#We'll see how I keep up with my first month-long challenge!

[ekybrini]

Back to Strangers | LUKE HUGHES

— ⟡ summary | Libby Carter, a college student who has sworn off any athletes after hearing the amount of rumors of how they treat people. When Luke Hughes, a persistent hockey player, starts pursuing her as part of a bet with his friends, Libby is determined to keep her distance. But as they spend more time together, she starts to question whether his feelings are real or just part of the game.

— ⟡ warnings | none (that i know of)

— ⟡ word counts | 1.9k

— ⟡ gab's note | hii ! im so excited to finally start writing again after a while. I finally got the energy to actually write something after months and come back to tumblr. hopefully I can post more (senior year is kicking my ass at the moment so hopefully after the semester is over I can post and write more!) I think this can potentially become a au (we'll see!) anyways im sorry for the inactiveness, but I promise to try to be more active! also I apologize for how long this is

“Dude, I’m just saying, you’re all talk,” Ethan teased, leaning across the booth at their usual hangout, a local diner near campus. The rest of the guys Seamus, Mackie, and a couple of others were clearly enjoying this way too much.

“I’m not ‘all talk,’” Luke shot back, stabbing his fork into his pancakes. “I just don’t waste my time on relationships.”

“That’s because you couldn’t even if you tried,” Mackie chimed in with a smug grin.

Luke snorted. “Yeah, okay.”

“No, seriously,” Seamus added, leaning in. “You think you could get any girl you want, but there’s one who would never go for you.”

Ethan smirked, a challenge lighting up his eyes. He gestured subtly across the room. “Libby Carter.”

Luke followed his gaze and saw her immediately. Libby sat alone at a table, curled over a thick textbook, twirling a pen between her fingers. Her long brown hair was pulled up into a messy bun, and she was dressed in oversized Michigan sweatpants and sweatshirt that swallowed her frame. She was pretty, no doubt, but there was something about her that seemed untouchable. She didn’t go to parties and barely looked at guys, she was mostly in her own world.

“Good luck with that,” Mackie added.

Luke leaned back in his seat, his smirk growing. “You guys really think I couldn’t make her fall for me?”

Seamus grinned. “Bet you fifty bucks you can’t get her to fall for you by the end of the year.”

Luke’s eyes gleamed with a mixture of challenge and amusement. “Easy money.”

“Hold on.” Ethan raised a hand, cutting through the banter. “Fall for you. Not just go on a date. Not just hook up. She has to actually like you.”

Luke thought for just a moment, the implications settling in. That was different. But his pride wouldn’t let him back down.

“Fine,” he said, shaking on it.

☆

Libby Carter had three rules coming to college:

1. Keep your grades up.

2. Avoid distractions.

3. Never, under any circumstances, date an athlete.

The last rule wasn’t some baseless prejudice. It was a fact. The University of Michigan athletics team, specifically the hockey team had a reputation of a mix of cocky attitudes, effortless charm, and just enough talent to make girls “fall” for them before moving on like the next game on their schedule. Libby had seen it happen too many times, and she wasn’t about to be another statistic.

Which is why, when Luke Hughes star defenseman, future devil player, and walking definition of temptation started showing up everywhere she went, she found it incredibly weird.

Libby was used to keeping her distance, to keeping people at arm's length, especially athletes who believed they could charm their way into anyone’s heart. She had more important things to focus on like her studies, her future, and avoiding distractions at all costs.

But Luke was persistent. The first time he approached her, she brushed him off.

"I’m really not interested," she said, her voice cool and detached as she glanced at him, then quickly looked away.

Luke didn’t back down. "I get it, but I just wanted to say hi. No pressure."

She raised an eyebrow. "Hi? That’s all you came over here for?"

He nodded, smiling a little. "Yep. I promise, I’m not trying to sell you anything."

She chuckled dryly. "Well, congratulations, you’ve succeeded in being the most annoying person I’ve met today."

Luke laughed, unfazed. "I’ll take that as a compliment. Can I try again tomorrow?"

She shook her head, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "no.”

"I’ll be back." he said, grinning

And with that, he left her with a lingering sense of curiosity.

The second time, she shot him a look that could have frozen him in his tracks. But Luke wasn’t one to give up easily. And when it came to proving something to his teammates, he never backed down.

"Seriously?" she said, her voice like ice. "You’re still here?"

Luke’s confidence wavered for just a moment, and he almost considered turning around and walking away. But he shook off the fear, his pride kicking in. He wasn’t about to back down out of the bet now.

"Yeah," he replied, his voice a little tighter than he intended. "Still here. Just thought I’d try again."

She crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing to slits. "And what exactly are you trying to prove? That you’re persistent?"

"Maybe," Luke said, forcing himself to stand tall despite the sudden unease. "But I’m also a man of my word. I said 'tomorrow' last time. I’m just here to keep my promise."

Her gaze didn’t soften, but he could’ve sworn there was a flicker of something in her eyes was it amusement? He couldn’t tell.

"You’re relentless," she muttered.

Luke let out a nervous laugh, trying to regain his footing. "I like to think of it as determination."

She raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed, but her stance was a little less intimidating now. "Well, don’t think you’re winning any awards here."

Luke held up his hands in mock surrender, forcing a grin. "No awards. Just a friendly hello. That’s all."

He was still shaking off the sting of that cold look, but something told him he wasn’t done yet.

☆

It wasn’t long before Luke’s presence became impossible to ignore.

At first, Libby thought it was just a coincidence when she saw him in the library, a place she frequented to escape the chaos of the dorms and study in peace. Luke, the star defenseman who could have any girl he wanted, hunched over a stack of papers and books, clearly out of his element. She thought maybe he was there for the same reason quiet study time though she had her doubts.

When the pattern repeated itself, though, Libby had to admit something odd was happening. Luke showed up at the coffee shop right when she ordered her regular, a steaming caramel macchiato. He somehow ended up sitting next to her in the huge lecture hall, despite having no real reason to be there. He started bringing up random facts about in economics, as if trying to make conversation in their econ class. Libby had no patience for it, but even she couldn’t deny the way he challenged her, poked at her intellectual comfort zone. And the more she pushed him away, the more he persisted.

“Do you have a reason for following me around?” Libby finally demanded one day after they ran into each other in the library for what felt like the hundredth time.

Luke looked up from his notes, a lazy grin spreading across his face. “Who says I’m following you?”

“You sit next to me in class, even though you’ve never done it before.”

“Maybe I realized Econ is more fun with company.”

“You don’t even take notes.” libby said with clear annoyance.

“I have a great memory aka photographic memory,” Luke shot back with a wink.

Libby rolled her eyes, clearly fed up. “Look, if this is some kind of game, I’m not playing.”

Luke leaned back in his chair, the easy smile never leaving his face. “What makes you think it’s a game?”

“Because no one suddenly starts to follow around someone unless they have something they want.”

His eyebrows furrowed slightly. “and what exactly would i want?”

“you know exactly what i’m talking about” she said, narrowing her eyes at him. “Girls who don’t fall for the whole hockey player charm.”

Luke hesitated, unsure how to respond. Part of him knew she wasn’t entirely off base. But that didn’t mean he was going to give up just yet.

“I like a challenge,” he said with a shrug, flashing her a grin.

Libby scoffed. “Good luck with that, Hughes.”

And yet, she couldn’t help but notice the way he lingered just a little bit longer, his eyes never quite leaving her.

☆

Luke had noticed Libby sitting alone in the corner of the library for the past few days. Her nose buried in a textbook, surrounded by notebooks, and coffee cups. She was quiet and intense.

But there he was, walking up to her table, feeling the weight of his decision with every step. His friends had dared him. They had said it would be funny if he actually pulled it off. But deep down, Luke wasn’t sure why he wanted to get to know Libby. Maybe it was the challenge, or maybe it was because there was something about her that made him want to prove he could get through the wall she put up. Either way, he knew one thing for sure he was going to try.

He cleared his throat as he reached her table, leaning against the edge to keep his balance. Libby didn’t even look up, her eyes scanning the pages of her book with laser focus.

“what do you want hughes?” Libby said clearly annoyed of his presence

"Hey, Libby," he said, trying to sound casual, but his voice came out a little more nervous than he intended.

She didn’t respond. Her fingers flipped to the next page, like she hadn’t heard him at all.

Luke hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should continue or just walk away. But the thought of his friends would not let him back down now. He took a deep breath and tried again.

"I was, wondering if you’d want to study together for the upcoming econ test?" he asked, unsure of what he was really expecting. The words sounded stupid even to him, but he pushed forward. "I mean, we both know this material. Thought it might be easier to go over it with someone else, you know?"

Libby’s eyes flickered up to meet his, just for a brief second, before she went back to her book, clearly unimpressed.

"I study alone," she said, her voice flat and uninterested.

Luke didn’t take the rejection well, but he wasn’t about to let it go so easily. He had a point to prove, both to his friends and to himself. So, he pressed on.

"I get that. I mean, I do too," he said, trying to sound cool, like they were just two people casually discussing a study session. "But it’s just, uh, I heard you’re pretty good at this stuff. You know, the whole economic thing. And I figured you might want to go over a few things with me. Could help you out too, right?"

He could feel her staring at him, though she said nothing. He was so close now that he could almost see the tiny furrow in her brow, the slight irritation building behind her eyes. He knew this wasn’t going well, but Luke wasn’t the type to give up. He leaned in a little closer.

"I’m serious. I’m not asking for a charity case or anything," he added quickly, trying to sound more genuine. "I just thought it’d be a good way to get this over with."

Libby’s gaze stayed fixed on him for a long moment, studying him like he was some kind of puzzle she was trying to figure out. Luke braced himself for her to turn him down again, but then, to his surprise, she spoke.

"Fine," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I’ll study with you, but only if you leave me alone after this, especially with following me around."

Luke blinked, not sure if she was being sarcastic or serious, but he nodded quickly, trying to mask the sudden burst of excitement in his chest. "I get it. Just, you know, the studying part."

Libby gave him a curt nod. "Yeah, whatever. We’ll meet here tomorrow, same time." She turned her attention back to her notes, clearly signaling that the conversation was over.

Luke stood there for a moment, processing what had just happened. He’d actually gotten her to agree. He had spent so much time imagining how this would go, and it had ended with Libby of all people giving in. It wasn’t the most enthusiastic acceptance, but it was something. He smiled to himself, relieved that he hadn’t been shot down completely.

"Thanks, Libby," he said, his tone genuinely appreciative. "I won’t let you down."

She didn’t respond, her eyes now fixed firmly on her textbook as she scribbled notes with a speed that almost made Luke dizzy. He stood there for a moment longer, watching her, unsure of what else to say or do. Finally, he turned and walked away, the sound of her pen on paper the only noise filling the quiet of the library.

The next day, Luke showed up early, a little nervous but excited to see how it would go. He had never studied with someone like Libby before. She was serious, focused, and didn’t waste time with small talk. It was a stark contrast to his usual study sessions with his friends, where there was always some kind of distraction or joke in the air. But Luke was determined to make the most of it.

Libby was already there, sitting in the same spot, her books spread out in front of her. She didn’t even look up when he walked in, which, somehow, made Luke feel a little more at ease. He grabbed a chair, sitting down across from her, trying his best to ignore the fact that she was barely acknowledging his presence.

"Ready?" he asked, hoping to break the silence.

She didn’t respond right away. Instead, she just gave him a quick glance, then sighed as she flipped through her notes.

"Let’s get this over with," she said, and Luke couldn’t help but grin.

She didn’t like him, but she had agreed to study. And for now, that was enough.

After a while, one study session became a whole month study session. In which both of them met twice a week to study together.

"That’s... impressive," he said, breaking the silence, his voice quiet but sincere.

Libby didn’t look up. "Yeah, well, it’s not that hard if you actually pay attention."

Luke chuckled, leaning against the table. "I don’t think I’ve ever been that focused on anything."

Libby finally glanced up at him, her expression unreadable. "Maybe you should start. Then you might pass the next test."

He raised his hands in mock surrender. "Fair point. But I’m hoping you’ll be my secret weapon."

A small smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I don’t do secret weapons," she said, her tone a little less harsh but still firm.

Luke smiled, feeling a brief sense of connection, even if it was just fleeting. "Alright, no secret weapons. Just trying to survive here."

For a long moment, there was just silence between them again. Luke shifted awkwardly, realizing he had no idea how to keep the conversation going. He wasn’t used to talking to someone who shut down his attempts at charm so easily. But there was something oddly comforting about it. She wasn’t impressed by him, and for the first time in a long while, Luke didn’t feel the need to prove himself.

Finally, he let out a quiet laugh. "I’ll leave you to it, then. See you tomorrow?"

Libby nodded without looking up. "Yeah. Don’t make me regret it."

Luke had always prided himself on being a guy who didn’t get emotionally attached. Relationships were messy. They took time, effort, and a lot of care. And that wasn’t something he was interested in. Not with his career on the line and his focus on hockey. But somehow, spending time with Libby made him rethink everything.

It wasn’t instant, but it was inevitable. He found himself waiting for their study sessions, looking forward to their debates in class, and wanting to hear her opinion on everything from the economy to the latest sports scandals. She was smart, sharp, and had a sense of humor that kept him on his toes. And for the first time in a long time, he didn’t feel like he was just playing a part or living up to some stereotype. With Libby, he was himself.

☆

It happened one night, during one of their late-night study sessions. They had finished working on their assignments, and the conversation had shifted from academic talk to something more personal.

“You really hate hockey players, don’t you?” Luke asked, his voice quieter than usual.

Libby sighed, rubbing her temples. “It’s not that I hate hockey players. It’s just that I’ve seen how you guys treat people. You come, you charm, and you leave. I’m not falling for that.”

