 minutes too long!"

(Y/n) only hummed and looked out the window. “It’s high school, Happy. It’s where he socializes with his friends, of course it’s going to take time.”

“Not if I can help it.” He muttered.

Shaking her head fondly, her eyes swept through the entrance of Midtown High, trying to see if the young vigilante was anywhere near them. Today was a scheduled lab day and she volunteered to pick him up with Happy. Since she already finished any lessons she had for the day Tony had let her go.

As she kept watch, she couldn’t help but feel a little bittersweet. Sure, she enjoyed her studies online, but she knew that she was missing that typical high school experience. Going to classes, eating lunch in the cafeteria, walking home with friends… But she was also aware that it was all for her safety.

The woes of having a famous father.

(Y/n) was shaken off her thoughts when she finally noticed Ned among the students in front of the school. If Ned was there, then Peter was surely not far.

Sure enough, she could spot a familiar tuft of brown hair right behind Ned.

And apparently he wasn’t alone.

Peter was talking with a girl facing his way. (Y/n) couldn’t see her face but she had a good idea of who she was.

Peter had a shy smile on his lips and his cheeks were nearly blossoming, if (y/n) could say so. In true Peter fashion, he seemed to be stumbling upon his words and spoke a mile per minute. The girl seems as though she didn’t mind as she was laughing along. And yet, unlike the oblivious Peter she was used to, this Peter looked at the girl as if she was a goddess sent to the earth to absolve every sinner from their fated doom. This Peter smiled at her as if she handpicked each star to light up the darkest night.

His darkest night.

(Y/n) unconsciously took a sharp breath when she saw the girl laughing so hard she had to hold onto Peter to stabilize herself. The way she clutched Peter’s arm and the color on Peter’s cheeks…

“There he is! Call him, tell him to hurry up.”

“Just… Just give him a minute, will you, Happy?” She mumbled, eyes never leaving Peter. She was unaware of Happy glancing at her with a frown on his forehead. Like her, he did notice that Peter had a girl with him. He just hadn’t yet connected it to why (y/n) looked off.

As (y/n) sat there looking at the window, the tight feeling in her chest kept getting more painful as time went. On one hand, she would love to get out of the car and go to him, replacing the girl’s position beside Peter. But on the other hand, she knew that things didn’t work that way.

‘He’s happy, that’s all that matters, right?’

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice Peter already saying his goodbyes and approaching the car. It was only when Peter sat beside her that she was shaken off her trails.

“Hey, you good?” He asked.

(Y/n) smiled, a hint of sorrow that Peter didn’t notice on her lips.

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

——————————

3: Flirt

——————————

The silence was quite awkward, if (y/n) must say.

Tony was out on a conference of some sort in Japan, and as much as (y/n) would love to visit the country, her father couldn’t literally pay her to sit through that conference with him. While she would inherit the company one day, she’d avoid any stuffy meetings if she could.

That day was another scheduled lab day for Peter, though. Tony had forgotten to tell him to reschedule, so he still went to the tower. Peter was going to leave until (y/n) called Tony and he told Peter to just mess around in the lab.

And there they were. In Tony Stark’s personal lab. Just the two of them (along with Dum-E).

(Y/n) could tell something was off with Peter. The first sign was when he said he would go home when he heard Tony wasn’t there. Usually he’d just stay and watch a movie with her. And now he was all quiet while fiddling with his webshooters.

Of course, one could say that perhaps he was focused on fixing or upgrading it, but (y/n) knew that there was nothing wrong with his webshooters and they already installed the upgrade a couple weeks ago. They hadn’t come up with new ideas since then.

“Hey, Pete?”

“Hm?” He didn’t even look up.

“Is there anything in your mind?”

“Huh? No, nothing.” Peter mumbled, still fiddling with his webshooters.

(Y/n) frowned. Something was not right, indeed.

A few minutes passed with silence between them. (Y/n) kept sneaking glances at Peter and Peter kept toying around with the shooters on his wrist. He wasn’t even doing anything. His eyes were unfocused and he was deep in thoughts.

Heaving a sigh, (y/n) removed the goggles she had on. She was doing a project for SI, but it could wait.

“Okay, let’s talk about this,” she said.

Peter finally looked up and stared at her, confused. “Talk about what?”

“Well, this,” she said again, gesturing at Peter.

“...you’re gesturing at all of me.”

“Of course I’m gesturing at all of you! You’re acting weird!”

“No I’m not.”

“Yes you are! You’re so quiet and you kept playing with your webshooters! Is there something wrong with them or what? You look like you’re thinking so hard and we both know you’re smart enough to not have to think that hard about your shooters!”

Peter didn’t say anything for a while as he stared at (y/n), eyes slightly furrowed.

“Well?” (Y/n) prompted. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

Peter sighed and bit his lip. He looked up, as if pondering whether or not he should tell (y/n) about what was on his mind.

“It’s, uh, it’s about Liz.”

(Y/n) heart dropped.

“W-What about her?” She asked, feigning ignorance.

The frown made another appearance on Peter’s forehead. His fingers returned to the webshooter strapped on his wrist and started fiddling again. It was then that (y/n) noticed that this was his way of fidgeting. He used to fiddle with his fingers and then it was with his shooters.

“Well, I saw her today…”

“...and?”

“She, um…” Peter swallowed. “She was, uh, flirting, I think? With Flash.”

By some miracle, instead of feeling that tightness in her chest from the mention of her, she felt truly confused. “Flash? The same Flash that picks on you and doesn't believe in your internship?”

“Uh, yeah…?”

“Why would she? Doesn’t she know what kind of person he is?”

Peter laughed dryly. “He’s rich, (y/n).”

“And so am I, what about it?” (Y/n) raised an eyebrow. “I’m not as obnoxious as that guy, am I?”

“Of course not. You may be getting a big head, though.” He teased with a grin.

(Y/n) only swatted at his arm.

(It took every single will in her not to make a dirty joke then and there, telling herself it wasn’t appropriate for the topic.)

“Anyway! Why did you think she was flirting with him?” (Y/n) asked, ignoring the tight feeling that finally arrived despite the miracle earlier.

“Remember last week? When you picked me up with Happy?”

(Y/n) nodded. ‘How could I not?’ She thought bitterly.

“I don’t know if you saw, but uhh we were flirting, I think?”

“You think?”

“Well, Ned said we were…” Peter mumbled. “We were joking around and she kinda laughed so hard she had to hold onto me…” He recounted, a blush starting to make its way on his cheeks.

(Y/n) took a deep breath to try and calm her erratic heart. Her heart felt like it was sinking with each word coming out of Peter’s mouth. Had she not been a strong-willed young woman with experience in keeping her face neutral, she was 100% sure her eyes would be all watery by now. Not that she didn’t feel the burn on her eyes as she pretended not to hear Peter whispering ‘her hand was so soft’.

“And was she doing the same with Flash?” She asked, and again, by miracle, her voice didn’t crack.

Peter’s hand fell from his wrist and he nodded dejectedly.

“I thought she liked me, you know?” He muttered. Unlike her, Peter was an open book. He was never good at hiding his expression that it was a wonder that his secret identity was still intact. (Y/n) could clearly hear the pain in his voice.

It honestly infuriated her how easy it was for him to affect her.

(Y/n) cleared her throat. “Don’t take it to heart, Pete. Maybe she was just being friendly with him.”

“Or maybe she was just being friendly with me.” Peter mumbled, still dejected.

It filled her heart with grief that he could make such a pained expression in front of her. Had it been her, she could say with certainty that she would never let this boy in front of her go without a smile. But then again, who was she to do that? It wasn’t her that he wanted to put that smile on him.

