#also i love this quote so so much; top 10 quotes that changed the course of my life tbh

[iridescene]

✐ hi Iryth!! black, or red! you can do my name or a quote from gintama you really like, i hope you are doing well :3

Send me a ✐ and I'll handwrite a prompt/word/quote of your choice in a color of your choice.

[katyawriteswhump]

the power of love part 7 (steddie, stobin, steve whump fic)

Steve has a habit of surviving near death experiences then getting sick for no reason. And Eddie and those fatal bat bites? After an impossible feat of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation from Steve, he’s mysteriously fixed. So, Eddie’s back to being banished, this time with Steve and Robin in tow. Eddie’s healing, but Steve isn’t… and life gets even more confusing, when Eddie develops feelings for Steve, which aren’t entirely unrequited.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12

(also on AO3 here)

Chapter Seven

Eddie POV

Steve insists on being pathfinder lead for the next hour. 

Eddie’s gotta admit—following Steve, as he thrashes his way through the undergrowth, is the best entertainment that banishment has provided yet. Steve’s tight-fitting pants don't do any harm. Goddammit, the perspiration patches on Steve’s shirt make Eddie sweat even harder than Steve is.

“You need the fedora hat,” calls Robin, “and you’ve totally nailed the junior Indiana Jones look.”

Steve smirks over his shoulder. “I was channelling that guy out of Romancing the Stone.” 

“Michael Douglas? No way as hot.” Eddie flashes his best flirtatious grin with ever greater confidence. This afternoon, Steve has begun returning them. “Stick to Indy, man.”

By the time they reach the logging camp, however, they’re all beyond exhausted.

Eddie’s feet are raw with blisters, and Robin’s been complaining of the same for the past hour. She limps through the door of the first cabin they come to, which fortunately turns out to be a bunkhouse. She throws down her pack then throws herself onto the bottom of one of two sets of bunks. Steve collapses onto the other lower bunk and appears to fall instantly asleep.

Eddie considers crawling up onto one of the top bunks and seeing if sleep takes pity on him.

He doubts it would. The choppers were a stark reminder of the nightmare reality snapping at his heels, and he’s wired as hell. He begins to unpack their supplies. Robin, having taken a moment, sits back up.

“We should check this place out,” she whispers. “There must be a clean water supply somewhere, maybe a generator. Definitely canned food and that kinda stuff, for when the loggers come back in the autumn.” 

“I guess it’ll make a change from cardboard-flavoured cereal.”

“God, I know, right! I’d literally murder for some Count Chocular right now.”

They split up to search the various cabins. Eddie hits the jackpot first, in the guise of a crate of bottled beer. 

“Seriously?” says Robin, when she meets him outside the bunkhouse. Eddie sits on the beer crate he’s dragged out, taking a well-earned rest. “You’re gonna get buzzed?”

“You got it in one, sister.”

He doesn’t feel the need to justify this—I saw Chrissy butchered in front of my eyes. I’ve spent a week on the run from the cops. I BASICALLY DIED IN A WHIRLWIND OF EVIL KILLER DEMOBATS. And now I’m on the run again, with Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington, and I’ve fallen stupid hard for him. Oh, and there’s a small but real possibility he’s been flayed. Or something else freaky along those lines.

Robin hasn’t quit scowling at him. His smile is the first overtly false one he’s bothered with for a while:

“Forgive me, Robin. I’ve reached the point where, to quote my sweet old Granny—there ain’t nothin’ fuckin’ like it for me nerves. ’Course, she favoured hard liquor.” He offers one of two bottles he’s gotten out to Robin. “Want one?”

“I’ll stick to the cardboard cereal.” Her scowl lessens, though she remains deadly serious. “Look, promise me you won’t give too much to Steve.”

“Why?”

“What kinda pea-brain question is that? Despite the super-commando act, he’s still struggling, it’s totally obvious. Getting trashed is not gonna help.”

“Yeah, but… he’s improving, right?” Her slight wince betrays that, once again, they’re thinking the same thing. Perhaps Steve’s getting stronger, because he’s getting closer again to Lover’s Lake, Hawkins, Vecna, the Hive-Mind, and yet… “You know our little worst-case scenario, Rob? I’m still not buying it.”

The wind rustles the nearby trees. In sync, Robin’s hunched shoulders soften a little. “Me neither. Hand on heart, if Steve had a link to that evil shit, any at all, I’d sense it by now. Although… Was it just me who thought it was weird when the choppers came over, and then it suddenly clouded up?”