Luke hesitated, the weight of her words hitting harder than he expected. “Not all of us are like that.”

Libby shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m just too cautious, but I’ve seen too many girls fall for that routine.”

Luke wasn’t sure how to respond, but the sincerity in her voice made him realize just how much he was beginning to care about her. He didn’t just want to prove her wrong.

There was a long pause, the tension between them thick. The clock on the wall ticked away the seconds, but neither of them seemed in a hurry to break the silence. Luke’s mind raced, but he finally said what had been on his mind for a while now.

“Libby,” he started, his voice a little steadier now, though still laced with a touch of vulnerability, “we’ve been studying together for a month. And yeah, I get that you don’t really think highly of me or anyone for that matter. But... I’m not like that.”

She raised an eyebrow, not fully convinced, but she didn’t interrupt him.

“I’m not asking you to change your mind overnight,” he continued. “But I’d really like the chance to show you I’m different. To prove it, you know?” He took a deep breath. “At least go on one date with me. Just one. No pressure, no expectations. Just… a chance to get to know each other outside of these study sessions.”

Libby opened her mouth to respond, but Luke quickly added, “I’m not asking you to fall for me or anything, just let me take you out. And if you still think I’m just like every other hockey player after that, I’ll back off. I swear.”

There was a quiet moment where Libby just stared at him, her expression unreadable. Luke could feel his heart racing, wondering if he had just ruined everything, but at the same time, he was relieved to have said it. To have put it out there. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected her answer to be, but he knew he couldn’t hide how he felt about her any longer.

Finally, she exhaled slowly, shaking her head. “You’re really persistent, aren’t you?”

Luke smiled a little, trying to lighten the mood. “You could say that.”

She considered him for a moment longer before her lips curved into a small, almost reluctant smile. “Alright. One date. But I’m warning you, you’ll have to work hard to convince me.”

Luke’s heart skipped a beat, a mix of relief and excitement flooding him. “Deal. You won’t regret it, I promise.”

She shrugged, but there was something soft in her eyes that Luke hadn’t seen before. “We’ll see.”

With that, they both stood up, packing away their things in silence, but something had shifted between them. Something subtle, yet undeniable. Luke walked away from the study session feeling lighter than he had in a long time, knowing that for the first time, he was truly starting to break through the wall Libby had so carefully built around herself.

“alright, friday then, we’ll meet at my dorm and then head somewhere” luke said before walking out of the library.

☆

It wasn’t until Libby accidentally overheard a conversation between Luke and his friends that she realized the full extent of what was going on.

She was walking to the library when she caught a snippet of conversation.

“…can’t believe you actually pulled it off,” Ethan was saying. “She totally fell for you.”

Libby froze in her tracks. The weight of his words hit her like a punch in the gut. She stood there, just outside their line of sight, trying to keep herself hidden behind the row of books in the library. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but the words caught her off guard and dug deep. Her heart skipped a beat, her mind racing.

“Yeah, man,” Luke replied, sounding almost too casual, like it was no big deal. “I told you it’d work. Once I show her a little attention, she can’t resist.”

Libby’s stomach churned. Once I show her a little attention she can’t resist? Her pulse quickened, and she took a shaky step backward, the books in her arms suddenly feeling heavier. She wanted to leave, to run away and escape from the reality that was starting to settle on her. But something kept her frozen, something in the way Luke's voice sounded like he had no idea how much those words cut.

“I’ll give it a week,” Ethan laughed. “You’ll have her wrapped around your finger by then. You know how you are.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Luke muttered, a laugh escaping him. “I’ll make sure she has a good time. No need to worry.”

Libby couldn’t hear the rest of their conversation. She didn’t want to. The words echoed in her mind like an incessant drumbeat.

Libby had thought no, hoped that Luke was different. That maybe he wasn’t like all the other guys who had charmed their way in and out of her life. But as she replayed his words over and over, she couldn’t deny the sinking feeling in her chest. He had played her.

A part of her felt stupid for not seeing it sooner. How could she have been so naive? She had known what guys like him were like she’d seen it happen so many times before. The flirtation, the attention, the charm, and then, just as quickly, they moved on to the next girl, leaving behind a trail of disappointment. She had always sworn she wouldn’t fall for it. And now, here she was, feeling like she had walked right into the trap.

But the sting wasn’t just from the fact that he’d been playing her. It was from the fact that Luke seemed to believe it was all some kind of game something he could just turn on and off like a switch. Maybe he hadn’t meant to hurt her. Maybe he didn’t even realize what he was doing. But it didn’t matter. She had let herself get pulled in, thinking that there was more to him than that.

She stood there for a while, trapped in her own thoughts, until the sounds of his friends talking faded away. she had decided to come to the library a bit earlier then usual for there next study session bust after that conversation she went back to her dorm ghosting luke’s messages to see if she’s coming. She had already read them twice but hadn’t answered. Part of her wanted to tell him she wasn’t showing up, but another part of her just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Instead, she stared at the screen, her thumb hovering over the keyboard, but no words came.

Her fingers hovered over the screen again, and for the first time, she allowed herself to fully confront the fact that the trust she had begun to build with him was shattered. She had tried to convince herself that he wasn’t like the other guys the ones who came and went without a second thought. But now? She wasn’t so sure anymore.

She thought back to their first few study sessions, how she had actually started to enjoy spending time with him, how she believed he might actually be different. But now, the way he had spoken so nonchalantly, so carefree made her feel like nothing more than another notch in his belt. she didn’t admit it but she was starting to like him.

*What was I thinking?* she wondered. *I should’ve seen it coming.*

☆

Her phone buzzed again, this time a message from Luke. "Hey, are you still coming? i’m waiting for you. Let me know."

It’s been a couple days since they last talked. The words felt like a punch in the gut. It wasn’t just the fact that he was still trying to get her to show up it was how easy it seemed for him, like this was all a game. She had allowed herself to believe that maybe, just maybe, there was something real there. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized how foolish she had been.

Libby stared at the text for a long time, not knowing what to do. She could go and face him, confront him about what she’d overheard. But the thought of seeing him, of hearing him casually brush it off like it was nothing, made her stomach turn.

So, she made a decision. She didn’t reply. Instead, she locked her phone and shoved it in her bag, the weight of it a reminder of everything she had tried to avoid everything she had hoped wasn’t true.

Back in his dorm, Luke checked his phone for the third time in a row, his heart sinking a little more each time. No response from Libby.

*Maybe she’s just busy,* he tried to tell himself. *She’s probably studying. She said she had work to do.*

"Man, you good?" Ethan asked, poking his head into Luke’s room.

Luke glanced up, forcing a smile. "Yeah, just waiting for Libby. She’s probably on her way."

Ethan gave him a skeptical look. "You sure? i thought you said you guys were gonna meet at the library? i doubt she’d ghost you, i mean you just asked her out.”

Luke's stomach dropped. *Ghost you.* He hated the way that sounded.

"I’m sure she didn’t." Luke said, but there was no conviction in his voice.

Ethan eyed him for a moment before shrugging. "Alright, man. Just don’t let this drag on. the semester is close to ending"

Luke didn’t respond.

☆

It had been a few days since Luke had last heard from Libby. The unanswered texts, the quiet air between them it weighed heavily on him. His mind raced, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. Was she mad at him for something he said? Did she really think he’d been playing her all along?

He tried to shake it off, but something kept gnawing at him. He needed to talk to her. He needed to fix whatever happened.

Without another second of hesitation, Luke grabbed his jacket and made his way to Libby’s dorm. His heart hammered in his chest with every step. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say, but he couldn’t just sit around waiting. He needed answers.

When he reached her building, the nervousness hit him harder. *What if she doesn’t even want to talk to me? What if I’ve ruined everything?* But he couldn’t back out now. Not after the hard work he put in to talk to her.

Luke knocked on her dorm door, the sound echoing in the quiet hallway. He waited, shifting from foot to foot, hoping she’d answer. Moments passed, and just as he was about to knock again, the door opened.

Libby stood there, her arms crossed, her face expressionless. She looked almost distant, like she had already made up her mind about everything.

“What do you want?” she asked, her voice colder than he expected.

Luke swallowed hard, his nerves threatening to betray him, but he pushed them down. “Libby, we need to talk. I don’t know what’s going on.”

She shook her head, the hurt in her eyes unmistakable. “No, Luke. We don’t need to talk. You need to leave.”

His stomach twisted at the finality in her tone. “What? Libby, please. Just hear me out”

“No, Luke,” she interrupted, her voice rising just a bit. “You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to waltz in here after what I overheard after what you said to make it seem like everything is okay.”

Luke blinked, confused and thrown off. “What are you talking about?”

“Is this how you see me?” Libby asked quietly, her voice cracking slightly. “Just another challenge for you to win? Another girl to charm, get close to, and then drop once you get what you want?”

Luke’s breath caught in his throat after realizing what she’s talking about. The look of betrayal in her eyes hit him harder than any physical blow.

“Libby, I—I didn’t mean for you to find out like this. It wasn’t like that. It was just”

“Just what, Luke?” she cut him off again, her voice steady now, but firm. “Just a bet? A game? You think I wouldn’t find out?” She let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. “I heard it with my own ears. You were talking to Ethan and the others, talking about how you could pull it off. About how I’d fall for you. About how it would be easy.”

Luke opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand to stop him.

“No,” she said, her voice trembling now, but her resolve stronger than ever. “I don’t want to hear it. Whatever it is, I don’t care. I don’t want to see you again, and I don’t want to talk to you again. Ever.”

His heart sank. “Libby, please. I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean for you to find out like this. You’ve got to believe me, I wasn’t playing you. I care about you. I really do like you.”

Libby’s eyes softened for a split second, but only for a moment. Then she took a deep breath and looked at him with a finality he hadn’t expected.

“No. You don’t. Not the way you think you do. You don’t get to act like this is something you care about after everything I heard. You don’t get to tell me what’s real when you’ve been lying from the start.”

Luke’s chest tightened. He couldn’t find the words, the right words to make this right. He’d messed up. He had been selfish. He’d been careless with her trust.

“I’m sorry,” was all he could manage to say. The words felt too small for the weight of what had happened.

“I don’t need your apologies, Luke. I need you to leave.”

His heart broke all over again as he stared at her, seeing the pain in her eyes, feeling the distance between them grow with each passing second.

Without another word, Luke turned to walk away, the heavy feeling in his chest making it feel like every step he took was an effort. He didn’t look back. He couldn’t. He knew he’d lost her. And this time, there was no coming back from it.

Libby closed the door softly behind him, her heart aching, but relieved. The door was closed now. The distance was real. She would never let herself fall for someone like him again.

Libby didn’t know what to think anymore. Luke had broken her trust. The bet was one thing, but hearing him confess his feelings so casually, like it was just some passing remark, left her feeling more betrayed than she cared to admit. She’d told him time and time again that she didn’t want to be a part of his games, but now it seemed like that was exactly what he had turned her into.

For days, Luke tried reaching out. Texts, calls, small gestures. But Libby wasn’t interested in anything he had to say. She couldn’t trust him anymore, and the walls she’d spent years building to protect herself from people like him felt taller than ever.

But Luke wasn’t about to give up, not when he finally understood that what he felt for her wasn’t just about the challenge.

It wasn’t at a game or a party, but in a quiet corner of the campus library that Luke finally caught her alone.

“Libby,” Luke said softly, his voice a little rough. She didn’t look up at first, but he didn’t let that deter him. He stepped closer to her table, his presence impossible to ignore. “Can we talk?”

Libby glanced at him briefly before her gaze fell back to the book she was pretending to read. She could feel the familiar sting of hurt, but something in his tone made her pause.

“I don’t have anything to say to you,” she said, though her voice lacked the usual edge.

Luke’s expression softened. “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he began, “I should have told you sooner, but I got caught up in the bet. And I... I didn’t think I’d actually fall for you. I never expected this.”

Libby’s lips parted in surprise, but she didn’t speak.

“I like you and i know already told you,” he continued, his words slower now, more deliberate. “Not because of the challenge, not because of some stupid bet. But because of who you are. I know I messed up, and I’m sorry.”

Libby’s gaze lifted from the book to meet his eyes, searching for the sincerity she needed to hear. “You’ve been persistent,” she murmured, the words almost to herself. “But I’m not sure if you even know what you’re saying.”

Luke took a step closer, lowering his voice. “I know what I’m saying, Libby. I don’t want you to be another bet. You mean more to me than that, and I’ve messed up, but I want to make it right.”

The silence between them hung thick for a moment, the weight of his words settling. Libby looked at him, her heart torn, but the earnestness in his eyes made her hesitate.

“I need time,” she whispered, her heart racing. “But I’ll think about it.”

Luke smiled, the tension in his body loosening just a little. “I’ll wait.”

And for the first time, Libby allowed herself to believe that maybe just maybe there was a chance for something real between them after all, but she wasn’t going to give in right now.

[muddyorbsblr]

friday nights & hot dates [kinktober 2023: slow & soft]

See the full Kinktober 2023 Collection here! See my full list of works here!

Summary: A few months after he first showed up at your house to keep you company on your birthday, Conrad finally tells you how he feels. | sequel to 'you deserve better'

Pairing: James Conrad x Reader

Word Count: 6.1k [please prepare drinkies & snacks accordingly]

Warnings: 18+ | smut (minors & pearl clutchers, get on outta here i won't ask twice); unprotected p in v sex; language; insecure reader; the smut scene is 1.3k words long idek if i should say sorry for this… [let me know if i missed anything!]