And so, with a heavy heart and a smile hiding sorrow behind it, she told him, “Why don’t you ask her to do something with you? Like a date?”

—————————���

4: Date

——————————

“(Y/n)? Where’s Peter?” Pepper immediately asked when she saw (y/n) lounging alone on the couch.

(Y/n) shrugged half-heartedly, shoving a spoonful of her favorite cookies and cream ice cream to her mouth. An older season of CSI: Miami was playing on the screen in front of her. She kept eating her ice cream unbothered as the screen showed a bloody corpse full of maggots. Oh, apparently it wasn’t a corpse and she was still alive. Who would’ve thought?

“Don’t you guys usually spend Sundays together?” Pepper asked again.

(Y/n) mumbled something that Pepper couldn’t hear.

“Sorry, what?”

“He has a date.”

Pepper blinked once. “A date?”

(Y/n) nodded.

“With… who?”

“...a girl from his school. An upperclassman.”

“Huh… Is that so?” Pepper hummed, taking a seat beside the young Stark.

She glanced at the angsty teen, still enjoying her ice cream accompanied by a pool of blood and maggot and David Caruso on the screen. “How are you feeling?”

“What do you mean? I’m totally fine.” (Y/n) answered through a mouthful of sugary dairy.

“I don’t think so, honey.” Pepper smiled at her, taking the tub away.

(Y/n) didn’t bother to answer, stubbornly keeping her eyes on the screen.

“I always thought both of you would end up together. What happened?” Pepper tried to ask.

“Us ending up together, huh?” (Y/n) chuckled dryly. “Not a chance, Pep.”

“Why do you say that?”

(Y/n) turned to the CEO of the company that one day would be hers. “Have you looked at Peter? Really looked at him?” She asked. “Because if you have, then you’d know that his eyes were never on me. Not once.”

Sighing, she reached to take back the tub of ice cream from Pepper. “A friend is all I am to him.” She muttered.

(Y/n) was perfectly fine with returning to her angsty mood accompanied by ice cream and crime lab, but apparently Pepper was not.

Pepper stood up and asked FRIDAY to turn the screen off.

“Aw, Pep! Why did you do that!” (Y/n) whined, not unlike a child getting her toy taken away.

“No wallowing in self pity, young lady. Now up you go! We’re going out.”

She groaned and plopped her face on the couch.

To say she would regret going out would be an understatement.

Because an hour on her outing with Pepper, she actually saw Peter on his date.

He was wearing a shirt and grey sweater, like how he wore to school, though the collar was neat. He definitely combed and gelled his hair. She didn’t like it, to be honest. (Y/n) always loved his curls that would fall to his eyes when it got a bit too long. She loved the soft unruly strands that felt silky when she ran her fingers through them.

Peter and his date, Liz, were in a cafe together. It was a cute and aesthetically pleasing one too. (Y/n) was in the Italian restaurant right across the street. Pepper sat with her back to the glass window, so she couldn’t see them, but it was as clear as the sky for (y/n).

And (y/n) wanted to look away, she really did. Yet for some reason, she just couldn’t stop staring at the happy couple. She watched as Liz reached a hand out to wipe something off the corner of Peter’s lips. She watched as Peter laughed shyly. She watched as he hesitantly tried to hold Liz’s hand on the table. She watched as Liz grinned and took his hand in hers.

She watched as they smiled at each other like they were the only people in the world and she was nothing but a speck of dust.

She watched, with bitter heart and a sorrowful smile as she told herself, as long as he’s happy, right?

——————————

5: Broken Heart

——————————

How could this have happened?

They were having such a great time together!

So why...?

“Peter, I’m so sorry…”

“It’s not your fault, why are you sorry?”

“I was the one who pushed you to ask her on a date…”

Peter chuckled. He tried to look unbothered, but he was still so easy to read. (Y/n) could basically hear the pieces of his broken heart rattling around as he moved.

It hurt her more than seeing him with her.

“Well, you couldn’t have known everything, (y/n),” Peter said. “Besides, at least I tried, you know?”

(Y/n) bit her lip.

Logically, she should be happy, shouldn’t she? Liz had told Peter that she wanted to remain friends, that she couldn’t be with him. That meant Peter was free for the whole world. Whether or not she had a chance was something else entirely. And yet, she felt extremely guilty.

“I’m okay, really!” Peter grinned with a fake cheerfulness. “I had a great time and I appreciate her telling me the truth instead of leading me on. I’m sure we’ll remain great friends even after this.”

‘But you were never great friends with her…’

“I guess she’s just trying to focus on her studies, you know? Since she’s a senior and all.”

‘But she did lead you on…’

“And you know what they say, there are plenty more fish in the sea!”

‘But you were so fixated on her…’

Peter’s eyes softened when he realized how quiet (y/n) was. “I’m really alright, (y/n). It’s not your fault at all.”

“Besides,” he grinned, this time genuine, “Maybe now it’s my turn to help you find someone! Your help was greatly appreciated and now I can return the favor!”

(Y/n) refrained from smiling sardonically at the irony. The only way he could help her find someone was if he magically fell in love with her, but she knew better than to be wishful like that.

“Thank you, Pete, but that won’t be necessary.”

“Whaaaaat why? I can give great love advice!”

“Yeah? Like what?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Uhh…”

“Exactly.”

“Anyway! When you find someone, tell me, okay? I’ll try my best to help you, since you were so helpful to me.”

Helpful, huh?

Why can’t you see it?

How badly I want to say those words?

Instead, (Y/n) smiled, sorrow seeping into her being. “It was my pleasure.”

——————————

+1: Reverse

——————————

arachnophobia: wanna go out tonight? hecate hasnt been out for a while

ironlady: cant today

ironlady: harley’s coming

arachnophobia: harley? the one whose garage mr stark broke into?

ironlady: yep!! cant wait to see him

ironady: its been a while

arachnophobia: can i meet him?

ironlady: ofc just come here

The moment Peter stepped out from the elevator, he could hear the laughter already. He didn’t need his enhanced hearing to know that (y/n) was positively joyful.

He followed the sound to the penthouse’s living room where he could see (y/n) sitting on the couch. Beside her was a young man his age with sandy blonde hair. Both of them were talking animatedly with each other.

“Hey.”

“Oh, Peter!” (Y/n) turned around, a big grin on her face. “This is Harley Keener, the potato boy dad and I told you about!”

“Potato boy?” Harley frowned.

“It’s either that or problem child 1, which one do you prefer?”

“Tony’s been calling me that?”

“Yep!”

“And what are you?”

“Problem child 2, duh.” (Y/n) rolled her eyes.

Harley scoffed. “Yeah, right, il mio tarassaco.”

“Hey! Only dad can call me that!”

“I know, I know, don’t get your panties in a twist, Princess Stark.” Harley laughed as he ruffled (y/n)’s hair, much to her chagrin.

Peter couldn’t get one word out. He watched as (y/n) tried to get back at Harley and mess with his hair as Harley dodged her. He watched as (y/n)’s face was overtaken by a huge grin and her eyes lighted up in joy.

“Harley stop it!”

“You started it!”

“No I didn’t!”

“Yes you did!”

“No I didn’t!”

“Yes you did!”

“No I- you know what, I’m not doing this. You haven’t even greeted Peter!” (Y/n) huffed, gesturing at Peter who was still standing still behind the sofa.

“Oh, yeah, my bad,” Harley said. He stood up and dusted his pants, then reached out a hand.

“Harley Keener, at your service,” he grinned.

Peter took his hand hesitantly. “Peter Parker. Nice to meet you.”

(Y/n) beamed at the two of them. “I’ve told him so much about you. I think you guys will be great friends!” She told Peter. “Dad is talking about making Harley his intern too, so you two will be Stark Industries first and only high school interns. Tony Stark’s personal interns, to be exact.”