“Yeeeeaah, that really was just you. I was too busy eating dirt and shitting myself.” Now he thinks about it, mind, it was darn convenient.

She shrugs. “I guess I’m super-paranoid that way. I literally spent my Middle School years spotting aliens everywhere.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Then I realised they weren’t aliens. It was the Fae all along.”

“You sure it wasn’t dragons?”

“Now you’re being ridiculous.” Her laugh sounds as manic as his latest crazy smile. On the other hand:

“Maybe Steve really is getting better naturally,” he ventures, “and the set-backs are because he’s been overdoing it. I mean, yeah, we keep an eye out for anything cuckoo, watch for connections, make sure he takes rests, but… Time heals, huh?”

“Not always.” She purses her lips, veering straight back into scary mode. “Steve doesn’t like people to know, but since his second major concussion, he’s not supposed to drink. Of course, he does sometimes, but—”

“Message received. I’ll just have the one—for medicinal purposes, ’kay?” 

“Please yourself. Then wake Steve long enough to put our own bedding on those disgusting bunks. I don’t wanna be bitten to death by bed bugs.”

Robin stomps off toward the camp generator. Eddie is executing the important business of prying the top off his beer, when Steve appears, leaning in the cabin doorway. “Why did you both let me… Hey, is that beer?”

The top pops off with a treacherous fizz. “Uh, no?”

“You’re a useless liar.” Steve closes in. His messy, sleep-mussed hair renders him totally edible. 

“You got me.” Eddie darts his tongue nervously across his lips. “This indeed is the amber nectar of the Gods. You want some?” 

There’s a skewed logic behind Eddie’s offer. If he told Steve he couldn’t drink, like he was his mom or something, Steve would probably get mad. He opts to play a good cop, bad cop routine with Robin, who… 

Eddie glances toward the generator.

She’s not there. If bad cop isn’t gonna show, then he needs a Plan B.

“I guess I’ll have one.” Steve stretches to take the bottle. 

“Just gonna test it. Been here a while.” 

Eddie takes a glug, splutters it out across dusty ground. “Oh man, it’s worse than cat-piss.” He’s only slightly exaggerating. “There’s a reason those lumberjacks left this garbage behind.”

Steve yawns into the back of his hand. “Gonna be honest. I’m not supposed to drink anyhow. Long story.” Ooookay. That went easier than predicted. “Got any water left?”

“Yeah. By my pack.” Eddie hurries into the bunkhouse, and Steve follows. It’s the last bottle, so he hopes Robin’s busy locating fresh supplies. Though that proves the least of his worries.

Half a minute later, he’s sitting on the edge of a bunk, thigh-to-thigh with Steve. They pass the bottle of water and a bottle of beer between them.

And being this close to Steve, now Steve seems so much better? Exchanging chitchat about how long they can hideout here, and if any of them have the skills to hunt a deer or something?

It sends tingles up and down Eddie’s spine.

The way Steve looks at him underlines exactly why Steve was angry last night, when Eddie “assumed” he was straight. Eddie suddenly can’t look Steve in the eye. Trouble is, he then can’t stop staring at Steve’s mouth—those shapely, slightly chapped lips, moist and glistening with water and bad beer.

Then Steve blindsides him with: “Do you honestly think you died, Eddie? Before I did the CPR?”

“I dunno, Harrington.” Eddie squirms on his butt, all kinds of defences flying up. “It was like a dream. Apart from that, it wasn't a dream. It was a place, and Dustin was there, and Robin was there, and you were there, too.”

“Wow. Seriously?”

Eddie cackles out a mocking laugh. “I’m misquoting ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ dude.”

“Oh.” Eddie glances sidelong. Steve appears… oddly crestfallen. “It’s just… You know, I said when I get hurt, I feel like I come back different each time. I mean, I don't know if it's true or not, but... I never knew you before... and I know you now and... and…” Steve fluffs his hair. “Jesus, I’m blabbering.”

“Nah,” says Eddie. “You sound like you’re getting somewhere.” 

Compared to the meltdown my brain is having.

“Okay, well, here it is. I like you, Eddie. I really like you.” 

Eddie half wants to flee for the hills. He fixes on a beetle scuttling across the dirty floorboards. “Dude, you sure you’re not in love with Wheeler?”