Things to be aware of: simp Conrad; a touch of aftercare in the end 😳🫠

Dick-tionary (aka smut guide): smut starts at "Once he realized what you were about to do" and ends at "We're nowhere near done"

A loud chime boomed across the Monarch training field, announcing the top of the hour. The setting sun only barely blocked by the visor atop former Captain James Conrad's head and doing a piss poor job of straining his eyes as he watched on the first troop of soldiers assigned to the lab.

He'd been tasked to train the few handfuls of privates to be able to face the challenges that Skull Island would have in store for them throughout subsequent missions. They were decent enough, but to handle both navigating the hostile, monstrous terrain and serving as protective detail for the scientists on their tasks to obtain more samples and document its ecosystem, they would need to be exemplary. At the top of their game.

Especially if they are to be protecting Y/N, he thought to himself. Then again, he probably wouldn't let any of them anywhere near you. He would see to your protection personally. Make sure that there was little to no room for error when it came to your safety.

But they all had a long way to go before he decreed any of them ready for the field. And none of them would be closing the gap on their endurance or their agility within the next few minutes. The chime that rung out through the field not only signaled the top of the hour, but the end of your own work day, and he wanted to at least see you off to your ride home. Perhaps walk with you to the pick-up point.

"Alright, that's enough for today," he called out to the privates, everyone standing to attention at his word. "We'll resume on Monday morning. Get adequate rest this weekend."

He took off his training jacket and his visor, haphazardly running his hand through his short cropped hair. While he took a quick inventory of his belongings before heading off to your lab, one of the women privates approached him.

"Do you need anything, Pearson?"

She began to shuffle her stance, somewhat incapable of meeting his gaze as she spoke to him. "The other guys and I were going to check out the new Mexican place that opened up a few blocks from here. I was--I mean we were wondering if you'd like to join us?"

Pearson straightened her stance in a particular manner, jutting her chest out in a blatantly clear attempt to draw his attention to it. You're fresh out of luck, my attentions are for one woman and one woman only. And she's in the lab.

"Thank you for the invite, Pearson, but I have what you and your peers might say a…'hot date' tonight." He fought against the smile playing at the corners of his mouth at the thought of being on a proper date with you.

"Oh." She barely tried to hide the disappointment in her voice. "Okay then. Have a good weekend, Sir."

"Don't look now but he's here again," Brooks muttered from across the lab, the sound of him clacking away on his keyboard taking the briefest pause to tell you that once again, the former SAS tracker James Conrad was right outside the door. "You ever gonna share with the class how you two became a thing? 'Cause we have a bet going on in the lab about who made the first move and--"

"There's nothing to share, Brooks, because we aren't a thing," you cut him off, taking on a snippy tone while you ran the genome of the last flora sample from the set you collected in Skull Island against every recorded organism known to man so far. "We're friends, that's all. Give it time and he'll get tired of slumming it out with me and go back to haunting pool bars and nameless hookups."

"I don't know, Y/L/N…I never had a friend look at me like that."

The results from your test finally came up on the screen, confirming that the flora on the island were all, in fact, undocumented. You took a quick screenshot and placed it into your report. "Looks like we're getting funded," you announced, your half-deadpanned tone met with a mixture of excitement and fear. "Don't everyone stand up at once, I know how pumped we all are to get back to the island of death."

You finally stood up from your desk, looking outside the door and seeing Conrad outside giving you a little smile when your eyes met. You tried to ignore how your heart started doing backflips in your chest at the sight of him, keeping your expression fairly neutral as you gave him a small wave in response. Once your computer had finished shutting down, you grabbed your things and bid everyone goodbye, stopping at Brooks's desk last.

"If what you mean is looking at me like a barnacle he can't scrape off his boat, I hope you never have friends that look at you like that, my guy."

Before you stepped through the door, your fellow scientist let out a final remark. "You know, Y/N, for someone so smart, you're a bit of an idiot sometimes."

"Takes one to know one, Brooks," you shot back, stepping across the threshold and almost immediately becoming face-to-chest with the tracker that towered over you effortlessly. "Hey Conrad," you said slowly, trying your best to keep a hold of your composure. "Did you need something from us? I think I have Bryant running CMP for the guys you're training you should have the results tomo--"

"I didn't come here for the blood tests, Y/L/N," he cut you off, giving you another little smile that had your pulse thumping violently at your throat. "I erm…it's Friday." His eyebrows scrunched together in the slightest wince at his words.

"It is…" you echoed lamely, starting to tap away at your phone to get an Uber home, holding back the urge to sigh in relief seeing that your ride was only a few minutes away. "Have a good weekend, then," you tried to wave him off, pointing vaguely at the pick-up area, starting to awkwardly shuffle away from him.

He reached out and wrapped his hand around yours, stopping you before you got away too far. "Actually, I was thinking…perhaps we could go and grab a bite to eat? There's a new place that opened up just a short walk from here. Maybe we could try it out?"

As if on cue, your stomach let out an audible grumble, rudely reminding you that the last time you ate was this morning before you left your house. Before you could dwell on it any further, you canceled your Uber, giving him a tiny smile of your own. "Lead the way."

Dinner was a rather quiet affair, the two of you starting off by sharing a plate of nachos before you ordered your mains. Sometime before your entrees were served, a small group of people you recognized as the privates being trained as the Monarch Defense Team walked through the doors, the women immediately spotting Conrad and tossing a scornful dismissive look your way.

"What's wrong?"

His voice took your attention away from the group, the motion of him reaching across the table to take your hand in his causing a resounding stomp from across the restaurant followed by a barely contained "What the fuck?!"

"It's uhh…it's nothing," you waved off, trying to slowly pull your hand away so as to not elicit a stronger reaction from the group and grab his attention. "Just…thinking about work. I have to put a recommendation for another mission to the island in my report."

"We'll be better prepared this time," he reassured you, his thumb rubbing across the back of your hand in a soothing motion. "We have a better idea of what we're to face when we get there, and what not to do. And with enough time the troop that I'm training might even be field ready, so you and your team would have better protection."

Your neck twitched at the idea of the woman with the derisive eyes being tasked to protect you. Might even just throw you to the gigantic insects voluntarily. "Right…at least the team will be safe."

"And you, Y/N," he insisted, giving your hand a light squeeze. "I'll see to it myself, I promise you."

You nodded at his words, feeling your face strain at the smile you tried to give him before slipping your hand out of his and standing up. "Ladies room, I'll be back in a few."

While you were in line for the restroom, your thoughts wandered to how you could potentially word your recommendation so that maybe you didn't have to go with the rest of the team back to Skull Island. You weren't physically cut out to be in such a high-stress environment, and frankly you would be more of a liability if people had to look out for you on top of trying to survive a hostile environment.

When your turn came up in the queue, you were stopped in your tracks by someone wrapping their hand around your arm in a claw-like grasp, yanking you slightly backwards. "We need to talk, Y/L/N," a woman seethed.

You swore your blood chilled to near freezing point when you saw the woman private from Conrad's troop, her hateful eyes and vicious sneer too close for comfort.

There was something troubling you, Conrad could tell that much as he watched you in line for the restroom. Much as he usually found it adorable when you were muttering to yourself over your research, he had to fight to resist the urge to stand up and do what he could to somehow put you at ease.

He knew that you weren't all too excited that you had to return to the island, but his gut told him that it was more than just that. You seemed almost fearful when he mentioned the troop that he was training, and not in the way that told him it was simply because you doubted their ability to guarantee your safety.

Did you not realize that he would never even think to put your safety in anyone's hands other than his own? Didn't you know how valuable you were to him? Of course he would keep you safe. He'd put you in the same tent if he could just to make sure you'd never leave his sight.

The sight of a woman marching towards you as if on a war path had him leaving his seat within seconds, immediately recognizing it to be Pearson. When she stopped you from moving and he clocked the vice grip she had on you it had him seeing red. He saw the way you flinched back when she started hissing in your face, her words making every muscle in his body tense and burn with the itch to protect you from someone so obviously spiteful.

"Don't tell me you're the hot date that Captain Conrad turned me down for, this has to be the biggest crock of shit I've ever heard in my life," she spat out. Your face contorted with obvious discomfort from her talon-like hand tightening around your arm, nails undoubtedly digging into your skin.

"Listen, Private Pearson, I think there might just be a misunderstanding," you spoke softly, your tone laced with caution. "He's probably gonna go to said 'hot date' after this, I'm just his friend. We're friends…I think…"

Silly sweet girl, he thought to himself. Are you really so unaware of how I see you?

"Do you really think I'm that stupid, Y/L/N? I don't need to have a PhD in God knows what the ever loving fuck to know that you're into him. The only thing I can't figure out to save my life is what the fuck he sees in a mousey jumpy little thing like you, and where you found the goddamn audacity to steal him away the way you did."

"I'm not trying to steal anyone," you insisted, trying to wrestle your arm out of her hold. "We're just friends, Private Pearson. Anyone with a functioning brain can see that he doesn't want me like that. You want him, he's all yours, you won't hear a peep out of me."

"You better be right," she scoffed, releasing you with a slight shove, causing you to stumble backwards and fight to find your balance for a few seconds before righting yourself on your feet again. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay the fuck away from him. Preferably before you see what happens when your stupid little face gets me triggered."

Rather than give her a verbal agreement, you simply nodded your head, scurrying off into the restroom, your face looking as if it had been drained of color and your bottom lip quivering with an obvious concern for your own safety.

So this was why you were concerned over your protection detail if you had to return to the island. Of course. Who would ever feel safe if someone assigned to the team that was tasked to protect them behaved the way that Pearson was behaving now? Who was to say that it wasn't beneath her to intentionally endanger you out of sheer spite?

The private let out an arrogant huff, flipping her hair and standing up straight with a smug look on her face before making her way back to her table with the rest of the privates in her troop.

"Pearson," Conrad spoke, letting his irritation over the entire encounter lace his tone. She stopped in her tracks, turning slowly to face him with a touch of fear in her eyes. Good, you should be afraid after the way you just spoke to the woman I love.

"Cap…Captain Conrad, hi!" Her cheeks strained with the smile she tried to keep plastered on her face despite the obvious nervousness that remained in her eyes. "We're so glad you decided to join us after all, we're seated over--"

"You're dismissed. Don't bother coming in on Monday." Her face fell immediately, indignation coloring her expression. "If you cannot treat the people you're expected to defend and protect with professionalism and respect, then you're not fit to stay on this team, let alone be deployed to the island."

"Come on, all this for a shifty little nothing? This is completely unfair!" she scoffed. "You could do so much better than her--"

"Hold your damn tongue, Pearson. I won't have you disrespect her--"

"She can't even hear us!"

"But I can." He began to raise his voice, calling the attention of the other patrons in the restaurant. "That's the woman I love you're talking about. It would be wise for you to choose your next words very carefully."

All the color drained from her face and she stood up straight again, back at full attention. "I apologize, Sir. I'll have my locker cleared before the weekend's over." And then she made her way back to her table, heavy footsteps sounding throughout the whole restaurant.

As Conrad sat back in his seat waiting for you to return, he replayed his own words over and over in his mind. After all this time keeping his emotions bottled in for the sake of preserving what friendship he had with you, the words had finally formed and solidified what had been building ever since the day he met you on the way to that forsaken death island.

He loved you.

By the time you made your way back to your table, you spotted Conrad signing a receipt and placing his credit card back into his wallet.

"You know I keep a tally on how many times you've refused to let me pay, right?" you sighed, taking out your phone and once again trying to book for an Uber home. "I'm perfectly fine with and capable of splitting the bill."

"Next time."

"I also keep a tally on how many times you've said exacty that." You shuffled your feet awkwardly where you stood, avoiding looking at both him and the table that sat his trainees, including the cruel witch that was Private Pearson. "Well uhm…I should get going, it's getting late. Enjoy your weekend, Conrad."

He reached out before you took another step, placing his hand at the curve of your waist. "Walk with me back to the lab and I'll drive you home."

The sound of a fist slamming down on one of the tables made you take a step back from his hold. You didn't have to look to know who it was or what caused the outburst. "I-I really don't wanna be a bother, it's fine. Really. I can take care of myself."

You tried to step forward again, making him stand from his seat, placing a large hand on your shoulder before running down the length of your arm to lace his fingers between yours. "You could never be a bother for me, Y/L/N," he spoke softly, lightly touching your chin with his other hand. "Come on."

For the most part throughout the drive to your place, he was touching you. Whether it be holding your hand between stoplights to make you stop picking at your fingernails, or rubbing circles on your knee to stop you from fidgeting, all the while keeping his other hand steadily on the wheel.

It was hands down one of the most illegally distractingly attractive things you'd ever seen. A sight that you thought was only reserved for leading ladies in those romance books you read, definitely not something you were supposed to experience in your lifetime.

It had you fighting back the urge to pout when you saw your house start to come into view, knowing that in a few short moments it would all be over. He gave your knee a light squeeze once he'd pulled up in front of your hourse, making quick work to make his way around the front of his car to open the door for you and undo your seatbelt.

The combined scent of his woodsy citrusy cologne and something that was just uniquely him seared itself into your brain as his face was mere inches from yours. He made it even worse reaching for your hand to hold you steady while you stepped out of the car.

"Thanks, Conrad," you muttered when you got to your door, your mind spinning from the feel of him running his thumb across your knuckles. "You should uhm…probably get going. Don't wanna keep you from any other plans you might have tonight."

You felt your pulse start beating furiously at your neck when he answered you. "What plans?"

Didn't Pearson have a full blown meltdown over him talking about a hot date and then seeing you with him at dinner? What the fuck was he going on about?

"Come on, Conrad, you don't have to pretend, it's just us here. Pearson practically yanked my spine from my throat earlier at the restaurant harping on about you having plans tonight so really, I'm sure you have better things to do on a Friday night you don't have to feel like you're…I don't know, obligated? To spend time with me. And at least you'll stop looking like you're doing some weird pity charity work, too--"

"Y/N, stop." He took a step toward you, closing the distance and framed your face in his large hands. "The only plans I had for tonight were with you. Do you remember what I told you all those months ago, that first night I came here?" You only stared at him blankly, wordlessly prompting him to answer it himself. "I wanted to let you know that I'm here. For you. And I still am. I always will be."