“Wait, intern?” Peter asked, clearly taken aback. “But don’t you live in Tennessee?”

Harley shrugged. “I’m moving here around next month. Not a lot of opportunities back home, so Tony offered to house and send me to school here. I’m here today to look around before the big day.”

“It’s a shame I can’t go to school with you, though.” (Y/n) complained. “I’m getting bored of this whole homeschooling thing.”

“What can I say, Princess Stark,” Harley said with a teasing smile, “a Princess must remain at her castle.”

“Yeah, well, this Princess can take care of herself and goes out at night alone, what about it?” She rolled her eyes.

“Alright, alright, you got a point, Hecate.”

“I told you, I’m not Hecate right now!”

“He knows about Hecate?” Peter asked.

(Y/n) nodded. “He was the first one to know, even before dad. I told you of how Harley’s been coming here for years, right? He basically knows more about me than dad at this point.”

“That, I do.” Harley said, staring at Peter a little too long. Something dawned on him when he saw something on Peter’s face.

He turned to (y/n) and slung an arm around her shoulders. “Anyway, I gotta run and find Tony now, got things to ask him. I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, you know where to find me.”

“Great! See ya later, Princess Stark.” Harley dropped a big kiss on her head and left the room, but not before giving Peter a meaningful look.

Peter was frozen on his spot.

In all his time knowing (y/n), not once did he ever see (y/n) that happy. She looked so carefree, as if she trusted Harley blindly and trusted him to keep her that way. It took him some time to get (y/n) to open up to him. He knew that he couldn’t compare himself to Harley who knew (y/n) longer than him, but for some reason it ticked him off.

But why?

And when Harley held (y/n) close to him like that? It felt wrong to Peter. Then he went and actually kissed her! Well, on the head, but still. Something felt off within Peter and he didn’t really know what or why.

Somehow, it was almost like…

Like it should’ve been him?

“Peter, are you okay?”

Peter was startled from his thoughts when (y/n)’s face suddenly entered his peripherals.

“I’m fine, why do you ask?” He quickly said.

(Y/n) hummed. “You look a bit off, that’s all.”

“It’s nothing, I promise.”

“If you say so…”

“So, uh,” Peter started, “that Harley… How long is he staying?”

“A week, I think. He’ll move in next month, on the 15th.” (Y/n) answered. “I can’t wait for next month, honestly. I missed him so much. Him living with me and dad here would be a blast.”

“When do you want to go out?” Peter asked, changing the subject immediately. Somehow, for some reason, he didn’t want to hear (y/n) talk about Harley anymore. Especially not about how he would be living with her.

“Ah, well… Not this week? Maybe after Harley’s back to Tennessee?”

“...oh.”

“You can still go out without me though! I know Spider-Man must be anxious to get out there!”

“...yeah, you’re right. Uh, you know what, I actually forgot I had to run an errand for May, so I’m going to leave now, okay?”

Peter quickly rushed out. The penthouse was getting stuffy for no reason and he couldn’t stand being there anymore.

What is wrong with me?

——————————

Taglist + Mutuals (let me know if you want me to untag you!)

@spn-assemble-seven @racewife2004​​ @lukesbabylon​​ @serendipitous-amor​​ @sovereign-parker @ifangirlninja​​ @lyzalovealk @lookuptotheskiesandsee @tommysparker​​ @starlight-starks​​   @marvelexi​​ @lou-la-lou​​ @spiderbibby​​ @hello--zuko-here​ @everydaymj​​ @galaxystern08​​  @allegra-writes​​​​ @spideyspeaches​​​​ @delicatepeterparker​​ @parkerpeter24​​​​ @terrifictomholland​​​​ @quackeroos​​ @angel-spidey​​ @greenorangevioletgrass​​ @awkward-darkness​​ @chloecreatesfictions @tonguetiedholland​​ @peterbenjiparker​​ @and-it-burns-like-a-fire @sinisterspidey​​ @bi-lmg

[4joonkookie]

Gravity

(Mirror, Mirror part #2, [or not])

⚘ Paring: Jungkook x Reader

⚘Words: 3.8K

⚘Summary:

Part 2 of the Mirror, Mirror series. All parts can be read as a series or standalone. (Standalone) - You strike a lusty connection with a sexy stranger at a concert venue. OR (Series) - Unsure about the future of your relationship, you recall the first time you meet and fuck JK.

⚘Tags/Warnings:

SMUT, flirting, public foreplay, infatuation, established relationship, non-disclosure agreement, angst, rough sex, putting on a condom is sexy?, waxing nostalgic, noona!kink, destiny, series, career woman, Jungkook takes long showers, oops there's a plot, lots of research on that 'Euphoria' harness, Seokjin cameo, commitment issues, avoidant behavior, unresolved ending, ending up to reader interpretation, just wanted to write a sex scene in the mirror and it's manifested into 4 parts.

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

You stand frozen in the mirror, looking at your reflection until it fortunately steams away from Jungkook’s hot shower.

Quit your stupid job. Please. Stay with me. And you don’t need to have an answer. But we have to talk about it.

You could be predictable and do exactly what Jungkook thinks. You can leave.

Or. You could head to the kitchen, start a pot of coffee and unpack your bags.

Memories flood your mind, keeping you still.

-----

The thousands of seats in the stadium are empty but ample employees work through set-up and dress rehearsal for the concert happening tonight.

You stand on the stage watching the staff secure a performer to the platform harness, tightening a cable around his waist. They shuffle to finish and take steps back to watch the man be lifted, hung and swayed above the stadium seats.

This is the last item on your agenda today before you can head back to the hotel and rest for an early flight tomorrow.

The performer is slowly lowered down to the stage.

Working for these large venues means traveling, living in hotel rooms and keeping you too busy to take advantage of endless complimentary show tickets. Most of them go to waste or are given away . A “friend” (one of the many that come out of the woodwork depending on what show is in their city) casually asked about tickets to this particular concert. You told her the stadium is sold out but you had 2 tickets and weren’t planning on using them.

Your ears still ring with the high-pitched shriek she wailed into the receiver.

When the man lands safely back on the stage, you approach him. “How is it? Does it feel okay?” you say, in your best client - friendly voice as he steps off the device.

“Do I have to wear the wrist harness?” He rubs where the looped fabric has reddened his skin.

“It kind of burns.”

You scrunch your face before replying. “Yes, you have to wear the harness. It’s a liability if you don’t.” you say, matter-of-factly.

“A liability.” It’s not clear if he’s parroting you or asking a question.

“Right,” you nod. You signed a contract.”

“I did?” his hand on his chest, genuinely surprised.

“Well, someone did,” gesturing to the plentiful staff of his company.

“What does it say?”

“It says the stadium isn’t responsible for anything that happens to you if you don’t use the moving platform as recommended, I.E. with the wrist harness.”

He doesn’t reply. “Sorry.”, you add. Just trying to keep you and your 5 friends safe.”

“6,” he corrects you.

“6 What?”

“There’s seven of us. Me and 6 friends.”

You quickly apologize, realizing you may have come off rude and too eager to leave. You have no idea who he is but he’s not the first diva you’ve dealt with. You turn on the charm and start sucking up to the talent, as your job often requires.

“But if the fabric of this one is too rough on you...,” you briefly rub your hand over the reddening skin on his hand. “I think I have one in a different material that’ll be gentler on your skin.”

He laughs shyly and smiles. It wasn’t your intention to flirt but his reaction made it feel like you were. It makes him seem a little young.

“It’s ok.” He laughs again, containing a smile. “It’s not too rough,” eyes glancing at your lips and moving to your eyes. The wind blows his dark hair over his face but you can still see his eyes. His near smolder throws you off, causing you to dart your own eyes down.