“I… I… No!”  Steve doesn’t sound angry, only bewildered. “Yeah, I believed that once, and maybe I was. I guess she fitted in so many dreams I’ve had of my future, and I owe her a lot. But now I’m with you, and…” Their eyes finally meet. Steve’s earnest warmth sends a brutal shockwave through Eddie. “I know this seems fickle, but…” His gentle laugh is too much. “Who knows? Perhaps it’s because Nance has never been dead. Or, near dead. You know, we’ve gotten that in common, right?”

“Riiiiight,” Eddie says, stupidly, then, “Screw it, I like you too, Stevie. I really like you.” 

They fling their arms around each other, and tumble into the kiss.

For Eddie, the sensations are like no make-out session before, such is the hunger that zings between them. Eddie’s so blown away, that the brush of Steve’s lips seems to kindle an actual crackling, electric friction..  Damn, the boy can kiss! 

Eddie’s gotten a semi already, fingers threading up through Steve’s hair, toying at the nape of his neck. Steve does amazing twisty things with his tongue. Gnng! You wanna kill me again, Baby? Even the scrape of Steve’s shallow stubble totally unhinges him.

They work the kiss with their whole bodies, striving to get beyond close, as if they could slide beneath each other’s skin. Eddie can’t help wondering—can they get each other off, before Robin gets back?

Then something changes.

He senses Steve gasp, then moan into Eddie's mouth with something other than dumb teen passion. His arms, clinging around Eddie, falter and slip away.

“Stevie?”

Too late. Steve crumples against Eddie, totally senseless. 

“Steve?” squeaks Eddie, struggling to stop Steve slipping to the floorboards. “Robin! ROBIN!”

Part 8

tags: @estrellami-1 @kal-ology (thank you, thank you, thank you!) If anybody else would like to be tagged on this fic or any of my writing, please let me know :) Reblogs, comments and likes also very much appreciated :) Thank you for reading so far :)

(also part of my steve whump fic series on AO3)

[lewisinho]

felipe massa and the championship that got away: an analysis

prompted mostly by massa pissing me off so bad with his campaign of misinformation (like bro sue the weather while you’re at it); this involved rewatching absolute disasterclasses and a few snoozefests during my free wednesday (the weather was terrible as well so took the time to refresh my memory on some of the less memorable 2008 races and compile this mess) and my eyes were bleeding so please show some love

ok, so on a more serious note, he wasn’t absolutely dreadful (apart from in the wet); my biggest issue is that we probably don’t know just how good that 2008 ferrari really was; in the hands of someone with much better quali/race pace it could probably have dominated much more strongly; i think his performance was quite average considering the potential the car had; he had some brilliant weekends as well, but i think they are quite significantly overshadowed by the dreadful ones; then again, 2008 wasn’t lewis’ best season either, and this analysis isn’t really to compare the two, it’s mostly to showcase that massa’s assertion of it being a ‘perfect’ championship isn’t quite true…is all this necessary? ofc not, but i’m going to have some fun with it anyhow; 

i also made this because the concept of ‘deserving’ something is one i deeply deeply despise in sport; the only thing you can bring to the table with such discourse is your own subjective opinion; you win or you don’t, end of; you can, of course, be robbed of something when a rule is indeed broken, but the concept of ‘deserving a championship due to how you performed over the course of a season’ is frankly stupid; and do i think massa was robbed? no. he can’t prove that crashgate was the very thing that cost him the championship because it conveniently ignores everything else that happens afterwards. there’s a clear break in the chain of causation. he neither ‘deserves’ it in my opinion, nor was he robbed of it and i also don’t like the historical revisionism he’s campaigning for either so here’s a full rundown of felipe massa’s season (i tried to be as impartial as i could in this):

top 2 in the driver’s standings (included only for the sake of completeness, please don’t cite toto’s 'wikipedia statistics' quote at me):

some background information:

the 2008 championship comes right after the spygate shitshow of the previous season; fernando alonso leaves mclaren for renault after one year; heikki kovalainen replaces him to drive alongside lewis hamilton at mclaren; felipe massa and kimi raikkonen (the reigning world champion) are teammates at ferrari (kimi’s 2008 season is also interesting to revisit considering the internal ferrari politics at play but i’ll save it for a different time); it's an eighteen race season, and for this season traction control has been banned! (it's important to mention considering the ban had been brought up several times over the season as a reason to explain some of felipe's performances considering he had never driven a formula one car without traction control before);

moreover, the fia’s decision-making this season was questionable to say the least; this is obviously not felipe's fault ofc, but there were a few decisions which he had certainly benefited from at lewis’ expense (spa comes to mind…);