Before you could respond, he leaned in, pressing a delicate kiss to your lips. Fleeting, but it resumed the near violent fluttering in your stomach from the contact. He gave you no time to react before he pressed his lips to yours again, wrapping his arms around you and cradling your head with his hand before pressing you against the door.

"Look at me, sweetheart," he breathed out when he broke the kiss. Your breath hitched in the back of your throat when you saw how dilated his pupils had become after that kiss. "How is it that you're so observant of everything around you and yet you fail to see what's right in front of you?"

"Conrad what--"

"How could you look at me and not see a man so desperately, so irretrievably in love?"

You swore all the air left your lungs at his words. In love? No. This couldn't be real. This was beyond simply improbable, this was impossible.

There was no way on this Earth that he felt the same.

"I can almost hear the gears in your brilliant mind turning, Y/L/N," he said softly, weaving his fingers into your hair as he proceeded to press tender kisses on your temple and the side of your face. "Invite me inside. Let me take you to your bedroom. Let me show you what you mean to me."

Before you could think about it any longer, you wordlessly slipped your key into his hand, slowly nodding your head. The only response you got from him was him latching his lips onto your neck, groaning into your skin as he lifted you off the ground with one arm, unlocking your door with the other.

He'd carried you all the way upstairs to your bedroom, constantly pressing a kiss wherever his lips could reach. When he started fumbling for the light switch, you tried to hold out your hand to stop him. "No lights," you muttered. If you wanted this to go anywhere even remotely good tonight, that would require him not running for the hills the second he got you naked.

"Without the lights, I can't see you, sweet girl," he said back teasingly, kissing along your jawline until he captured your lips, smiling into the kiss.

"Exactly," you murmured against his lips, causing him to chuckle against your skin.

"Seeing you is the best part of my day," he told you simply, flipping the switch on and bathing your bedroom in a warm white glow. Your heart skipped a beat at the sight of the brilliant smile he gave you once he saw your face. "There you are."

He set you down on your feet, touching the top button of your shirt with a question in his eyes, only proceeding to undo the button when you have him a slight nod. Once enough skin was exposed to him, he started to trace a line of kisses across your collarbone, running his hands down your arms to strip the shirt off from you. And then he sent your mind racing as he gave you the same treatment working both your pants and panties down your legs.

"I've dreamed of this since the island," he whispered into your skin, kissing his way back up to your lips as he reached behind you, unclasping your bra. "Lie down on the bed, my love. Let me see you."

He kept your hand in his as you lowered yourself to lie on your back, your heart thundering in your chest and your lip quivering as his eyes hungrily roamed your body. Thoughts began to swim in your head again, of how different, how much less toned nearly all parts of you were compared to him. Compared to the women he'd been with before. You tried to pull your hand away from his, to start to cover yourself.

Once he realized what you were about to do, he moved to hover over you on the bed, placing his hand in the space between your arm and your torso to block your way. "No," he said simply before leaning down to press a kiss to your lips. "Don't hide yourself from me." He kissed his way down your neck to your chest, paying close attention to your breasts, holding you steady as you squirmed under him while he kissed and sucked your nipples into stiff peaks.

"Conrad…" Your voice came out faint, the air too thick to breathe while you drowned in his attentions. His lips moved down your stomach, peppering kisses along your mound before placing his hands on your inner thighs and gently parting your legs, opening yourself more to him.

You clenched around nothing watching him lick his lips before his eyes found yours, desperate whimpers coming out of you when he started kissing along your inner thighs. The ache between your legs started to grow stronger the closer his mouth got to where you craved him.

"Conrad!" Your back arched off the bed when he licked up the length of your slit and pressed a fleeting open-mouthed kiss to your clit.

"Lay back down, sweetheart." Your back immediately met the mattress again at his soft spoken order, your stomach fluttering violently again at the sight of him standing over you and pulling his shirt over his head. "You are the most breathtaking sight," he breathed out. "My love…"

"Could say the same from here," you shot back, still struggling to breathe properly under his gaze. The air was practically stuck in your throat the second his hands went to his pants, taking his time to undo his belt and pants, every muscle on his perfectly sculpted body moving and flexing as if he was trying to seduce you with such a seemingly mundane action.

As if he needed to seduce you.

The sound that came out of you was borderline inhuman the second he pushed his pants down his legs, and you'd gotten a good look at the sheer size of him. There's no way that's gonna fit, you thought nervously. "Conrad, I don't--" You huffed out a deflated sigh. "It's been an embarrassingly long while since I've--"

"It's alright, sweetheart." He quickly made his way back to his position on the bed, pressing a line of kisses along your jaw until he reached your lips, making an almost relieved sound against your lips. "We'll go slow. Please just tell me if I hurt you, that's the last thing I'd ever want."

Your eyes flew open at the feel of his length pressing against your entrance, your walls stretching just shy of the point of discomfort as you accommodated to his size. Any other thoughts and doubts in your mind took a backseat to the sound of Conrad's soft groans as he inched his way into you.

You'd never felt this unbelievably full.

He moaned your name in your ear. "Like you were made for me." He pressed his lips to your temple, the gesture somewhat calming your erratically beating heart. "I'll keep going now."

"Wait Conrad you what--Oh!" You felt a thrill at the back of your head once he pushed even further in, more arousal rushing and slickening your inner walls clenching around him as if pulling him deeper into you. All you could utter over the overwhelming pleasure he was subjecting you to was a faint whimper of his name.

"I love you, Y/N," he sighed in contentment, his warm exhale hitting your already heated skin before he resumed kissing along the side of your face.

"Don't say that," you blurted out. "You don't have to--"

"I want to," he cut you off, moving his head to capture your lips in a heated kiss, his tongue licking at your bottom lip. "I've wanted to tell you for so long please don't tell me to stop. I can't--"

"No one's ever said it. Not to me. I'm not--I've never been--"

Your words stilled him. He rested his forehead on yours, the tip of his nose brushing against your own. "All the more reason for me to tell you." He muffled your moan with a kiss when he inched in even more. "I love you." He kissed up your neck, gently capturing your earlobe between his teeth before kissing the same spot. "I'll say it so often everyone around us will be sick of hearing me say the words."

"Conrad…" you cried out when he finally bottomed out, your hips flush together. "Please--"

"I love you." He started moving his hips in slow grinding circles, repeating the words every time he fully entered you.

The words were lodged stubbornly in the back of your throat; all you could utter was his name while your body trembled trying to raise your hips to meet his thrusts. Meanwhile a vicious voice in the back of your mind questioned if this was even real, refusing to accept any reality where a guy like James Conrad actually genuinely fell in love with you.

You lived by the saying that if something sounded too good to be true, then it probably was. And this…this sounded like a chick lit romance novel where the devastatingly handsome decommissioned soldier fell for the nerdy scientist that most days couldn't even bother to check if her hair looked alright from the back.

This was definitely too good to be true. And all you could do now was allow yourself the fleeting opportunity to lose yourself in the pleasure he was more than capable of and seemed quite willing to give you.

And brace yourself for the moment he pulled away. The moment he finally realized that yes. Yes he could do better, actually.

Before you could dwell on it any further, he pulled you out of your spiraling thoughts when his fingers made contact with the throbbing bundle of nerves above your entrance, rubbing at the spot with the same languid pace of his thrusts.

"You feel divine, my love," he moaned in your ear, pressing his lips to a spot behind it that sent your mind reeling, the tension tightening in your stomach even further. "Come for me, Y/N." He upped his pressure on your clit, still keeping the pace with his slow, deep thrusts.

The coiling tension finally snapped when he started sucking at your skin, your walls convulsing around him while your body shook under him, your hold on his shoulder blade weakening until you finally let go, arm landing on the mattress with a soft thud. He stilled his movement inside you, capturing your lips in a tender kiss while you came down from your high.

"I love you," he kept whispering between kisses. The words had you feeling the traitorous tears prickling in the back of your eyes, every part of you filled with the overpowering urge to say them back. Tell him that you felt the same.

Instead you wanted to slap yourself for the question that slipped from your mouth. "Wait what about you?"

The smirk he gave you in response had thrills shooting throughout your body, feeling the faintest tinge of embarrassment in the back of your mind when you felt your pussy clenching around him at the sight. His mouth stretched into a devilish grin as he thrusted into you in return, his eyes filled with an obvious mix of sexual and romantic intent.

"Don't you worry about me, sweetheart," he rasped, starting to slowly grind his hips again. "We're nowhere near done."

He's not coming back. He left the bedroom and give it time, you're gonna hear him leave the house.

You were being irrational, and most of your mind recognized your thoughts for what they were: absolutely batshit crazy and dead wrong. For one, Conrad left the room without a stick of clothing covering him, telling you he was going to get water. He didn't know how to navigate most of your house so it would reasonably take him a few minutes to actually go get it and come back up.

That didn't stop you from making your way to the head of the bed, and crawling under the covers, drawing your knees to your chest as if you were bracing yourself for emotional impact. You caught a glimpse of your reflection on the full-length mirror, instinctively bringing your hand up to your hair to start working at the knots and tangles that developed over the last few hours.

Conrad came back to the room at that moment, holding a water bottle and two cups, giving you a soft smile as he looked on at all the effects from your lovemaking. "You look like an angel…perched on a cloud." He handed you your cup before pouring one for himself, raising an eyebrow at you when you remained sitting motionless and staring at him blankly. "What is it, sweetheart?"

"I just--I thought you were just gonna get for--"

"Myself?" You nodded at him once he finished for you, making him click his tongue in disappointment, realizing what kind of experiences you'd had before. "You're making it too easy for me to spoil you. I could never be so selfish." He briefly touched his glass to yours, the clinking sound filling the room before you both downed your drinks.

Even while he climbed back onto the bed, situating himself beside you and pulling you into his arms, your irrational thoughts that he'll redress himself in a few minutes time and leave plagued your mind.

"You're looking at me like you expect me to disappear," he murmured, lightly tracing along the lines of your face with his fingertips. "What's wrong, Y/N?"

Come on, you stupid little scaredy cat just tell him. Three words. Three monosyllabic words so simple a kid can say them. Just say it.

"You're still here," you blurted out, immediately wanting to swallow your tongue when his face dropped.

Wrong three words, you fucking idiot.

"Do you want me to leave?" His words came out strained, as if it physically hurt him to say them.

"No, I don't. It's just…I expect it. And if I can be honest I'm still kind of…waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

You pursed your lips, a part of you already feeling silly for the words about to come out your mouth. "Post-coital clarity?"

He let out a slow sigh, his hold tightening around you while he cupped your face with his free hand, stroking along your cheekbone with his thumb. "And what in the world is that?"

"It's this--Honestly it's silly, really--"

"It doesn't seem silly to you." He leaned in to press a soft kiss to your lips, pulling you closer when you melted against him at the gesture. "So it's not silly to me. Tell me what it is."

You took a deep breath, your fingers absentmindedly tracing along the lines on his abdomen while you explained. "It's this phenomena that…once you've slept with someone, the attraction goes away. Your mind's more clear, you're no longer overpowered by this attraction and you realize that the person you just had sex with isn't as appealing as they were before you got together."

It took him a few seconds before he spoke again, maneuvering you so that you were now on top of him, straddling his stomach, his hands skimming up and down your sides.

"Why is it so hard for you to accept that I love you?"

The question seemed so ridiculous to you. "Because nobody ever has. Nobody does--"

"You're wrong," he cut you off, pulling you close until your chests were pressed together. "I know it might not happen often but it's happening now. You're wrong, and I'm living proof of it. Because I'm here. I'm here and I love you. The only clarity that came to me is that I want more than anything for us to become more. For what we shared tonight be more than a one-time thing."

He wrapped his arms tighter around you, pulling you into a tender kiss that had your heart fluttering when he licked into your mouth, his tongue gliding against yours. "I'm no good with words," you said breathlessly when he broke the kiss, his chest heaving against yours. "I've never been able to say how I feel, I can't--"

"Shh it's alright, sweetheart," he breathed, holding you by the back of your neck to rest your forehead against his. "You don't need those fancy words you use in your report. It's just us here. Whatever you wish to tell me, in the plainest words--"

"I love you, too."