“Are you sure?” feeling blood rush to your chest and face as the distance between your bodies begins to close.

“Yes.” He thanks you by name after quickly getting a glimpse at your name badge. “Is that your job? Making sure everyone is safe?” Embarrassed by your initial touch, he seems more confident now.

“Sort of,” you reply shortly.

Really, your job is to prevent the venues from being sued. Charming (and albeit, sometimes flirting) with talent is part of the job, so, you’re not sure why this random has such a pull on you. Or why your palms are sweating and your mind is going foggy.

“Wait here,” you instruct.

He nods and you jog to an equipment room backstage to retrieve another wrist harness. This one is made of silicone instead of fabric. You hurry back to him and worry you’re out of breath when you return.

“Here.” You pull the moving platform to you, stepping on your tiptoes to unhook the fabric loop. He holds out his hand to take the new one from you. You offer it and he easily reaches to hook it on, making you feel small as you return back to your flat feet.

“Hopefully, it’s a bit gentler for you,” you tease, taking some advantage of his bashfulness.

“Thank You.” He smiles. Your bodies are closer now and you can feel his breath.

Swallowing, “Do you want to try it.?” Soap and cologne fill your nostrils.

“Try what?” keeping his lips parted, eyes searching your face.

“The harness.” You pull the still-hanging platform and hold your foot down on the device so he can step easily onto it again. He raises his arm above his head and you loop his hand through the strap. You pull the belted cables and secure them tightly around his waist, feeling rigid muscles under his oversized t-shirt. He winces when you snap the belt closed.

“Speaking of rough,” he scolds, looking down at you, the world closing in quickly on you both.

“Safety first.” One of your feet between his, holding him down to the stage on the small platform. You could’ve had staff do it but eliminating this closeness seems wrong. “Ready?” you say, hands hanging from his belt.

His eyes peek down at your lips again. “Ready.” You step off the platform and give a thumbs up to staff working the cables above the stadium. They pull him for a few laps, flying around, giving you a moment to compose yourself.

When he lands, you replace your foot between his. “Better?” you ask, rising to your tippy-toes to unloop his wrist, letting your fingertips graze on the top of his hand.

“Better,” he replies, smiling ear-to-ear now. You wrap your arms around his waist again to remove the cables.

Behind him, a group of men huddle together at the end of the stage, conspicuously giggling and immediately stopping when your eyes find them.

“Are those your 6 friends?” you question, as you unhook the belt, embarrassed that you acted as if you were alone.

He steps off and rolls his eyes, endeared. “That’s them.”

“Ok.” You rub your face, trying to coax yourself back into reality. “You’ll let me know if you or your friends need anything?”.

He nods respectfully and thanks you by name again.

“You’re welcome.” You offer a wave and turn to slink away. You cringe when he calls you again. You turn to find a sheepish grin on his face.

“Do you know my name?” he asks with a knowing look.

You try to be casual. “No, I don't. You don’t have a name badge like me.” You take another step forward, being pulled in like a magnet again, onlookers be damned. “I’m sorry. I don’t know who you or your friends are. Will you forgive me?” looking up, controlling the urge to pout at him.

He scrunches his nose. “It’s ok. Kind of makes me feel normal.”

Funny, he seems normal to you. Your faces are too close to call this any kind of “schmoozing” or “sucking up” but you can’t drag yourself away.

“Your name?” scanning him from head to toe.

He crooks his mouth and inhales sharply. “I don’t know, I kind of like it this way.” He leans in closer, voice getting lower. “Is there somewhere we can go?” tongue running over his cotton-candy lips. “I promise to introduce myself.” He's painstakingly bold now and not a second too soon because you’re practically putting on a show, center stage. “Or is that a liability too?” he teases.

“I guess that depends on how rough you plan on being,” you taunt back and he exhales a breathy moan. “Follow me.” He takes your hand and you lead him to the office buildings in the stadium, empty on a Saturday.

“Is this part of your job too? Seducing singers?” he asks, as you approach the glass doors. You stop in your tracks before inserting a key into the lock of the building.

“I am NOT seducing you.” Reflecting on the last few minutes, you hardly believe it yourself.

He raises an eyebrow at you. “And no,” you continue. “I’ve never done this before.” You insert a key in the lock and turn your wrist.

“So, why me?” a hand still clasped with yours.

“Still figuring that out,” you reply, opening the door. “I’d hate for you to feel like I'm taking advantage of you, do you want to stop?”

He pulls the door open. “No.” gesturing for you to walk inside. You hardly make it in before he pins you to the wall right away, hooking his index fingers in your belt loops.

You look at him closely. “How old are you?”

“You first,” he says with a sly smile.

“Old enough.” You give him a playful shove.

Looking at him long again, “20.” you guess, sounding confident.

He grips around your waist. “How do you know that?”

You look up at him, thoughtfully. His lips are millimeters from yours. “Just a feeling,” you whisper. His lips finally press against yours, soft pecks at first. You breathe each other in and your mouth opens to him when he lifts a hand to the back of your neck.

He slots his legs between yours, heatedly pushing you harder against the wall. His lips move to your neck and both pairs of greedy hands squeeze and tug at each other's bodies.

Unfazed by still being visible through glass doors, you slip your hands under the belt of his pants to give his ass a squeeze and push his groin more roughly against you.

It gets more desperate, both of you panting and sweating through your clothes, still against the wall. He lifts up your shirt to grope at your breasts when you hear the speakers.

“Jungguuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk, let’s goooooooo! We need to get ready!”

You peek out of the glass to see two other members shouting for Jungkook into hot microphones. He lets out a heavy sigh and kisses you hard again.

“Jungkook ,” you whisper. Like a prayer falling from your lips, naming the pull of his gravity.

He looks at his watch which prompts you to look at yours. 5 o’clock.

“I have to go. Can I see you later? Are you busy?” still panting and pressed against you.

“Aren’t you?” running fingers through strands of his chocolate hair.

“Later, later. After the concert, 10 or 11. “You’re staying for the concert?”

“Yeah,” you lie.

His name still blares over stadium speakers. He groans and pushes his forehead to yours. It’s a relief that he feels stuck to you too.

You begin to offer, “I have a hotel nearby, you can…”

He laughs. “Sorry, I can’t really do that. Can I have your number? I’ll have my lawyer find you tonight.”

“What?” you ask, confused.

“You know… liability and legal stuff.” A hundred voices tell you to end this right now. And one voice has you unhooking a pen hanging from your name badge and listing digits on his hand.

He plants one more kiss on you and just like that, he’s gone. You let your back slide down the wall until you’re sitting on the floor, taking a moment before you head back to the hotel to change clothes, put on your staff badge to blatantly take advantage of your job and enter a concert you don’t have tickets for.

You re-enter the stadium without suspicion and blend into the standing room. Any sense of nervousness disappears. You lose yourself in the magic of the show and his talent on stage, now done up and dressed in almost a costume. Still beautiful.

At intermission, a stranger in a suit calls you by name and introduces himself as the lawyer. You walk into an empty office as the stadium still buzzes. He talks and talks and talks. Then, he takes out a stack of paperwork, a non-disclosure contract.

You sign in about a hundred places. You know better, you should be taking time to read and sign carefully but your mind is fogged with the idea of getting your hands back on him, whoever he is.

“Ok. You’re all set,” the lawyer says, after a final signature.

“What happens next?” wondering when you reap the benefits of signing your life away.

“He’ll be in touch, I guess.” The lawyer shrugs and you walk him to the arena exit.

The concert ends and you head to an office to wait, unsure if you should leave the stadium.