2008 scoring system quick refresher: p1: 10 points, p2: 8 pts, p3: 6 pts; scoring only up to eighth place;

for the race results i will only include the top 3 as well as lewis if he finishes off the podium; for the championship standings i will include the top 3 in the championship as they were after every race (+ HAM/MAS/RAI if they were outside) and on how many points they were after every race;

australian gp (0 points, dnf)

bit of an embarrassing start tbh…massa qualifies p4 but spins in the first corner of the first lap all on his own and hits the barrier; he manages to get back into the pits though and get a front wing change; however, on lap 26 he collides with DC when trying to overtake him; DC retires, but massa continues only to retire from an engine failure a few laps later; pretty shit start to the season

race result: lewis hamilton p1, nick heidfeld p2, nico rosberg p3 (the infamous brocedes podium btw)

malaysian gp (0 points, dnf)

much better qualifying, ferrari clearly has pace as massa qualifies on pole, with raikkonen in p2; however on lap 31 felipe spins off and gets trapped in the gravel; this race was a masterclass from kimi btw, he won by nearly twenty seconds from kubica in p2; also before massa crashed, kimi also managed to get ahead of felipe in the first round of pit stops after pitting a lap after felipe by producing a brilliant in-lap

race result: kimi raikkonen p1, robert kubica p2, heikki kovalainen p3 (lewis p5- qualifying penalty for impeding drivers in quali and had started p8 + slow pitstop by mclaren in the race)

championship standings: HAM (14 points), RAI (11), HEI (11) + MAS (0)

bahrain gp (10 points, p1)

it’s kubica on pole (who i also need to mention because he arguably was the best driver of the 2008 season) and massa starts p2; felipe overtakes kubica in the first corner and then maintains the lead for the rest of the race; very good performance for him and good bounce-back from the first two races

race result: felipe massa p1, kimi raikkonen p2, robert kubica p3 (lewis p13- bit of a disaterclass from him this time around, as he went into anti-stall at the start due to going into a wrong engine mode and dropped positions; he then drives right into the back of fernando’s renault and had to get a nose change, dropping him to p18)

championship: RAI (19), HEI (16), HAM (14) + MAS (10)

spanish gp (8 points, p2)

ferrari are dominating the past few races and the same happens in spain; kimi pole, felipe p3; massa overtakes alonso at the start and it's a ferrari 1-2 procession to the end basically; the race was basically sorted with the overtakes made at the start; also a literal snoozefest;

race result: kimi raikkonen p1, felipe massa p2, lewis hamilton p3

championship: RAI (19), HAM (20), KUB (19) + MAS p4 (18)

turkish gp (10 points, p1)

actually a pretty good race from massa; starts on pole and wins the race; lewis comes in second, executing a three-stopper (arguably this strategy cost mclaren the chance of fighting for the win but they were worried about tyres…still i think, a bit on the conservative side from mclaren in terms of strategy and considering lewis’ amazing pace relative to massa bit of a missed opportunity)

race result: felipe massa p1, lewis hamilton p2, kimi raikkonen p3

championship: RAI (35), MAS (28), HAM (28)

monaco gp (6 points, p3)

wet monaco and absolute chaos! (great race to rewatch btw); massa qualified on pole, but then lost the lead because of a mistake in the wet; lewis wins, and also brilliant race by kubica;

race result: lewis hamilton p1, robert kubica p2, felipe massa p3

championship: HAM (38), RAI (35), MAS (34)

canadian gp (4 points, p5)

massa qualifies p6, ferrari fuel rig problem in the pit lane meant he dropped down to p17; he fights back to p5; and because hamilton crashed into raikkonen in the pit lane, he managed to outscore the both of them that weekend; also robert wins! relative to the others, a pretty good weekend for massa;

race result: robert kubica p1, nick heidfeld p2, david coulthard p3 (every time i remember DC raced in 2008 it’s like a shock to my system)

championship: KUB (42), MAS (38), HAM (38) + RAI, p4 (35)

french gp (10 points, p1)

again, ferrari are pretty much dominating in quali; kimi takes pole, felipe p2; it was kimi’s race to win and he was comfortably leading however he then had to slow down due to his car suffering from an exhaust pipe breaking and hence, loss of engine power; felipe therefore, inherits the lead and wins the race;