A/N: I've finally finished this mega chonker of a piece! And I've given 'you deserve better' Conrad his happy ending with his precious bb 🥹🥹

Next up is the final story in the Kinktober 2023 initial goal: Fingering with President Loki 😳👀 And lemme just tell y'all now…it's gonna be at least 2k words long because I haven't even gotten to the smutting yet 🥴

'everything' taglist: @simplyholl @loopsisloops @imalovernotahater @coldnique @loz-3 @huntress-artemiss @salempoe @vickie5446 @athalialaufeyson @lokiprompts @kats72 @kikster606 @asgards-princess-of-mischief @lokixryss @thomase1 @mischief2sarawr @peaches1958 @lovingchoices14 @lunarnights95 @goblingirlsarah @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @creationsbyme @maple-seed @mjsthrillernp @ladyofthestayingpower @mygfloki @sititran @glitterylokislut @ozymdias @fictive-sl0th  @lokidbadguy @mochie85 @silverfire475 @joyful-enchantress @elizabethmidnight2017 @holdmytesseract @smolvenger @gigglingtiggerv2 @lokidokieokie @superficialdomina @anukulee @kmc1989 @november-rayne @goddessofwonderland @buttercupcookies-blog

Kinktober taglist: @azula-karai-27

[chimerafflesia]

KC CUP APRIL 2025: WITCHES AND PLANTS VERSUS THE META ❄️🌿

Or: KC Cup experience as told by some guy who just cannot let it go. ⬅️ I'm that guy. let's GO

starting this off with a shout out to my WINDWITCHESSSS we killed it this month oh my GOD. I climbed from lvl 10 to 19 with these girlies and it was amazing. I feel like I really got comfortable with the deck this month and was able to strategize quickly with it. I truly adore this deck and I love love love playing as my beautiful Rin so it's just a great time. I had a number of incredibly satisfying wins with this deck and that's what really counts between the meta nightmares. WINDWITCHES 4 EVER!!! 💚❄️💚

per usual here is my decklist ‼️I went through so much trial and error throughout (aka figuring out which cards I needed to deal w/ backrow (hi free fiendish chain !!!!)) but I ultimately went with the double MST / triple BOE. for me, this deck is a little better going first, just because depending on what's in my hand it can be hard to play through disruption. but when this deck gets rocking and rolling GOD IS IT FUN. AND FUNNY.

crystal wing synchro dragon as summoned with snow bell I love you so much. what's better than crystal wing synchro dragon? how about one that can't be destroyed by card effects? and what is the opponent going to do, battle it? 😂🫵

lots and lots of fun. I deeply enjoy when crystal wing gets attacked into. atk gain is SWEET. konami please hear my call we need crystal wing off the banlist now more than ever. it will save the meta. it will save your game. it will save ME. please consider 🤍

ultimately I did end up maxing out with my predaplants because they are a better match for the wave of terror that is RDA players 💔 Yuri simply will never get to rest as long as I'm still playing duel links. Jack decks are full of dark attribute monsters and well those are my plants favorite snacks 😋 I see dark attribute and I slam that mind control down IMMEDIATELY. of course we bait a little (usually with predaplast) to waste tuning gum's effect, then we EAT.

live footage of me using predaplant against RDA:

I've posted my predaplant decks like 374835 times at this point but because my brain likes to keep things neat here it is again. only thing I will say here is because of the wave of face up continuous/field spells (hi jack hi soulburner hi jaden players that use necrovalley) I may go back to double MST / one night beam, but we'll see. guess you could play spider orchid for the S/T zone spells. who am I kidding. none of us are playing spider orchid. sorry Yuri but we are waiting on your better pendulums.

I'm mainly mentioning jack here cuz he's the main villain of this KC Cup but we still have some returning villains, and a new one!

(I hate subterror so much please lord what are we even supposed to DO against it 💔💔💔)

all this to say despite everything, despite it all, the broken skills and all the handtraps in the world, I still knew I could do it. and well, a guy like me who loves freemium mobile card games just a little too much, enjoys a challenge and didn't want it to end on a sour note. many duel links players don't know this, but some of us play for fun!!! it all comes down to the fact I simply enjoy the game and enjoy playing it a lot. but I am not a fan of this trend in skills like please konami STOP 💔 because it hinders my fun. it's also just bad for the game. tbh.

made a little joke on twt abt it but yeah if Yuri dropped this year we wouldn't even need fusion recycling plant. we'd get infinite copies of polymerization anyways

ummmm in conclusion new skills are bad. we need a nerf/banlist/literally anything SOON. because I love duel links and I love playing competitively and I want it to be fun forever. this was my most challenging KC Cup yet but despite it all I still had fun. even when I got lava golem'd in back to back matches 😵‍💫 I think it's also because I played as my favorite characters 💚💜

windwitches and predaplant are number one to me. Rin and Yuri after I use their decks to defeat the evil meta:

#RINSWEEP #YURISWEEP and DON'T forget it !!

[operationmorewhitecollar]

Shall we play a game?

Nope, not chess or Parchisi. And not even global thermonuclear war. (If you get that reference, you might just be as old as we are!) But no, none of those games are where we're headed. This year, we're hosting a good old-fashioned game of bingo!

That's right, since we're almost two weeks into the new year, we thought it might be time to roll out our new creative challenge, which will continue throughout 2024.

As always, we're in the market for any and all fan creations centered on White Collar, and this year, we're providing prompts in the form of mini bingo cards, with new prompt cards coming out quarterly. (Jan, April, July, October) If you want to play, just let us know (comment here, dm, however you want to get in touch), and we'll get you a card so you can get started!

Some details:

When we say "any and all fan creations," we mean it--let your creativity run wild and make whatever you want to make! Draw, write, paint, record a podcast, shoot a video, whatever your creative preference.

We're using a 4x4 card format, and there is a FREE space, so that means a total of 15 prompts for three months. Complete a line of prompts, get a bingo; complete the whole card during the quarter, and that, dear friends, is a blackout!

Much like our drabble prompts, the bingo prompts are pretty broad, and many (maybe most?) are only one word. They run the gamut from theme words to genre to story length and beyond. (Not to worry if you're making art or some other non-written creations; we've got provisions for swapping prompts.)

Prompts were randomized to create the cards, and the card numbers were randomized to create the distribution order, so the prompts you end up with are strictly luck.

Okay, that's probably the most important stuff to know, except, of course, that we hope lots of you will join in and that everyone has tons of fun creating new White Collar stuff, because we're sure going to have fun seeing whatever you make!

So whenever you're ready, shall we play a game?

(We'll put a few more detailed FAQ items below the cut, but if you've got questions we didn't think of, just let us know and we'll make up an answer.😉)

Q: What can my entries be? A: Any type of creation you choose. fic, art, blog post, essay, cross-stitch, we're not picky. Interpret the prompts any way you like, in any genre, any relationship, any rating, any characters, you get the idea. (Unless, of course, the prompt is more specific.) As long as it's White Collar, it's fair game.

Q: Where do we share our work/how will you know we made something or got a bingo? A: First, put your creations somewhere we can see them! There'll be a collection on AO3 where most types of work can be shared. (We're debating if it's better to have just one collection for the year or one for each quarter; if you've got any opinions on that, feel free to weigh in.) If you're sharing here or on other socials, be sure to @ us, and use #WhiteCollarBingo. But, while we'll be doing our best to keep up, we're hoping there will be so many entries we'll lose track, so definitely tell us if you completed a bingo!

Q: Can I make one story/picture/video/etc. for the whole card? A: You may use as many prompts as you like in each entry, but only 2 prompts per line may be counted toward a bingo. (So you will need at least two entries to achieve a single bingo, and though we may have miscounted, we think that means at least ten entries to make a blackout.)

Q: Are crossovers allowed? A: Yes (and may even be a prompt!), but White Collar should obviously be prevalent in your work.

Q: How long do I have to complete my entries? A: We'll be issuing new cards each quarter (Jan-March, April-June, July-Sept, Oct-December), and in a perfect world, we'd like to receive entries within that quarter. But you know we've never been sticklers for schedules, and the point is to encourage more White Collar creations, so we'll be glad to get them whenever you finish.

Q: What do I win when I bingo? A: Bragging rights, and your name on our (soon to be created) bingo accomplishments page.

Q: What if there are some prompts I really don't want to use, but I want to try for blackout? A: We will provide a max of two alternate prompts. (This max does not apply if you're making non-written creations and somehow ended up with a card full of writing-centric prompts.)

Q: What if I just can't work with the card I receive at all? A: We'll exchange your card one time. Part of the fun is stretching our creative muscles.

Q: If I exchange my card, will any previous entries count toward bingo on my new card? A: Nope. It's a fresh slate, so examine your card when you get it to decide if it works for you.

Q: If I complete my card, can I have another? A: Yep, and we'd be very impressed! (and happy!)

Q: Where did these prompts come from? A: Many suggestions from our followers, and we've been hunting and gathering, too. But we want to have lots of variety as the year rolls along, so please keep those suggestions rolling in.

Q: Can something I made for another challenge count toward a bingo prompt/Can I submit my work to more than one collection or challenge? A: As long as it's new work, and if the other challenge doesn't ask for exclusivity, bring it on! And frankly, we'd love to see more White Collar activity in multi-fandom spaces. Also, we'll surely be hosting other events throughout the year (at least Mozzie Mania and Caffrey-Burke Day), and you can certainly use a bingo prompt for any of those challenges as well.

[heythereimb]

This is cross posted from Reddit. You can find the original here vvv

If you don’t know me, hey there I'm B.

December of 2022 u/mrtechnodad gave me the challenge of finding something good in every day, no matter how small. Since then I’ve been sharing monthly updates with a few of my good things from that month.

Anyone who's followed my updates has probably noticed that the title is different and I missed part of my usual intro.

That's because today's list only has one thing:

- I'm officially cancer free

After 708 days, countless hours of chemo, and 4 major surgeries, I have beat almost impossible odds.

Along my journey I've lost too many people who were important to me. Each of them gave me a new reason to keep going. My first roommate taught me how to be strong, how to push through the darkness. My second roommate taught me the power of compassion, how to use my voice to help others. A friend taught me how to laugh, how to see the fun in even the worst situations. And Techno, Technoblade taught me how to fight, how to win any war.

It's no secret I've struggled with survivor's guilt for almost as long as I was sick. I've asked the question, "Why them and not me?" so many times it's become a mantra. I've realized it isn’t about me or them. I think it's about finding what my purpose is. Their lives had purpose, they were full of love and joy. For so long I didn't think I had those things, that there wasn't a reason for me to still be here. I still have a purpose here. I think I know it. At least part of it.

I'm here to share my story. I'm here to share the good I see in every day. I'm here to live.

I'm alive to live.

And so are you.

Be alive. Wake up to wake up. Laugh, cry, sing, dance. Feel everything, sadness, joy, grief, shame, love. Watch the sunrise and live to see it set again. Then do it all again. And again.

Be alive to live.

Today I sat on a beach and watched the sunrise with the love of my life. For the first time in almost two years it wasn't tainted by the possibility of being my last. Instead the sun rose on the first day of my future. It's the first one of a lifetime of new days. Sunrises are no longer a symbol of bitter relief. Now they represent the promise of tomorrow.

I am beyond grateful to be alive. Since my diagnosis I was so sure I wouldn't make it. I had so little hope. Now my voice can shift from the cries of a fighter to the laughter of a survivor.

I am a survivor. Those are words I never dreamed of speaking.

Thank you to everyone who followed my journey. Thank you for your love, your support, and your endless compassion. Without this community my story would be very different.

Remember, "no matter how ridiculous the odds may seem, within us resides the power to overcome these challenges and achieve something beautiful. That one day, we'll look back at where we started and be amazed by how far we've come."

Until next time.

Your friend, B

[bea-official]

hi hit user bea-official on tumblr.com, what is your relationship with the rest of the league (more specifically each member,,, looks at melony, allister, kabu and nessa)

also hi mod i didnt mention this but THANKK you for lesbian AND 15-year-old bea. everytime i see a straight bea and/or a bea that is an adult an angel loses its wings, because shes like a middle schooler and she likes women methinks! ❤️ AND SORRY IF I WILL ASK THINGS A LOT. i think this blog is really cool and i have autism

Well, Opal and Raihan are the obvious ones, considering our gym is right between the two. Opal visits nearly every day, but that's more to check on Allister than me, and Raihan likes to come down to train in Glimmerwood Tangle. Sometimes we'll battle if he doesn't feel challenged enough; it's a great workout for my Pokémon.

Milo & Kabu visit to use my personal gym, since they're aren't any in Galar that focus on people rather than Pokémon. Milo comes down maybe once or twice a week, but Kabu sticks to twice a month. Since he's the first gym leader, he doesn't get a lot of free time, so I like to visit Milo on my days off.

Melony and Gordie visit once a month. She likes to check up on all the gym leaders, and I think Gordie only comes along because his mother makes him. Sometimes he'll make me give him a tour of the town so Melony doesn't drag him to the other gyms, and we've spent the day together plenty of times. Him and Milo are probably my closest friends within the league.

I definitely don't see her as often as I should, but me and Nessa are good friends; it's a shame her gym's so out of the way, else I would be down more often. The same goes for Piers- I've been to quite a few of his concerts, actually. He's quite good at singing.

And Allister...Although we are not related by blood, he is more like a brother to me than a co worker, as embarrassed as he would be to hear it. I know being a gym leader at such a young age isn't easy, so I do keep an eye on him. I care for him more than I know how to express.

Whilst I haven't been a gym leader for as long as the rest of them, they feel... almost like my family, in a way. Just don't tell them I said any of this please...

[kennexara]

I humbly ask if you are working on any Percy Jackson or Jedi fallen order/survivor fics, and if you are, if you'd be willing to share a small bit of one or two?

awww thank you!! i am. heh. always working on something. especially right now because there's a pjo thing in february and a jedi survivor thing in march. and today in the shower my silly brain was like. hey. hey. what if we worked on that marvel/mission impossible crossover but we are IGNORING THAT for this month at least

but anyways i'm not sure which you prefer so you will get some from BOTH fandoms, hopefully you enjoy at least one!

First up, ~250 words of an unfinished Jedi Survivor fic. Funny story, I went looking for a fic I'm NOT using for the March event to keep things a surprise but now I'm thinking I could use this lol

"Will you come help me hold Cal down?" Bode pauses in cleaning his blaster, sure he's misheard. "Sorry, what?" "Come help me hold Cal down," Merrin repeats. "Please," she adds as an afterthought. "What - why?" Bode asks, even as he slips his blaster back into its holster and gets to his feet. "Because he won't stay still and it makes treatment very difficult," Merrin explains as she leads the way. Ah. It's for medical purposes, not sexy purposes. That…that makes much more sense. "Alright," he agrees. He follows her, searching for something to break the silence and not coming up with anything. Finally, they reach the door to Cal's room. "Merrin, I told you I'd be fine," Cal complains as the door slides open. He's sprawled on his back in the bed with his eyes closed. But Bode's attention is focused on the very short and very tight pair of undershorts that are the only thing preserving Cal from total nudity. Merrin marches in but Bode freezes just past the doorway. He'd been expecting a visible wound - a limb at an unnatural angle, or copious amounts of blood - but Cal looks good. Cal looks real good. Bode takes a step back, triggering the door to re-open. That gets Merrin to look back over her shoulder, narrowing her eyes. "You said you'd help." "I can't believe you went and got Cere," Cal mutters. "I didn't," Merrin says, and flicks the sole of Cal's right foot. "On your stomach, Cal Kestis."