Finally, a message from an unknown phone number with an address and hotel room appears on your phone screen. A knot forms in the pit of your stomach. You feel compelled to tell someone where you’ll be going only to remember that you signed an NDA that forbids just that.

You try to reply to the number and an error message immediately returns. “Sender not available”.

What the fuck. You stop and take a deep breath. This could be dangerous and now it’s going beyond “sexy” danger. You try unsuccessfully to convince yourself to stop thinking with your genitals and about the sexy stranger you needed to finish that kiss with.

It doesn’t feel real. You open an internet tab and search his name.

What a mistake. All the blood in your body floods to your core, knowing this man was potentially waiting in a bed for you makes your mind even hazier. Before you can catch up to your thoughts, you rush to your car to drive the short distance to the hotel.

Silent security guards escort you through the lobby and up the elevator. When the doors reopen, Jungkook has his back propped against a wall, expecting you. His hands are in the pockets of sweatpants. He doesn’t look like he did on stage anymore. Not like the pictures. His freshly showered and bare-faced appearance disarms your anxious mind.

“I’ve narrowed down who you are,” you start. “You’re either a big deal or an axe murderer.”

He laughs. “What if I told you neither is true?” He pulls you close by your waist and places a quick kiss on your lips. It’s too casual, like some muscle memory you never knew you had.

“The paperwork? The spoofed phone number?” you gently scold, as he leads you to a door in the hallway.

“You still came,” he says, opening the room door.

“Yeah, what does that say about me?” walking in ahead of him and taking a moment in self-deprecation.

“That you want to finish that kiss as much as I do,” door closing behind him.

You smile to yourself as you face away, heart fluttering at the notion that his idea mirrored yours. You turn to approach him.

“It was a little more than a kiss,” you flirt, placing your arms around his neck.

“Yeah…” his hands wrap around your waist again and his lips hungrily find yours. He bites gently on your bottom lip, eliciting a whimper from you.

“Sorry if that’s a little rough,” he teases, taking his mouth to yours again letting his hands roam. He adds: “I promise i’m not ‘axe-murderer’ rough,” he chides, and you both giggle between kisses. You sink into the familiar and comfortable space, regardless of being actual strangers . You lift off his shirt, eager for what you felt earlier, running hands gratuitously over his chiseled chest and abs.

“Do you want a drink or…” he’s graciously offering between kisses.

“No,” breaking your lips just long enough to reply, knowing he’s got exactly what you need right now.

Clothes are tossed in the air and landing on the floor before he lays you on the bed and the heated pace slows. He mounts on top of you and places slow kisses down your neck and chest while lowering the straps of your bra and kneading your breasts beneath the fabric. He takes nipples into his mouth, warm tongue circling, causing goosebumps to rise on your skin. Your encouraging hands, tangled in his hair.

He moves to your mouth again, offering his tongue, slow but deep. He pulls your panties around your ankles and allows the palm of his hand to slide against your thigh before he can reach his thumb to stroke between your folds, causing you to shudder. He sucks at the tip of his thumb and moves his hips to push his still clothed cock against your center. You wrap your legs around him, urging him closer, needy for his friction.

“Be back,” he says, leaving a peck on your cheek. He walks to a bag on a nearby table, rustles through and retrieves a condom. You sit up on the edge of the bed as he struts back to you. He presents the foil square between 2 fingers. You peel it open, looking up at him. The back of one of his hands strokes your cheek while his other lowers the waistband of his boxer briefs, revealing himself. You instinctively grip his shaft to plam slow strokes along his length and take pleasure in watching his eyes roll back.

You release your hand to pull the condom from it’s open wrapper, place it on the tip and use 2 hands to roll it down to the base before discarding the wrapper on the nightstand and pulling his underwear to the floor.

Leaning down to kiss you, he asks, “What do you want?”

You search for the words but opt to stand and silently guide him to sit back on the bed. He’s satisfied to follow your action as you straddle his lap and use your hand to brace his hard cock on your swollen center, rubbing up and down, slicking the rubber further. You guide yourself onto him, digging your nails into his shoulders slightly when you feel how he spreads you open, stretching and adjusting.

He groans when you reach the base, pushing down on your hips and shifting beneath you, getting deeper and widening your stretch. You whimper and squirm as you adjust.

“Too rough?” he teases.

“Not at all, '' you say, lifting your hips again and meeting the base faster. He pushes you down again, lifting his lap up.

“Good,” he breathes out, shakily.

You create a rhythm with your legs lewdly spread and circle your lower body, his shaft grinding against your sensitive walls, encouraged by his quickening breath.

His eyes are glued to your hips, watching them move. He slams you down a little harder, testing you. You both grunt when he meets the hilt.

You encourage his hand on your center, placing his hand on yours and setting the speed for him. He takes the cue and continues on his own, watching your face. You drop your head to his neck. He lifts you by your chin. “Let me see you.” The sensation is too much, and you're embarrassingly close. He quickens his pace below you, your own hips hardly moving anymore. You look down, entranced by his fingers. He uses his free hand to tug back on your hair.

“I said let me see,” you pulse around him at the words, a delighted smile on his face as he watches.

Still inside, he flips you on your back and buries himself balls deep inside you with an audible slap, bed rocking at the motion.

“Too much?” he sounds sincere.

“More,” you reply, challenging him anyway. He thrusts hard into you again with a sinister grin and keeps his pace, watching diligently as you take all of him. You whine at his deep strokes and he pins your wrists above your head, rendering you helpless as the pressure coils again at your center.

His grunts get lighter, whinier as he grips your wrists tighter.

“Fuck, Jungkook,” you curse, and grope at his tensing ass cheeks when he comes. His thrusts become slow and shallow before sliding out of you. He takes a moment to lay his head on your chest before pulling and tying the condom off, tossing it.

He collapses beside you so you’re shoulder to shoulder and you fall into conversation, for too long and too late but you both delight in it, taking in more of each other.

“When can I see you again?” he asks as you prepare to leave, sunrise peeking through the curtains.

You’re a little surprised. The circumstances had you assuming this as a one-night thing.

“What do you mean?” you ask, unsure.

He gives you a suspicious side-eye. “Can I see you again?”

You attempt to shake down the guard you have up and smile at him.

“When?” you question, as his gravity pulls you back to the bed where he lies.

You lie side by side and compare schedules. It would be the first of hundreds of times you do this, comparing calendars and forcing your lives together.

You’re not sure when you stop forcing it but it’s happened. Now, 3 years later, you’re frozen at a fork in the road, torn to make a decision, knowing you can’t continue to drag him through your hesitation. You pick up your bag and head to the front door.

This first memory and a million others flood your thoughts.

When you saw him for the second time, weeks later, your hands wouldn’t stop shaking. You remember his flattered, cheeky smile.

The time you both got food poisoning and shared the bathroom floor for 3 days.

Surprising him backstage one night and sucking him off before a performance. His face was priceless.

The time he was so exhausted from touring he just slept for the 15 hours you were together. And you contentedly watched until you had to part again.

Taking a spontaneous flight just to get tattoos.

When you told him you loved him on the plane. “I love you.” The words slip out effortlessly, you don’t even remember what you were talking about. He’s pleasantly surprised and almost proud that you say it first. He reciprocates your words and seals it with a kiss on your forehead. “I love you too.”

Playing domestic during quarantine and settling into a chosen family when the world comes to a screeching halt.

The look on his face when he fucked you in the mirror last night.

His disappointed face before he got in the shower today.

You don’t notice Seokjin until he speaks, passing by you on his way to the kitchen.

“Leaving, noona?”

You don’t respond, still facing the closed door.

“Do you need help with your bag?” he’s walking up to you now.

“Noona,” he places a hand on your shoulder. “Are you going?”