race result: felipe massa p1, kimi raikkonen p2, jarno trulli p3 (lewis- p10, he had to take a grid drop for the incident in the pitlane in canada when he ran into the back of kimi; in the race he has to serve a drive-through penalty for cutting a corner and gaining an advantage)

championship: MAS (48), KUB (46), RAI (43) + HAM, p4 (38)

british gp (0 points, p13)

eyeee think this race is best summarised with pictures? allow me:

an all-timer of a race, lewis hamilton masterclass;

race result: lewis hamilton p1, nick heidfeld p2, rubens barichello p3

championship: HAM (48), MAS (48), RAI (48)

german gp (6 points, p3)

massa qualified p2 alongside lewis; this is one of lewis’ best drives of the season i think; he was leading the race comfortably in the beginning stages, pulling away from felipe like crazy (he gained 1.8 sec in the first lap, had a 3.7 sec lead by lap 4, 11 sec by lap 18, clearly on a mission); mclaren don’t pit him under safety car when everyone else around him does, so he has eight laps to build a large gap before having to eventually pit himself; he does on lap 50 and overtakes massa and piquet jr for the win (some really nice overtakes btw); massa really just didn’t have the pace to compete;

race result: lewis hamilton p1, nelson piquet jr p2, felipe massa p3

championship: HAM (58), MAS (54), RAI (51)

hungarian gp (0 points, p17/dnf)

this one was bad luck because massa suffered an engine failure when leading the race; it would have probably been his best win of his career had he not dnf'ed- good overtake on lewis at the start

race result: heikki kovalainen p1, timo glock p2, kimi raikkonen p3 (lewis- p5, suffered a tyre puncture on lap 40; tbf the early seasons also show lewis is still learning about tyre management and that he’s still prone to overcooking his tyres making them vulnerable to punctures)

championship: HAM (62), RAI (57), MAS (54)

european gp (10 points, p1)

qualifies on pole and wins the race; he nearly manages to crash into sutil when released into the pit lane after his pit stop; the team is charged with 10,000 euros after the race but felipe keeps his win (it would be dealt with so differently these days lmao but can’t really blame him)

race result: felipe massa p1, lewis hamilton p2, robert kubica p3

championship: HAM (70), MAS (64), RAI (57)

belgian gp (10 points, p1)

this race still makes my blood boil; funnily enough felipe wins after not leading a single lap in this race! lewis gets handed a 25-second penalty by the stewards and gets demoted to p3; quick recap: lewis tried to pass kimi at the bus stop chicane, but he cut the corner and got into the lead; he allowed kimi to re-pass him because he gained an advantage by going off track; but smartly, he passes kimi again at la source; post-race he’s handed a penalty; mclaren then appeal and say that charlie whiting himself said that lewis had given the place back to kimi completely legally; thing is, charlie isn’t the stewards, who say that lewis didn’t give kimi enough of an advantage; it causes a bit of a storm in the media, niki lauda goes off and calls it the ‘worst judgment in the history of f1’; thing is, it's a really grey area, to some extent i can understand the stewards’ reasoning, but the severity of the punishment is absolutely ridiculous and also points to how inconsistent the fia is...handing him 25 seconds just doesn’t fit the crime at all; (also the last four laps are just pure drama in general! worth a watch);

(if i had a nickel for every time felipe massa got handed a lucky win in 2008, i’d have two nickels. which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird it happened twice)

race result: felipe massa p1, nick heidfeld p2, lewis hamilton p3

championship: HAM (76), MAS (74), KUB (58) + RAI, p4 (57)

italian gp (3 points, p6)

bit of a disasterclass, qualifies p6, finishes p6; but funnily enough, he still finished ahead of both kimi and lewis as the both of them were sent out on the wrong tyres in qualifying and only managed to qualify p14 and p15; btw beautiful overtakes by lewis (he finished p7- just one place behind felipe); also seb wins!