Next up, ~250 words of an unfinished PJO fic. Also not using for an upcoming event to keep things a surprise but again we'll see lol.

At Percy's glare Hermes spreads his hands. "Messenger god! Not my fault most communication goes through me!" "Even my Grindr messages?" Nico asks curiously. "Yes," Hermes says long-sufferingly. Percy gives him a sidelong glance and Nico meets his eyes unashamedly, mouth curling up in a smirk as he lifts one eyebrow in challenge. Percy flushes red and looks away as Nico snorts with amusement. "Anywho," Apollo says, though he looks half-ready to ask what's in those Grindr messages. "I hope you two have your stories straight-" "We're not the best demigods if you want straight," Percy blurts out recklessly. Suddenly, it's very important that everyone knows he's not judging Nico and if anything he's jealous. Hermes coughs like he's covering up a laugh. Apollo huffs a sigh but there's a smile on his face. Percy can feel Nico's gaze but his sudden burst of courage vanishes and he can't make himself meet those dark eyes. "You know what I meant," Apollo continues. "There's going to be questions." "What kind of questions?" Nico asks. "The usual," a woman says. She's clad in a colorful tunic dress, with flowers in her dark hair. She rolls her eyes. "Why are my brothers and their children conspiring against me?" she says in a passable imitation of Zeus. "Um," Percy says. "Lady Persephone," Nico says, and bows to her. "Oh, she gets a bow," Apollo whines. "How come I don't get a bow?" "You're not my stepmother and I've seen you piss your pants while human," Nico hisses.

[drabbles-mc]

Withered

Miguel Galindo x GN!Reader

Warnings: 18+, angst

With the help of This Prompt List by @creativepromptsforwriting and my trusty Wheel of Names with every character I've ever written for, I'm aiming to write a fic in 500 words or less every day of March. We'll see how far we get!

Prompt: flowers

Word Count: 200

A/N: the way the universe tried to play me by making me write for Miguel the first day I challenge myself to do this. Cruel and unusual punishment 😂 But! We persevered!! Also just to keep it a buck with y'all, March is going to be such a horrid hellish month for me and I'm just hoping this gives me a little something to look forward to in the midst of a lot of craziness. Plus I've been in such a writing funk so hopefully it pulls me out of it. 🤞🏻

How things had ended wasn't surprising. Deep down you'd always known that it could end this way. That was the reason you never gave up your lease– no matter what Miguel said or how convincingly he said it, you could never fully trust him. So you were back where you had started, bag slung over your shoulder as you dug out your keys. It didn't matter that your apartment hadn't been your home for so long.

Your lack of surprise didn't do anything to dull the pain. And as if being alone and having to return to the place that you no longer wanted to be home wasn't enough, the universe came up with more salt to pour in your wounds.

Walking into the kitchen you saw the vase of flowers still there, the last ones he bought you so long ago, wilted and dead now like so many other things.

You stared at them a moment, ignored the tears in your eyes as you thought to yourself that one turn deserved another. If he could throw the last of you away, you could throw the last of him away too. If only it felt like it made you even.

[blueskiestarot]

Hi! Hope your day has been going well 💕. I wanted to ask something about how the universe works if you don't mind.

About two/three years ago, I cut off contact with my spirit guides because I didn't like how they would sometimes outright lie to get me in situations that would hurt me if it would serve my highest good. Or just promise things I wanted to lure me into doing inner workings. Their methods worked, but I didn't like it. It felt unnecessary since I was going to do it anyways (I actually like shadow work) and I told them as much. I said it was crossing a boundary to lie to me like that. I said I wasn't a child and I preferred honesty. But after they didn't listen, I stopped contacting them.

Recently (about four months ago) I decided to hesitantly contact them again and I've been manifesting a member of my soul family with their help. It was all going well, or so I thought, until I got a message that my blessings were being withheld because there were things I wasn't doing and emotions I wasn't addressing. Fair enough, it was a very painful process but I did the thing.

Only to realize that once again they had lied that my blessings were being withheld just to get me to go through with the working (which I would have on my own because I already knew there were internal issues). It feels like a betrayal of trust after I said I didn't like the lying (I prefer if they just say "we can't tell you" straight up) and I'm considering cutting off contact again. I feel like I'm not being listened to at all. But it also feels like I'm throwing a tantrum like a child :((

So I wanted to ask, is it normal for spirit guides to do this? Or am I overreacting Sorry for the long ask 😅

Hi, love! I don't mind at all! ♥️

That's super interesting and I'm going to be honest with you, I'm not entirely sure. I've never had my guides blatantly disrespect my wishes like that but then again, I've never really asked them to not do something. I do think they will lie to you if it has a higher purpose because I've seen that happen with my own guides. However, I'm confused why they keep doing it if you ask them not to. So, let's dive into this.

First of all, I have to ask: if they didn't lie to you, would you still be open to learning the lesson they are trying to get you to learn? Or would you be more resistant? Using the example you gave of them lying to you saying that your blessings were being withheld until you did inner work. Would you have been so willing to do that inner work if there hadn't been some sort of incentive? It's important to be honest with ourselves here because I know in my own experience, I wouldn't have been open to learning some of the lessons I was meant to learn if they were honest with me. We can say that we'll do the necessary shadow work or inner growth until the cows come home but sometimes, when we are actually presented with that work and we see how challenging it is, we're not actually that open to it. So, it's important to reflect on if the lie was necessary in order for us to be open to it.

The next thing I want you to reflect on is how well you are protecting your energy. I do think lower vibrational beings can pose as our guides in order to mess with us, especially if we are not protecting ourselves when trying to contact our guides. So, please make sure you are protecting yourself and make sure you are actually conversing with your guides and not something/someone else who is posing as a guide.

Lastly, this is a realization that I've had to have during my journey as well and it's not an easy one. So, please take this with a grain of salt and have an open mind. Our guides are here to guide us, not be our friends. Yes, they want to have a good relationship with us but they aren't here to baby us and they for sure are not going to forego guiding us in order to make themselves more likable. It's kind of like the dynamic between a parent and a teenager. Yes, the parent wants to be liked by their teen and wants to have a good relationship but at the end of the day, they are still the parent. So, I do think that guides will go against our wishes and risk making us unhappy for the sake of our growth and higher good just as a parent will reprimand and guide their teen, risking anger and resentment from the teen. Their main goal is not to make us happy or to be liked by us. Their main goal is to guide us and help us grow and sometimes, that requires them to do things that we don't always agree with.

So, I hope that gives you some guidance and things to reflect on! Let me know your thoughts and if you have any other questions! Also, if anyone else wants to give their thoughts to this anon, that would be wonderful!

[sylvia-forest]

[CN] Shaw's 6th Anniversary event - Day 2

⚡ Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for an Event which hasn't been released in EN yet!⚡

[Day 2]

MC: What exactly is it? Can you give me some hints? MC: Why are you always so mysterious! Shaw: Don't bother trying to test me; I won't tell you. Shaw: Just carry your curiosity to the next stop, and you might find some clues.

—

MC: Even though driving these past few days has almost driven me crazy QAQ... MC: But seeing the heavy snow here makes everything worthwhile. MC: Now I'm going to build a super giant snowman! The colossal kind! Shaw: I know you're eager, but don't be in a hurry. Shaw: Haven't you noticed that your hands and feet are freezing now? Shaw: Come on, let me take you for a hot pot to warm up. MC: Food is still more tempting for me. Let's go quickly before we have to wait in line.

—

Shaw: You have two choices now: one, challenge the snowy mountain, two, go to the skiing town for some "retirement."

In front of the registration desk of a snow club, Shaw presented me with a multiple-choice question.

MC: ...

I looked at the two brochures in my hand. One displayed the magnificent sea of clouds, while the other depicted cozy wooden cabins in the small town.

Although both were attractive, the snowy mountain was a local feature. When planning the route, I frequently encountered related travel videos—

The panoramic view of the world from the mountaintop was irreplaceable in the skiing town.

MC: Hmm, the scenery on the snowy mountain seems more unique...

Shaw: Okay, let's go with that. MC: Wait, wait a minute!

I quickly grabbed his arm and pointed to the brochure's description.

MC: The entry-level altitude of this snowy mountain is 5000 meters... Considering my sedentary office lifestyle, I should...

Sensing the hesitation and melancholy in my tone, Shaw turned back.

Shaw: How would you know if you don't try? MC: But still…. Shaw: Have some confidence in yourself. You've been doing sports for a while, you should be in better shape than a few months ago, right? MC: Well, that's true. I do feel that my fitness has improved a bit.

Encouraged by his rare words of motivation, I rallied some determination and headed to the front desk.

MC: Hello, we'd like to sign up for the snowy mountain trek.

The staff member handed out the materials, and one of them was a liability waiver that made me hesitate for a moment.

MC: Do we need to sign a liability waiver? Staff member: Yes, but the guides are very professional. As long as you follow their instructions, there won't be any risks.

Seeing Shaw's expression of "Are you scared?" I decisively wrote down my name.

MC: Oh, by the way.

Thinking of not wanting to miss out on anything, I put down the pen and looked at Shaw.

MC: Don't forget to arrange for the skiing town; I want to go there too. MC: Only boring people make choices, so I want both.

Guide: Everyone, we will first hike 11 kilometers to reach the base camp at 4000 meters and camp overnight. We'll start the ascent to the summit early in the morning.

After changing into the professional mountaineering equipment provided by the club, the guide led us along the horse trail on foot.

The mountain tops around us were already covered in white snow, and I envisioned myself standing at the summit, becoming more excited as we progressed.

But everything changed after a "watershed" appeared in the trek, about four kilometers into the hike.

The mountain road became even more rugged, and despite resting many times, each step felt as heavy as if my feet were filled with lead.

MC [panting]: So tired... How much longer?

Gasping for breath, I checked the step count on my watch—it was still a long way to the base camp.

This time, Shaw laughed and covered my eyes.

Shaw: Don't look, the more you look, the more desperate you'll feel. Besides, regrets won't help now. You've already boarded the "thief's ship," and you can only grit your teeth and keep going. MC: Aren't you tired? Still have the energy to tease me... Shaw: It's okay, at least better than those who sit in the office all day.

While saying this, Shaw intentionally slows down his pace, gently pulling me to a relatively flat mountain path.

Shaw: So don't think about how long it will take to reach the destination. Just look ahead. The process is always more interesting than the destination.

For the rest of the journey, Shaw didn't rush me. However, from time to time, he used some provocative methods to make me take a few more steps with determination.

When we finally reached the base camp, after dinner, we were instructed to go inside and sleep.

MC: Shaw, do you know what time it is now? It's only 6:30! How can I sleep at 6:30!

I tossed and turned in my sleeping bag, and finally rolled over to Shaw's side.

Shaw: If you can't sleep, then don't. Shaw: But let me remind you, it's still several hours away from the mountaintop now, and it's only going to get steeper at night. MC: But I really can't sleep!

Before I could finish speaking, he pressed me into his arms, and the warm breath on top of my head felt especially comforting in the night.

Shaw[sighs deeply]: Close your eyes and shut up. No talking from now on. Whoever breaks the rule will get their head bumped. MC: Huh? Shaw: Once.

He tapped my forehead and closed his eyes, not giving me a chance to retaliate.

Feeling a bit helpless, I raised my fist toward the empty space, but he skillfully caught it and placed it in front of himself.

Shaw: Try any tricks again, even if it's just twice for you. MC: I...

As he slightly opened his mouth, I quickly pulled back my neck and closed my eyes.

—[Flashback starts]

But soon, the continuous mountain ranges in the daytime and the bright and lively Shaw under the sunlight began to appear in my mind.

Traveling together is said to be the best test of a couple's compatibility. Although we argued along the way, everything we did was remarkably harmonious.

[Flashback ends]—

Thinking of this, I secretly opened my eyes, only to meet his gaze directly.

Neither of us spoke, the dim light flickering, allowing the tranquility of this moment to linger gently.

Finally, I spoke softly.

MC: Didn't we agree not to open our eyes? Why are you looking at me?

Before I finished speaking, he lightly tapped my forehead.

Shaw: Eyes open, time for a penalty. MC: You clearly opened your eyes too, don't try to escape! Shaw: Why should I be penalized? If you don't open your eyes, you won't know that I did. MC: Shaw!!

I was about to give him a playful response, but he once again held my hand in check.

Shaw: Seems like you're not tired enough during the day. Let's just forget about sleeping. I'll keep you company until you're exhausted.

When I woke up again, it was already 2 a.m. We quickly packed up and followed the guide to continue our journey.

The high mountains that were bright in the daytime now appeared as dark shadows, overlooking numerous climbers facing the challenge.

The latter part of the journey was indeed steeper than during the day. I stumbled over rocks, feeling my energy rapidly depleting.

Not only me, but some fellow travelers even gave up on reaching the summit, brushing past us and heading back.

MC [panting heavily]: Huff …..

Shaw: I know you can still persist, but rushing won't help. Stick to the pace we had during the day.

He slowed down our pace, and gradually, we became the last ones in the group.

The wind and snow continued to blow, stealing the already thin oxygen. I could only breathe heavily, gripping the climbing rope and moving upward.