Part 3/4 HERE

[karahalloway]

WIP Wednesday - 01.12.2021

Since it’s Wednesday, I’ve decided to share a snippet of two new WIPs I’m working. Snippets below the cut (first snippet is PG, second snippet is M for swearing and angst).

Chapter 2 of Sleepless in New York

😱😱😱OMG! I know! I’m finally writing the next chapter! (*shock and fainting all around*). I know I have been seriously neglecting this series and I know a lot of you have been eagerly waiting for this next instalment 😅 Happy reading!

Shrugging out of my jacket, I quickly roll my sleeves up, and muss my hair a bit.

First impressions were important. And since I was no longer in the well-heeled Uptown, I needed to tone my appearance down a bit, so I didn't stick out like a sore thumb. Not that I was worried about getting mugged or anything. I could hold my own if I had to. But it was always better to make the effort to blend in than to draw unnecessary attention to yourself.

Slinging the blazer over a shoulder, I grasp the slightly sticky door handle. Pulling the door open, I step into the bar.

The smell of grease and beer hits me as I survey the room, and I feel my stomach growl in anticipation. I hope this place did cheeseburgers. It's been ages since I've had a decent one. And no place does cheeseburgers like the States.

Since it's still relatively early – barely gone 8pm – the tables are about half occupied and there are a couple of guys at the bar. The clientele was definitely more on the blue-collar end of the spectrum. But that didn't bother me. If anything, it was a welcome change from being surrounded by entitled aristos all the time.

It was the main reason I sought out places like this. They were the perfect antithesis to the over-varnished bubble the nobility liked to insulate themselves in. They also served as a reminder my humble, commoner roots (not that the aristos ever really let me forget them) and gave me the opportunity to simply be – myself, by myself. Just another guy in a dingy bar enjoying a much-needed drink after a shit day.

"Bar or table?"

Oooh...! Who could that be...? You’ll find out when I post the rest (hopefully sometime next week)! Can’t give it all away, can I? Muhahaha! 😈

New Bonus Chapter for (Un)Common Attraction

A while back, I received an Anon ask to write a Drake POV chapter covering his thoughts and reactions to Chapter 21 - Dive Into the Deep End. While I have had the content of the chapter in my head for a while, I have finally started writing it down (this snippet is literally where I’ve gotten to so far).

I'm an idiot.

A fuckin' world-class idiot.

What — in the name of sweet, motherfuckin' Jesus! — had possessed me to fuck off with her fuckin' bikini top?

I hadn't even had anything to drink!

No. Wait. I'd had that glass of Eagle Rare on Hana's yacht.

But that had been like a finger and a half. Max. With food. Almost three hours prior.

No way had my judgement been impaired.

It normally took at least three good-sized shots for me to even start feeling buzzed... And lit enough to even consider pulling some stupid shit like that? Half the bottle. Minimum.

So it hadn't been the whiskey.

"Fuck..." I groan, dropping my head onto my crossed arms on the bar top.

I wish it had been the whiskey... Because that least that way I could pass on some of the blame for the epic clusterfuck I’d just created.

As you can see, a WIP for Part 3 of my Thanksgiving standalone one-shot (which has now turned into a mini series) is conspicuously missing from this line-up. This is because I want to refocus my attention on my main series ((Less Than) Noble Intentions and Sleepless in New York) over the next few weeks. I am planning to write Part 3 at some point (no timeline at this stage), but will post a WIP when I do!

Permatags (let me know if you want to be added!)

@twinkleallnight @lovingchoices14 @petiteboheme @aussiegurl1234 @queen-arabella-of-cordonia @tessa-liam @alyshak92 @secretaryunpaid @princessleac1 @walkerdrakewalker @fictionloveevie @angelasscribbles @drakewalkerisreal @nestledonthaveone @tinkie1973 @lunaseasblog @indiana-jr @twinkle-320 @knaussal @choicesficwriterscreations @differenttyphoonwerewolf @texaskitten30 @kingliam2019 @pinklipsandmasonjars @sillydg @spookycolorpeanut @peonierose @mrsnazariowritesagain @shellybee85 @3pawandme​ @honey358luv

Sleepless in New York Only (let me know if you want to be added!)

@bebepac​ @lilacsandwhiskey​

[askmerriauthor]

Star Wars: Visions thoughts and discussion

Been on a bit of a Star Wars binge lately. Getting ready for the Book of Fett and the return of The Mandalorian soon, just finished playing the Jedi: Fallen Order game, and recently "Star Wars: Visions" dropped on Disney+ (not to be confused with the, like, half-dozen other Star Wars properties that use "Visions" as their title). If you've got the streaming service and haven't watched the series yet, I can honestly suggest you should do so. The whole thing is a series of very short episodes and is entirely non-canon to the setting, so you don't even need a hard understanding of Star Wars to enjoy it.

In fact, it's actually better if you don't know anything about Star Wars going in. Spoilers and brief episode discussion after the jump.

Episode 1: The Duel As soon as I saw a lightsaber umbrella and a R2 droid in a hat, I knew this one was going to be a must-watch.

I REPEAT. LIGHTSABER. UMBRELLA.

Solid kick-off for the short series. Dig the aesthetic, dig the classic samurai vibe (even if it's more of an homage than a direct application of the style), dig the simple story. The particular animation style they chose here was a little wonky but I quickly got used to the visuals and loved a bunch of the design choices too much to care. This one was very action/style-focused and clearly chosen as the leading episode for that reason, which I don't fault them at all for.

Episode 2: Tatooine Rhapsody I'm sorry, I don't recall giving Star Wars permission to be this fucking adorable, how dare you.

The tale of a Padawan survivor of Order 66 who makes a new life for himself not with the power of the Force, but with the power of Rock and Roll and Friendship. Bitchin'. Super adorable, semi-chibi art style that's honestly ringing, like, a dozen different bells in my head for trying to figure out all the different styles it's drawing from. Good fun, if a bit bland in the end. The biggest problem is the music. The story relies on "using music to save the day", which is fine. But when you use that trope you need an absolutely face-melting banger of a performance, which this just doesn't have. An enjoyable entry all the same though. Not bad, not great, cute designs; the quirky story of how Jabba the Hutt got a new slave band to play at his den.

Episode 3: The Twins This entire episode is animated by the team who brought us Kill la Kill and that should really tell you everything you need to know.

You know how if you get a bunch of little kids together, they'll start playing make-believe games where they just invent stories and plot twists and super powers like "I have whatever you can do, but infinity plus 1 better!" shit like that? That's what this short is. It has only the vaguest allusions to the setting proper and immediately hurls every semblance of consistency, logic, and sense out the window with both hands. It is 1,000,000% style over substance.

Okay, y'know what, no, that's not enough to describe the utter insanity this episode is. All I can find online is pictures of the main villain character pulling a General Grievous impression or the protag snaring lightsaber whips on his lightsaber, but that is fucking tiddlywinks compared to where this episode goes.

There is a scene in this short where the protag, who is ghost-riding the hood of his X-Wing upside down in space without a space suit, super-charges his lightsaber into a giant rainbow of FUCK YOU GEORGE LUCAS with the power of familial love and fabulousness, using said rainbow super saber to CUT AN ENTIRE STAR DESTROYER IN HALF WHILE ACCELERATING TO HYPERSPEED, all to save his twin sister's life by making her explode in a somehow non-harmful manner.

This short is utterly nonsensical drivel and yes I would like more right the fuck now, please and thank you.

Episode 4: The Village Bride Wait, we're actually trying to tell a reasonable story in this series? Sorry, I was still on a sugar high from the previous episode. Lemme sit down.