race result: sebastian vettel p1, keikki kovalainen p2, robert kubica p3

championship: HAM (78), MAS (77), KUB (64) + RAI, p4 (57)

singapore gp (0 points, p13)

crashgate! he gets pole (quite an impressive pole lap i must admit) and leads the race until piquet jr crashes, and felipe pits, ferrari release him too early and he drives off with the fuel hose still attached to his car…to that i say, maybe sue your pit crew as well 

race result: fernando alonso p1, nico rosberg p2, lewis hamilton p3

championship: HAM (84), MAS (77), KUB (64) + RAI, p4 (57)

japanese gp (2 points, p7)

now this one is a disasterclass on all fronts, but if you want drama i recommend watching it; felipe qualified p5; he managed to crash into hamilton and got himself a drive-through penalty; he also tangled with bourdais when attempting to overtake him on lap 50; bourdais was blamed for it and got a 25-second penalty after the race; thing is, i don’t see how it’s only bourdais’ fault tbh? massa squeezed bourdais as he attempted to pass him going into the first corner and bourdais couldn’t just disappear…anyway the decision to penalise bourdais was criticised a lot, also considering that penalising him went against charlie whiting’s pre-race direction that the car exiting the pit-lane has the right of way (which bourdais was); 

race result: fernando alonso p1, robert kubica p2, kimi raikkonen p3 (lewis hamilton- p12, bit of a disasterclass from him as well)

championship: HAM (84), MAS (79), KUB (72) + RAI, p4 (63)

chinese gp (8 points, p2)

qualifies p3, behind lewis and kimi; lewis comfortably leads the race and wins it fifteen seconds ahead of p2; massa finished second after raikkonen is instructed to let him through (ferrari team orders, bit of a deja vu)

race result: lewis hamilton p1, felipe massa p2, kimi raikkonen p3

championship: HAM (94), MAS (87), KUB (75) + RAI, p4 (69)

brazilian gp (10 points, p1)

ahead of the last race of the season, massa could still win the title if he wins the race and lewis finishes p6 or lower; massa did all he could: he got pole and won the race; mclaren opted for an incredibly conservative strategy in the race (they only needed to secure p5, and considering how they lost the title only the year before, it’s explicable): for e.g. waiting for a relatively long time to get lewis off the inters when it began to dry during the first part of the race; 

race result: felipe massa p1, fernando alonso p2, kimi raikkonen p3 (lewis- p5 and world champion!)

championship: HAM (98), MAS (97), RAI (75); shoutout to robert kubica who had an absolutely amazing season and who also finished on 75 points, but ended up p4 on countback.

hope this was somewhat informative :)

[yallemagne]

Writer Asks

Tagged by @bluecatwriter

I think I've done this one before!! There's more questions this time, but this is an interesting blast to the past to see how I've changed.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

59 works

2. What's your total ao3 word count?

300,805 words

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now, Dracula. In the past: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Jesus Christ Superstar, Sanders Sides, Castlevania, Elisabeth, etc.. If you fuse the fandoms that intersect it's about 18 fandoms.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Orice (Dracula, Jonathan has A Time; unsurprising, it is my longest by far)

When Providence Favours Witches (Castlevania [specifically Netflixvania], Trevor gets adopted by Lisa; also not surprising, very popular fandom)

Lückenbüßer (TF2, Trans Scout talks to Ally Medic; shocker!! that's a single-chapter fic!!)

Pseudo-Asthma (JJBA: Battle Tendency, Joseph has a heart-to-heart with his mom; woah! that was only 3 chapters!!)

Bewitching (JJBA: Phantom Blood, Dio genderbend; of course, I can never escape it even if it is a hiatus fic)

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

Yeah, sometimes even if it is just to say "thank you!!" I like to talk about my writing a lot and comments are the place I get to go into detail about my thought process.

6. What's the fic you wrote that has the angstiest ending?

Vulture in Saviour's Robes, I had people yelling at me for this one (in a good way), so it's really no competition, huh.

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

It's gotta be one of the one-shots iojegp. To suggest a less well-known one: A Pitiable Performance, J&H and Dorian Gray crossover, Utterson and Lanyon go to see a play and Sibyl Vane is the lead actress.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not much. Oh wait--- oijegpioerg trauma engaged. Orice got a LOT of hate at some point, someone in the fandom really wanted me dead so they rallied a bunch of people against me. My crimes were: 1. writing a Jonathan POV story 2. supposedly writing Renfield to be a bad guy. None of it reached my comment section thankfully, but when I found out I was very paranoid that someone would dox me over fanfiction.

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

For a period of time, I swear that was all I wrote iojgepri. My specialty is dom/sub with plenty of aftercare, though I've also written some dubious consent stuff. Silver Crystal Carousel (Dracula, John/athan dom/sub) is my most recent smutfic, it was so hard to get back into the dirty groove especially since I was writing in first person.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Yeah, but not much. I get plenty of ideas for crossovers, but they're pretty difficult to write.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah. I'd say lost and you'd say love was translated into Russian and posted on ficbook.