Until a faint light illuminated the foothills, I belatedly looked up, realizing the snowy summit was still far away.

I instinctively took large strides forward, but my knees went soft, and I was supported by Shaw.

Shaw [sounding concerned]: Hey, holding up okay? MC: I-I can still go on.

As I stood panting, Shaw walked in front of me and crouched down, patting his own shoulder.

Shaw: This snow mountain is a bit more challenging than I imagined. Come on, I won't count it as slacking off.

Feeling a warm surge in my heart, I made an effort to catch my breath and smiled at him.

MC: Some people always say you should experience things for yourself, so I want to climb up step by step on my own.

Shaw smiled and turned to brush off the snow on my knees.

Shaw: Quite determined. I'll follow your lead this time.

I nodded and then held his hand.

MC: But you still need to hold my hand, just like you always do.

Shaw tightened his grip on my hand and took on most of my weight as we ascended together.

Silently, the sun had poured all its light onto the vast white mountains, creating a dazzling golden glow.

Even though we hadn't reached the summit yet, I no longer felt in a hurry. Instead, I held the hand of the person beside me tightly, savoring every step of the journey.

Until I saw the monument marking 5025 meters close at hand, excitement surged within me.

MC: Shaw... I did it! We reached the summit!

All the determination finally relaxed at this moment. I rested on my knees, looking down at the sea of clouds bathed in golden light.

But in the next moment, my vision flickered, and Shaw lifted me high.

Strong arms securely held me, widening my perspective at this moment.

Shaw [in a cheerful voice]: The scenery is undoubtedly better the higher you go. How about it, can you see clearly now? MC: Mm!

The smiling voice reached my ears through the wind and snow. I took a deep breath, looking around the endless snow-covered expanse.

The entire world seemed to be covered in a pure white blanket, with the lazy sun lying on top, casting extremely dazzling light.

In the face of nature, humans are so tiny, yet I was fortunate to stand at the top of the world under its gaze.

MC: Experiencing things for yourself is indeed essential. The scenery in videos is not even one-thousandth as beautiful as what I'm seeing with my own eyes! Shaw [softly]: That's why, if there's a next time, don't dismiss yourself beforehand. Otherwise, you won't know how much you've missed.

After Shaw put me down, I naturally hooked my arms around his neck.

MC: Then I'll continue to engage in sports, because I want to see many more beautiful sceneries with you.

I paused, smiling at him.

MC: Consider it my way of adding a little extra beauty to the future~

He smiled and looked around the mountains before shifting his gaze back to me.

Shaw [chuckles]: Next time, when I ask you to go skateboarding, you better not chicken out, or I'll have to tie you down and take you there.

—

🚐 Day 3

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Quickly Think About the Ultimate Universe 2.0

With the new Ultimate Universe halfway through its first year, I thought I'd share my thoughts about it.

And before you ask, no, I have not read Ultimate Invasion...Though, I probably should. Apparently, it explains EVERYTHING about this new universe and how it came to be, as well as some origins. Like, I did not know until Ultimates #1 that Doctor Doom was Reed Richards...and I'm kind of disappointed by that, not gonna lie. I just LOVED the idea that in a universe ruled by an evil Reed Richards, it'd make a perfect sense of poetic justice that Victor Von Doom would be the one to go against him, either as a way of cosmic moral balance or for Doom to take control himself. It would have been GREAT whereas a Reed Richards turned Doctor Doom is just...Meh. MEH, I SAY!

With that said, conceptually, this new universe is already better than the last Ultimate Universe. I couldn't even finish reading the stuff in that universe outside of what went on with Spider-Man, because the Spider-Man stuff was the only part of that universe that was consistently good aspect of that universe where everything else was just try-hard, edgelord SCHLOCK. Don't believe me? Read the Ultimatum event and compare what went down with Spider-Man compared to all the other shock value that event tried to pull. It was an attempt to modernize Marvel's long history of characters and arcs, where the only good thing that came from it was Miles Morales.

As for this new universe, I loved the idea it presented just from Ultimate Universe #1. The concept of a world without its heroes because they never experienced their origin stories is BRILLIANT, aided by the idea that a band of heroes bringing others back into this changed world in order to save it. I also grew to love how the universe SORT OF acts in real time, making each month that passes between issues be a month in that universe. It's a great way to keep you in the mindset of the characters you follow as time moves both too fast and not fast enough, making you want some events to move forward but know, realistically, this is how real life just operates. It DOES give each issue of every title a pacing issue as everything that needs to be done needs to get wrapped up THAT issue so we can move onto the next, creating this scenario where we can't really have a two parter because that'll just...stall time, which isn't possible in this new universe. It's not a big deal yet, though, as it doesn't really hurt any of the stories...Well, most of the stories.

Speaking of, let's see how these new titles have been doing so far.

Ultimate Spider-Man

Just like the last universe, everything with Spider-Man is the best part of the canon. This is my introduction to Jonathon Hickman's work, and he doesn't disappoint. I love how he plays around with what fans expect, changing the lore and history of Spider-Man that works for this new universe. Where the last one was just about retelling some of Peter Parker's old adventures but with slight, modern updates, this title is more about challenging the character and asking the question, "What if Peter Parker became Spider-Man as an adult?" It answers it well, FINALLY giving fans what they've been wanting for 616 Peter Parker, making him a family man who feels like he should be doing MORE with his life despite how good things already are. There's also some great stuff going on with Harry I look forward to and an interesting angle with Uncle Ben that I was FLOORED when seeing it for the first time. I also like how well Hickman handles the slowburn. Despite having the story's timeline constantly moving forward from month to month, he manages it to go at the right kind of speed, knowing exactly WHEN to flashback to offer more information and fill in some blanks while still tying thing back into the present and showing Peter progress into a hero and Harry progress into...Well, we'll see. I'm already in love with this title, I'm willing to say it's better than the last Ultimate Spider-Man, and I am on my hands and knees PRAYING that Marvel looks at this, realize what fans REALLY want with Peter Parker, and make Zeb Wells step away from anything Marvel related from now to for-fucking-ever. He apparently already ruined Deadpool and Wolverine and IT'S NOT EVEN OUT YET!

Ultimate Black Panther

This one tends to combine stuff from the movies with lore in the comics, making something that's more of a royal politics drama as T'Challa tries to fight aware with Ra and Khonshu. And it's...good?

Honestly, out of all the characters, I don't fully understand why Black Panther got a title. With Spider-Man and X-Men, it makes sense because they're two of Marvel's most popular brands. And you can't do Fantastic Four because, well...obvious reasons are obvious. But for Black Panther, I guess it KIND OF make sense? The movies made the character SKYROCKET into popularity, with him and Wakanda being the more well-known now than ever and proving that a Black superhero CAN be profitable (Fuck you, Ike Perlmutter). It's likely that someone higher up said "Do Black Panther because he's hot right now," and everyone else just nodded along because it's not really a false statement. It just feels weird because...I don't know. It just feels weird to me.

That being said I do like most of the ideas presented here. I like how T'Challa is married to Okoye but his destiny says he's bound to be with Storm, which could present some interesting drama. I love how Storm and Killmonger are these sort of freedom fighters, twisting Killmonger's origins but in a way that kind of works with the character. I like how Shuri's more present in the story, likely setting up how she could be a Black Panther herself. I like the lore it's adding in and the set up of Black Panther going to war with GODS. And I REALLY love the new suit (even though the idea of it being nanotech can die in a fire). There's a lot of good stuff here, but it's where the pacing issues feel a little more noticeable. If this really is a timeline that's moving along from month to month, then it makes the slow progression of Wakanda warring with gods feel off. Like, five issues in, and it's NOW hinting that the battle has just begun, when it really should have began...five months ago. Let's be realistic here.

Another problem is just how...ANGRY everyone looks. It's just page to page of frowns and furrowed brows and it feels off for some reason. I get that this is a drama about royal politics, but if you want me to care about these characters, you gotta show that they can feel more things than anger or annoyance. So while there IS some good stuff in Ultimate Black Panther, it needs to polish off its rough spots to make it something great.

Ultimate X-Men

And here we meet the inevitable...

I think it's steadily agreed upon that this is the weakest aspect of the new universe. And...yeah, I have to agree.

POSITIVES FIRST, I do like the art style. I'm much more of a fan of an artist doing their own thing as opposed to copying a more realistic art-style that makes each comic look the same. An artist adding their own flavor gives a title an extra bit of punch, and it's no different here. And I like the idea of following Armor and having her face the guilt of a friend committing suicide. It makes for an interesting, personal story that makes this title worth the time despite some issues. As for those issues, there are three VERY prominent ones.

#1: The pacing is at its worst with this title. Everything goes by so quick that my brain never takes the time to fully register what happened. This month's issue said in its recap that Hisako and her friend got revealed as mutants, and I genuinely thought it was something that happened off-screen (Off page?), only for others to remind me it happened at the end of last month's issue. Except that it happened so fast that...I'm not sure HOW I was supposed to remember it.

#2: It's the most disconnected title of the whole universe. Ultimate Black Panther has T'Challa facing off against members of The Maker's council and Ultimate Spider-Man has Kingpin trying to JOIN said council. But with Ultimate X-Men, the most we get is an article talking about Storm and not much else. Instead, it forgoes lore and showing us more of this new world for the sake of a personal story. And that story IS good, I DO like it...when it occasionally slows down to say something, that is. But when other titles are showing me more of this new universe and how characters are reacting to it, I'm not as invested in this small story that, honestly, doesn't NEED to be in the Ultimate Universe to be told.

And #3: It's an X-Men title...with not many X-Men. Granted, this is a universe without mutants (Somehow. Does Ultimate Invasion answer that?), but part of what makes X-Men so good is the TEAM. We get to see this group of people interact, gain relationships, and bond together in a shared goal against the enemies of mutants. Four issues in, we so far have two characters, with only hints of there being more to come, but it isn't as strong as compared to the very first roster all the way back in the 60s or even late 70s. I don't need Wolverine and I don't even WANT Wolverine, but I DO want an X-Men title with more, you know...X-Men.

These problems are all the reason why the title feels so weak, at least comparatively. I know what Peach Momoko is TRYING to do, but with everything else going on in this universe, I'm finding myself less invested in Hisako's story than I am with anyone else's.

The Ultimates

And here we have the latest addition to the universe. Emphasis on late because that's the main thing going on within its first issue. To save themselves from certain death, Iron Man transported him and the new members of The Ultimates SIX MONTHS into the future...Or in this case the present. Time travel is always confusing...

This leads to most of the issue playing catch up so the characters can explain what they've been up to in the last six months as they fix the world and assemble a team to protect it. It's another case of the pacing being off, with Captain America getting the worst of it. They just BREEZE by Cap being in 2024 and all of America collapsing, all for the sake of focusing more on Tony and Reed giving heroes their origin stories. The second issue hints to be more Captain America focused and I REALLY hope we dive into how he feels about all these changes, but for an introduction it could have been handled better.

But that's just in the first half. By the second, things still go by a LITTLE fast but we still get some great stuff between Ant-Man and The Wasp. It's especially great with Hank Pym, showing how he WANTS to be good but fears of becoming the same mess 616 Hank has become. Even Cap gets a good "Captain America Speech" in to motivate Hank to do the right thing. I'm looking forward the MOST of what happens with Ant-Man of all characters, and if this comic accomplished that then it must be up to something good. It's just one issue, but we'll see what comes of it in the future.

All and all, this universe is off to an imperfect but...good enough start. There are flaws each title has and things COULD be better, but I am interested and I am MORE invested in what goes on in THIS Ultimate Universe than the last one. As long as they avoid using slurs, making Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver fuck, and having Nightcrawler kidnap a person to force her to love him (Yes, that all happened), it should be smooth sailing.

[afireworldindustries]

March Happenings

Hello! I blinked and here we are, March 7th; it was the 1st when I made the first draft of this post.

Anyway, there's a lot of stuff I want to get done this month! I've been able to gauge what I can do, and I would like to share with you my plan.

Graphic Novel Progress

So far, I have published 4 children's books, and this time around I am going to try something a bit more vigorous and challenging. I've inked that this month I am outlining the sketches and fully rendering the prologue (it will be ~20 pages.) The more I get done, the more information I will share: in fact, in a few days I will make a post about it. If I decide to be more ambitious, I will let you know, but that's it so far.

2. Furniture Painting

I'll be painting 2 pieces of furniture---they're twins. :) Similar to my novel, I'll post the process + finished product. Since the designs are big, I don't think it will take too long... maybe a 2 days at least or a week at most. We'll find out together, haha.

Sorry the pics aren't great, I'll post better ones for the side-by-side later on.

3. YouTube Video

I would love to post a video this month, since it's been a hot minute. How would you guys feel if I talked about novel inspiration and the current process? I may or may not actually speak during this video. As much as I want to give the viewer the option, my soundscape is not up to par.

Also, if there's something you want to see me post to YouTube, let me know! I have a few ideas, but it's a time-and-place sort of thing.

Small Talk

While I have you here, I figure I might as well have a nice little chat with you. :) These aren't pertinent to anything, so if you want to move along, go ahead. From the bottom of my heart, to anyone reading this, I hope you are doing well, and I hope you continue to do so.

Radio Silence in my Socials

I'm not chatty. That's pretty much just it. I do my best to follow a routine, so my days are fairly monotonous, especially when I'm working on my projects. The balance between my personal/work life is pretty good. In the end, life's all about maintaining and upkeep, or advancing and innovating. I'm content with my output in both those categories, such as learning, menial tasks, cleaning, creating, etc., satisfies in both ways. Which specific outputs take precedence over the others depend on the day, and that's where my major schedule change takes place. All that to say, nothing too interesting or noteworthy goes on, so I just wait until something new happens. That being said, if you have a question or have an idea about something I can post, please do let me know! I am online, though.