The Village Bride is great. Excellent short that's just dripping with atmosphere and a slow, purposeful pace to its writing. It's short and sweet with little focus on the Force-using characters themselves, which actually serves to its credit. Even in the Star Wars universe, the Ainu people can't catch a fucking break. Easily one of my favorites in the whole run.

Episode 5: The Ninth Jedi The fact that two characters in this short have Sasuke's haircut was extremely distracting. But I actually really enjoyed this entry overall.

Despite playing extremely loose with the established lore around how lightsabers work, this episode over all others really embraces the original setting and tells a slow-burn story about the potential revival of the Jedi Order. A little meandering at times, but it's a solid piece and well worth exploring. Of all the shorts in the series, this one has the greatest potential to actually continue on as a standalone series or be folded into the canon franchise. Main protag is an adorable bean and I love her.

Episode 6: T0-B1 This episode is simultaneously a love letter to Astro Boy and a giant middle finger to Star Wars lore purists.

The tale of an imaginative Droid named T0-B1 who dreams of becoming a hero like the Jedi he's heard so many stories of. This short gets extra credit for being so unyieldingly stylish and charming. On the surface of its presentation and story choices it seems like it doesn't know anything about Star Wars lore, but it's actually packed full of some pretty deep cuts that show the folk behind it do know what they're talking about and just don't fucking care what purists have to say. The entire thing is just "Yeah, I'm ignoring your lore, but I'm doing it in a fun way that makes the setting more interesting, and I'm so genuine about it that you can't be mad at me". I can respect that. Plus the old dude in that screenshot is an armless Jedi who's retired to be a botanist and that's just fucking cool.

Episode 7: The Elder I'm Episode 1, but better.

This one. This shit right here. This is the good shit.

I'm sure y'all have heard before that Star Wars is directly inspired by Kurosawa and samurai films in general, but The Elder really digs into that hard. Where Episode 1 styles itself after a samurai tale, Episode 7 is a samurai tale. Subdued, methodical storytelling, slow-burn pace, charming dialogue amid believable characters, and a truly intimidating villain who provokes a brief but striking duel. This is my vibe. I crave more of this. Far and away the best short of the entire series.

Episode 8: Lop and Ocho Oh for fuck's sake, there's going to be so much porn of this bunny girl character, isn't there?

This entry is another that kind of meanders with the story it's trying to tell and plays very loose with the lore. It reimagines a lot of what we know of the Jedi/The Rebels and Sith/The Empire into a feudal faction-based conflict akin to what you'd see in a period samurai drama. Modernization and callous industry crushing the spirit of the people and breaking apart families. A decent work overall, but nothing really all that impressive in the end. It takes too long to get going and then peters out halfway through its pay-off for some reason.

Episode 9: Akakiri The fact that I had to look up this episode's name and scenes online and still could not remember anything about it should tell you a lot.

The series ends on a downer with the dramatic tale of a fallen Jedi who sacrifices himself and succumbs to the Dark Side. Turning evil for... the greater good? Wha? Had some pretty neat visuals, but I genuinely cannot remember a damn thing about this episode or its characters. Big swing and a miss in terms of impact.

[mandyloves2read]

☆☆☆𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨☆☆☆

Speak Of The Devil by L.J. Woods

Saint Angels Academy book 2

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely loved this story! Adam and Hazels story is everything I love about a good bully romance this couple man they both had it bad for each other the angst the emotions sometimes I wanted to throat punch Adam and others he had me swooning at his feet or panting and squirming in my chair he was amazing and Hazel I loved her attitude so much she has been through it and she still persevere she doesn’t give up sometimes that gets her in trouble but she is one bad ass chick ! These two are just everything together they are absolutely perfect for one another this was a well written bully romance with suspense and action it was fast paced it immediately sucked me in from beginning till end I couldn’t put it down this series is amazing and I can’t wait till the next book !

⠀

*ARC kindly given for my honest opinion *

⠀

Campus god. Billionaire bully. Heartthrob heir. Adam Armstrong is the enemy I hate. What's worse than sleeping with the enemy? Finding out he's your new boss.

-

Adam

Hazel Hawthorne is not innocent.

Don't let that pretty face fool you, this good girl is very bad.

She's more than just a beautiful body to break or a sinful soul to take;

She's the enemy with a vengeance to tear down this wealthy small town.

Well, surprise, Hawthorne - I'm the boss of your new internship.

And now, you're mine.

To devour.

To torment.

To bully into submission.

"Heir" means more to my billionaire family than anyone knows - I won't let revenge ruin us.

Bring it on, Hawthorne, I'll see you in my office.

It's time for your punishment.

-

Fan of rich alpha possessive bad boys? SOTD is a full-length new adult college romance novel with mature themes. This is a dark enemies-to-lovers romance with scenes that some may find uncomfortable and is recommended for mature readers only. You have been warned.

⠀

This is a standalone book that can be read as part of an interconnected series. Prior reading is not required.

[littlemisssquiggles]

Hello! I've been reading your posts for quite some time. Now I have been reading about scenarios in which Oscar got kidnapped with or without Ruby by Salem but....what if Ruby got kidnapped by Salem and Oscar has to go out and save her (with backup of course). I'm not suggesting that Ruby should take on the role of the damsel in distress given her development in the show thus far but it's been so common nowadays about these speculations of Oscar being more likely to be kidnapped. Just curious.

Hello Rainbow.Well to be fair, I’m among the folks who’ve been pitchingthe idea of Oscar beingthe one to be taken by Salem alone.

However before duringV5’s runtime, one of the firsttheories for a potential Dark Domain Arc in RWBY that I pitched featured the idea of Oscarand Ruby both becoming prisoners ofSalem, being forced to survive on their own and make the perilous trek acrossthe Grimm infested Dark Lands.

Back then, I figured that Ruby and Oscar would bekidnapped together because between V4 and V5, there were hints of this beingpossible. In V5, we got Lionheart mentioning taking Oscar to Salem and in V4,Ruby was made a target by Salem who sent Tyrian Callows to kidnap her and if itweren’t for Qrow intervening, Tyrian may have succeeded in abducting her.

Despite Tyrian’s failure, it doesn’t excuse the fact thatSalem showed an interest in Ruby and with Tyrian expected to be a part of theupcoming Atlas Arc, it wouldn’t surprise me if he dared to enact his revengeand claim a second chance at whisking Ruby away to Salem. So if Ruby becomes a prisoner of Salem,it wouldn’t surprise me.

However here’s the thing, Ican’t picture the idea of Ruby being kidnapped alone with an entire arc being dedicated to focusing on her friends having tosave her being led by Oscar. And my reason for that is due to her status as ourmain protagonist of RWBY. Ruby is our valiant hero of the story and I can only see theWriters writing her to be that way. I’m not saying Ruby can’t become Salem’sprisoner. I’m just saying I can’t see that story being written in a way whereRuby is the maiden waiting to be saved by her friends. I can only see Rubybeing captured only to escape and then the audient spends the story watchingher struggle to make her way back to reuniting with her friends who are lookingfor her.

That’s how I see it. I also can’t see Ruby being takenalone with Oscar having to find since the narrative so far has painted the bothof them with clear targets on their backs. Oscar especially, given Salem’sreaction to learning that Ozpin is alive and reincarnated as him and the V6finale after-credit moment of her preparing her Winged Beringel Army topossibly go after Ozpin and essentially Oscar.

I can’t see Ruby being taken without Oscar. For me, I canonly see it as Ruby beingkidnapped with Oscar since both smaller,more honest souls have been previously alluded to be targetedby Salem or just Oscar takenalone with Ruby being the only to save him. That’swhat I see being more likely to become canon with my current favourite beingthese two headcanons being the one about Oscar being taken.