2. Standalone Art Pieces

Goodness, I'd love to post some standalone art pieces. I'd love to make them. However, if I think about it too much, I get too many ideas and they become something bigger than I originally intended. To combat this, I've got a digital zine in the WIP list to get me out of my head. Keep an eye out for it, but I will tell you to keep a better eye out for it waaaaay later this year.

3. Personal Happenings

I love spring! I'm very happy we're in this season, and I've been spending as much time as possible in the sun. Coffee in the morning while note-taking and writing is probably my favorite part of the day. A cool breeze hitting me when the sun is warm is where my world stops. I am so much more appreciative of everything. I love grocery shopping, folding laundry, moving furniture, learning, exercising, taking care of my family. All that is awesome. Life is truly beautiful. Once summer rolls around, however...

Nothing super interesting. I like chores and planning. It's not interesting to discuss, though. If I do, I'll share.

Take care!

[silhouetteul]

Strange, but should be said:

I usually don't post this kind of stuff, but I felt the need to share this, because it genuinely scared me. And I feel it would be wrong not to share this with others. Do you guys remember that time Trump almost got assassinated in the head? Got shot thru the ear? That happened in July if my memory serves me right.

After that happened, I came across a video, several actually, that featured Christian man who was blessed with the gift of prophesy on a podcast with other Christians. The video itself was talking about the eclipses, but a specific moment in this discussion is what's important. This was posted in March of 2024 btw.

Somewhere in the video, the man told the others of a vision he had, which was about the first attempt at shooting trump. Not only did he say this would happen, but told them that it would shoot him in the ear. Which guess what? That's exactly where it was shot. Here's that original video

I'm usually skeptical when it comes to people today making prophecies, but seeing it come through and people keeping him accountable, you can't deny that God was doing something. Remind you, that this was released in MARCH. 4 MONTHS BEFORE IT HAPPENED.

I haven't kept up with this guy in particular, but I know he's made several videos and other prophecies on his own channel, so can't speak on how those went. However, today I came across one of his recent videos. And oh boy...

It's.... heavy. Real heavy. I know it's long but I encourage you to watch it and form your own opinion on it. If what he says is true, it's going to be a rough couple of few years, and quite soon. I pray all my friends and family will be safe.

I know your time is valuable, so I'll do my best to tell you in a quick summary: Plague Inc. and Great Depression 2.0 (which was also something briefly talked about in the previous video mentioned).

Again, I can't speak about his credibility from his other videos, but that first one is enough for me to at least take heed, added with his humility on this subject. If he is lying, that is some darn good acting.

Although this greatly frightened me, plagues such as this were always one of my greatest fears, and I prayed that I would never have to go through one.

Luckily, even with that said, my faith in Jesus grounds me and reminds me I will be safe with Him. I don't know what will happen in the future or what will happen to me in the future, but I do know that God has this under control, and that he will protect His children.

It will be hard and challenging, I know that much, whether this comes true or not, but as long as we keep Jesus at the center, we will be okay, and that these bad things will only be a moment compared to eternity.

If it's all a bunch of baloney, then rejoice. If not... we'll all pray for each other.

With that said, I'm going to take a break from social media for the week. I will be open to DMs through discord to those who have it though if needed. Jesus loves yall, and God bless you.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

[fea-resources]

Best SAO Abridged Lines As RP Starters Pt.1

"I am going to burn this fucker to the ground."

"I have a feeling you get beat up a lot."

“Fuck you, man, that’s like the pig from Hell!”

“The legacy of the pebble lives on.”

“Well, thanks for the quick tutorial on pig slaying, and the not-so-quick tutorial on... rocks.”

"Come on, I can't alt+F4 this shit!"

“...And the sky is bleeding.”

“Well Ballsy, I believe the locals call it a... hex...a...gon? Not sure if I’m pronouncing that right I’ll have to get back to you.”

"Man, they're really working for that M rating."

"Much like the World of Warcraft, you're not here by choice anymore. Unlike WoW however, you're being held here by me, not by the need to escape your empty fucking life."

"Sometimes things are born. They live... and then they stop. Forever."

"Yeah I'm just gonna keep that tabbed."

"As... tempting as that sounds, I really should stick with my friends back there. They're about as skilled as I am so I figure we have a better chance of surviving if we stick together."

"Well, monkeys and typewriters..."

"You might be the most unbearable asshole I've ever met, but you are really good at this. We could use you in our group, what do you say?"

"So many poor souls came to an abrupt and tragic end... some, by bad luck, others by sheer stupidity. I mean really, why would you just stand in fire?"

"Oh wow, what brilliant insight. That's so deep it loops right back around to being stupid."

"Its all bullshit metaphors with you."

"He cried... not knowing the difference between a simile and a metaphor."

"The tininess of his brain dwarfed only by the tininess of his di--"

"You can silence me but you can't silence the truth!"

"Oh jeez I am just making things worse."

"Pssht. Evidence... I don't need no evidence. Isn't that right _____?"

"Its pronounced ______, and... I don't know you."

"______, huh? That's a... pretty masculine name."

"Shouldn't be. Its a woman's name."

"...'kay, I dunno how to talk to you."

"Good, then you can shut up and listen."

"Good rule of thumb: if someone asks for money two seconds after meeting you, front lines. If they hijack conversations to rant about their political views, front lines. If they ask women to see pics of their boobs, front lines."

"Jesus, who wrote this thing?"

"Okay, so the guide's a bust, but it'll be fine! I'll come up with a great plan for us!"

"Well, we could--.... uhh... I'm open to suggestions!"

"We could group up, and hit it til it dies!"

"Fuck it, group up."

“What, a whole month? How have you survived this long?”

"HOW DO I EAT YOU?"

“It’s been...a challenge.”

"Oh I have lots of reasons for not grouping up. Mostly because they're a bunch of mouth-breathing neck-beards who think L M A O is how french people laugh."

“You sure have a way of... eh... speaking from the heart?”

"Funny, I thought I was speaking from my mouth, but shows what I know about biology."

"No one else wanted you in their group, did they?"

"Shut up, it was mutual!"

"Fine, we leave at the crack of... 2:30... I guess."

"Okay, so... apparently there were a few more stairs than we realized."

"Jesus... why don't you just take a cheetos and mountain dew break and we'll reconvene in an hour."

"Damn it I was kidding! You weren't actually supposed to actually take an hour!"

"Stop attacking from the front! Do you even know what 'Flank' means?!"

"For fuck's sake, stop playing Bejeweled!"

"Alright, this last part's going to take careful coordination... which is why I'm just gonna do it myself!"

"While both are primarily slashing weapons, a Talwar was favored by cavalrymen, as opposed to an Odachi which was mainly used for dick measuring."

"And why couldn't you say that first?"

"I like to think of myself as a teacher."

"Our best player is a girl who thinks DPS is some kind of sex thing."

"I've been doing this a long time, and if there's one thing I learned, its that lions do not concern themselves with the opinions of sheep. Just take that little voice in the back of your head that tells you to be tactful and understanding, and shoot it. Shoot it in the god damn face."

"Here's what we'll do. One counters his blows to knock him off balance, and the other switches in to attack. Rinse, repeat, victory."

"You came up with that but you can't open a menu..."

"Congratulations! That was even more impressive than that cat that learned to play."

"Oh my god, you guys can see it too?! So I'm not crazy!

“Isn't that right _____?"

"That's right ______! Now... kill them all."

"As you command my lord."

"We have traveled far, and up many stairs to get to this point, fighting side by side, noobs and elites alike. I'd like to take a moment to say I couldn't have done it without the help of each and every one of you... of course I'm not a liar, so I'm not gonna say any of that."

"I mean to be honest I could have done this whole thing myself, BUT, to be fair, I guess you DID absorb a bit of damage for me, which was nice."

"You were an adequate meat shield, and no one can ever take that away from you."

"Fuck... fuck! Shut up! Shut up!"

"Shoot for the stars! It'll make it more fun for me when I kick you back into the dirt."

"You're not better than us!"

"My sweet ass coat begs to differ."

"No, its not fabric I can cut, its a bunch of 1's and 0's."

"Fine, then give me the 1's."

"Fuck you I want the 1's."

[whenireadyougettosee]

The Way of Kings Review

Hi! I'm Liz and I review fantasy books!

The Way of Kings can be incredibly daunting, especially for people who don't read much high fantasy, 1200 pages is a LOT. However, for fans of the genre, I think it's a must-read.

I'm sure fans of Brandon Sanderson know about the Stormlight archives along with the rest of The Cosmere. Personally, my favorite is his standalone Warbreaker, the magic system alone was enough to blow my mind and leave me thinking for months.

Now, to The Way of Kings.

The size of the book can leave to-be readers wondering if all 1200 pages were necessary. I believe it was. I was hooked on the plot from the first pages. Every point of view and plotline was interesting and immersive. The characters had so much agency and personality it's hard to pick a favorite.

From Kaladin's strong will and leadership to Shallan's creativity and cunning and the mystery of Dalinar's visions that expanded the world and lore of Roshar. The character-driven story was packed with action, trials, successes, and failures.

There were some moments in the story I found myself skimming. Notably: Kaladin's flashbacks. I usually find that I react this way to flashbacks in books. Though, I do believe that were integral to understanding his character and I'm glad they were included. It showed how he developed the loyalty he carries throughout the book, as well as the pressure he puts on himself to help others.

Kaladin's character is strong. He seeks to make up for past failures and naturally finds himself the "captain" of the bridge crew 4. He sees the other members of the bridge crew, enslaved and half-dead, and gives them honor and purpose. His natural loyalty is infectious. His crew is full of personality (though it may take a bit to show) and while reading their interactions I truly felt they were a family, determined to keep each other alive in hostile conditions and in spite of the light-eyed leaders trying to control them.

What I find sticks with me is Dalinar's development vs. the parts of his character that remain static, as well as how his visions change his actions. Near the end of the book, this development really shines and he has badass moment after badass moment. I respected his honor from the beginning, but seeing him put it to practice in such ways in the climax was great to see. It leaves me wondering how his actions will affect the state of politics and the war later on.

Shallan was a character that was constantly surprising me. She's inquisitive and funny, but throughout her point of view, there is always a deeper and maybe darker theme. Throughout her wardship I see her motives challenged as well as changed as she learns more about the world, philosophy, and the old magic.

I find myself itching to start the next book immediately. For anyone on the edge of starting the long and ongoing high fantasy series, I must recommend it highly. We'll see how the characters make due as the events of The Stormlight Archives unfold.

[princesscolumbia]

Author Thoughts

I'm approaching the end of my third full novel I've written in my life.

One was supposed to be a licensed work but then that license holder got bought by another company that cancelled the IP that book was based on, so now sits on my hard drive. I go back and read it every few years or so, mostly to see how far I've progressed as an author since my early twenties.

The second was pure catharsis, a fanfic about trauma and homelessness and found family and dealing with pain and loss. You can find it on FiMFiction.net and AO3 if you're interested.

My most recent will not be appearing here due to the Dead Dove content (Explanation for those who needed this defined like I did: "Dead Dove" fics are those that have clear tagging, especially on AO3, that there's "problematic" content in the work but people who are triggered by the clearly tagged problematic stuff read it anyway and get upset. Based on the "Dead Dove" meme where the guy looks in the bag clearly marked, "Dead Dove, do not eat" and looks inside and finds, sure enough, a dead dove), but has been some of the most interesting, challenging writing I've ever done where I'm allowing my creative brain to intentionally think, "What's the bad ending and how do I make it interesting?"

When I was writing my first novel, I got to a point about 3/4's through and my writing slowed down significantly. It took two years for me to write it, nine months of that was just on the last 1/4 of the book. It wasn't any more lengthy or challenging than the rest, just I suddenly felt like I was running out of steam and couldn't keep going, even though I'd plotted out pretty much ever plot point and story beat down to specific timing for the climax chapter.

When I was working on my second (completed, I've started a few dozen since my first) work, I got to about 3/4's through...and slowed down. It took over a year to write and, just like my first book, the last 1/4 took the lion's share of that time.

My current book I've been hammering on since early December 2023 (if you're reading this later than the posting date, the first chapter is currently only about a month old by this point), and I actually wrote a full outline complete with copious notes so I wouldn't forget anything I wanted to do with the fic. I'm on Chapter 9 of 11 chapters and an epilogia (Epilogia - n. - collection of epliogues. See also, "Prologia" and "Blame Brandon Sanderson") and sure enough, as I put some paragraph marks between "Chapter 9" and my notes, suddenly I started slowing down. I took an entire day off, thinking I was just burning out, but no, I only didn't want to write as I sat down to actually do the writing.

I've been pondering this for the last week-ish, and I believe it has to do with the project being just about done. This has taken pretty much my entire free time since I started and is a tremendous source of dopamine, and now that I'm getting closer to the end, my idiot monkey brain is seeing the end of the dopamine and is trying to delay the end, hoping that'll keep the dopamine rolling in.

Something that I've been working on may be a solution. I've been dropping little Easter Eggs into my fics so fans of one body of work can be pleasantly surprised when they see something from that work turn up in an apparently unrelated project. A character from My Empire of Dirt might appear in Deviation, an epilog on another project will be a big reveal about a character based on the sudden and unexpected intersection with Lost in the Dark. Sunset Shimmer from Redhead/Redhead winds up meeting with Ranma "Sailor Moon" Saotome from Fission. That sort of thing.

Basically, I'm going to convince my monkey brain that it's ALL just one, massive, ongoing "novel" and the dopamine will flow forever so long as the writing does, too.

Will it work? We'll see if it did based on how quickly I can get Ch. 9 out. 😋