I’m sorry if it’s become a common theory but as I alwayssay, my firm reasoning behind why I love the ‘Oscarthe prisoner and Ruby his saviour’ theory isbecause of the strong parallels to the Lost Fable episode from RWBY V6 and the Lost Princessof Oz fairy-tale.

Oscar draws inspiration from Princess Ozma, as many RWBYtheories had deducted, and in the Oz book series, there is a story titled ‘The Lost Princess of Oz’ which depicts Princess Ozmabeing kidnapped and it is her best friend Dorothy Gale who leads a search partyto rescue her.

Many RWBY theorists believe that Ruby draws inspirationfrom Dorothy Gale apart from her trademark Little Red Riding Hood motif.Personally I was more under the impression that both Ruby and Oscar shared influence from Dorothy but it is Ruby who’ll become the Dorothycharacter in Oscar’s Ozma story. 

Dorothy was said to be Princess Ozma’sclosest confidant in the Oz series and this is thetype of relationship that I’m anticipating to see reflected in the Rosegardenbudding friendship. I’m expecting Ruby tobecome Oscar’s best friend and closest companion as well as his future love interest since Oscar also takes influence from the Little Prince whose truelove was a red rose that was his main companion back on his home planet. 

As for the Lost Fable, should Oscar becomeSalem’s prisoner then I am of the opinion that she would lock him away inside a lonely tower much similarto how she was imprisoned centuries ago. I adore the parallel of Oscarbecoming like Salem once was---stripped away from his loved ones and lockedaway by a wicked being who condemned him to a life of isolation and loneliness;never knowing if he’d see the outside world ever again or be reunited with thosehe holds dear.

I am behind this theory 100% because I think it would be fittingto have Oscar, as an incarnate of Ozma, become the Boyin the Lonely Tower waiting to be saved by his caped champion. Itis quite the appropriate satire to have Salem, the original girl in the tower detainthe boy who is the very embodiment of the hero who once saved her from hersolitude. Salem the imprisoned becoming the imprisoner to lock away the boy was once the righteous man who freed her in anotherlifetime is such a perfect parallel . At least to me it is.  

In Salem’s story, Ozma was the righteous valiant hero whofought and freed her from her captivity. I can definitely see Ruby becomingOscar’s champion, leading the charge to save him from his imprisonment. There are similarities to Ruby and Ozma just as much as there are similarities to Salem (original) and Oscar. I discussed those similarities better in this Musing post right there. 

This is why I love this theory so much. It connects backto two important tales related to Oscar. I really would love to see that parallelto the Lost Fable because I think it’s the most possible. If not that, then it’sRuby and Oscar against the Dark Domain theory because that headcanon also hasan Oz equivalent. Two actually.

In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy was kidnapped by the flyingmonkeys and taken to the Wicked Witch. As I said, Ruby and Oscar both shareinspiration from Dorothy Gale. There is also another Oz book--- ‘Glinda ofOz’ in which Dorothy and Princess Ozma got kidnapped together. This was another nodto the Oz books that helped me justify why I inclined to the theory of would be cool if bothRuby and Oscar got nabbed together since they both technically representDorothy and Princess Ozma.

As a matter of fact, I’d actually love to combine both ofthese theories. Imagine if…Ruby and Oscar are kidnappedtogether and taken to Salem. Oscar is then lockedaway in another solitary part of Salem’s castle while Ruby is held elsewhere---possiblyin some kind of tomb-like dungeon of some sorts where Salem can potentiallyentertain herself by forcing Ruby to combat countless hordes of Grimm withoutthe use of her Crescent Rose or her silver eyes.

Some fans have shared the idea of Ruby losing one of her eyes. While this squigglemeister isn’t too big of a fan of this theory, I’lladmit that I can actually see it happening. I can see Salem damagingRuby’s eyes but not to the point of her going completelyblind. 

Since by my assumption, Salem would most likely rather sadistically wishfor the young huntress to see every bit of torment Salem was going to put her through. Instead Ruby’seyes are damaged just enough so that she can’t summon forth her indomitablepower. At least, not without causing herself excruciating pain or failingentirely.  

Perhaps Salem damages Ruby’s eyes using dark magicmaking her injuries impossible to be healed even by normal means such as Jaune’ssemblance. I’ve more been a fan of Ruby losing her eyes to dark magic since it an potentially open up a bit where Oscar can master control ofhis own magical powers as means of healing Ruby’s eyes back to their originalstate.  It’s only another headcanon butit’s one that I like.

Anyways, eventually Ruby manages to free herself byoutsmarting Salem’s forces. We then get a story of Ruby finding her way toOscar who she learnt was being kept in a lonely tower. There she reunites withOscar and the two share a tender moment before making their daring escapetogether.

However in spite of their heartfelt reunion, our twoRosebuds aren’t out of the danger yet. Escaping Salem’s castle and the lonelytower was only the first obstacle. The hardest journey would be making it back to civilization to findtheir comrades---granted that they were still alive after the Fall of Atlas.

That actually doesn’t sound too bad. I am down for bothof these theories being combined, if ever possible.

So to reiterate, I can’t see Ruby being kidnapped alone.In my mind, we’re more likely to either see Rubykidnapped with Oscar and the two have to work together to escape Salem.

Or…it’s ascenario where Salem arrivesto kidnap Ruby but Oscar lets Salem take him in Ruby’s place. Or…it’sthe latter where Salem comesto take Oscar and threatens to the lives of everyone in Atlas if Oscar didn’t surrenderhimself over to her. So in the end, Oscar gives himself up toSalem to protect everyone including Ruby who fails to save him and can onlywatch helplessly as Oscar is taken away before her eyes while the entire kingdom of Atlasfalls around her.

That’s how I’m seeing it. I see the heroes taking their biggest hit and facing their biggestfailure in Atlas Kingdom. Even worse than Vale. Notonly does Atlas Academy fall but the entire kingdom itself. Since Atlas is inthe sky, that is just a giant red flag in my eyes for this entire kingdom to plummetto the ground.

My impression is that Atlaswill fall from the sky at some point during itstrilogy and what I figured could be an interesting way to tie this narrative toa potential standalone Dark Domain Arc is if Salemsimultaneously kidnapped a handful of Atlesian citizens during the Fall ofAtlas to hold them hostage in her domain.

Like…imagine General Ironwood and the Atlesian military workingdesperately to evacuate every surviving citizen during the Fall of Atlas; boardingthem all on airships to be taken to safety in another neighbouring kingdom(like Mistral or maybe even Vacuo); only to be bombarded by Salem’s forces whotake control of those ships.

So while some airships managed to evade captivity, Salem stillsucceeded in capturing a good percentage of the populace. Among the safepassengers are, of course, our heroes (minus Oscar) but to their dismay, theyare forced to watch helplessly as Salem took hostage of some of the airshipswith evacuees on board. Among them were some of their friends and even family.

Like perhaps Team FNKI and I have this headcanon thatWeiss’ family---Whitley, her mother, Klein and even Winter were among theevacuees captured by Salem. Y’know to give Weiss an incentive to join Ruby in venturing into Salem’s Domain on a life and death rescue mission to save Oscar. 

These days I’m really starting to lean toward the headcanon of Salem capturing Atlesian citizens during the Fall of Atlas to use as leverage to torture Oscar into submitting to her whim during his imprisonment by threatening their lives if he didn’t obey. 

By my headcanon, Oscar figured he had saved everyone with his sacrifice when the reality was, he didn’t. I described this theory betterin these two Pinehead headcanons----Oscar’s GrimmBuddy and Oscar’sBetrayal.

So yeah, I think this covers why I’m more in support of the Oscar the Prisoner theory. The Ruby reverse isn’t bad. I just find the version with Oscar more likely to happen because of the strong parallells to Oz and the Lost Fable. Hope this answers your question. 

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)