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

Same answer as before: Only one (The Apostles), and it was mostly a self-imposed research project with my friend. They did the research, and I wrote the incorrect quotes and a short Jedas one-shot.

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

How could I possibly choose. If you go by fic count it's Jesus/Judas ijopegij. I'd say... JonMina and JonEri. I really like writing already established relationships.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but don't think you ever will?

So many. So many of them. There's some that are barely started!!! To name one y'all will be familiar with: the continuation of An Odd Doctor.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been praised for my characterization a lot recently!! Specifically with VH in Orice, I've gotten a lot of compliments on his characterization being complex. I'm really happy about that.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Everything-- *gets shot* I don't know how to articulate!! Sometimes I get ideas and I try to write them, but it's all in pieces, and I don't know how to fix it into a fully-fledged narrative.

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

I have gotten help with that in the past for Lückenbüßer. I don't do it often, it is difficult to pull off in a way that doesn't take the reader out of the story. I suggest a translation key in the notes. If you aren't familiar with the language and don't have a buddy who is, I'd say it's perfectly acceptable to write the dialogue in your native language and put it in italics.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

There is no way of knowing, truly. On ao3, Greek Mythology and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood. Why both? The Daffodil's Echo was written first but The Shocking Absence of Grief was posted first.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

How does one choose!? I'm very proud of what I've done with the Orice series. Of course, it's not done tho. I'm very proud of finishing Perfidy (Elisabeth and Rudolf crossover)!

Get your ass over here @fitzrove!! You too @company-and-co!!

[safyresky]

Frostmas Year 5: Behind the Scenes

Prologue | Y1 | Y2 | Y3 | Y4 | Y5 | Y6 | Y7 | Y8 | Y9 | Y10 | Y11 | Y12

[To Read Frostmas: From the TOP on ao3 | ff dot net]

We are writing this one FRESH from the second to last edit of the 2024 version! A shorter one for sure, as this is very much the calm before the storm chapter, but a fun one anyway >:)

Let's fucking GOOOO

Jacqueline's Intro: SO MUCH LORE

So much lore I'm gonna have to tag this as CS Lore and CS FACTS

Anyway

I think this was the first time, when originally writing, that I properly opened with Jacqueline's Intro and recognized it as part of the structure of a Frostmas Year

It was a HUGE lore dump! I toned it down a notch this time around, streamlined it and such, and updated the lore as I've got the frozen heart thing tightened UP

It's a sprite thing, so it's like this:

Sprites

Personified Natural Elements

Two types:

Season (has domain over entire season's worth of elements)

Elemental (has domain over one element, i.e., fire, air, water, earth, flora, fauna, winds, etc.)

Elementals typically classify themselves by their element, but will align with a season as a catch all

The season they align with dictates how their hardened hear manifests

LORE! YAY!

(Also, I wrote this in Word so lets see if the bulleted list stays >:3)

(OMG IT DID. Well, in the editor. We'll see how it looks post posting...)

Fun fact: I did a DnD campaign with my pals where sprites were playable characters, and I made them a race sheet and EVERYTHING. They are DEFFS OP but it's a homebrew--we work on it, lol

And also we only played like, 3 or 4 sessions and then fell out bc we all moved or what have you lol

BUT the dnd-ing DID help me refine sprite lore!

Elemental sprites are WAY more common that seasonal sprites. There are only NINE seasonal sprites in existence these days. WAY more elemental sprites around

The Call NERFED sprites

You can thank Snowy and Heat for that one (as Jacqueline mentions in her intro!)

The Snow Queen and the Winter Warlock are Winter's bio parents, and this was the very first time I dropped their names. They make a proper appearance in The Call!

The Snow Queen stealing children references the original fairy tale in the most Jacqueline way possible

And the Winter Warlock is HEAVILY based on the man of the same name from Rankin Bass's Santa Claus is Comin' to Town. Those movies SHAPED ME. CS Lore originally had RB lore, too! And RB movies did influence CS in general!

So many fun facts and I'm not even through the intro yet! WOW!

I did cleverly link CS when Jacqueline drops the Pyros lore 🤭🤭 I LOVE AO3'S CAPABILITIES, YOU GUYS

I CAN'T DO THAT SHIT ON FF DOT NET!

"It used to be a point of pride for me."

This line almost went "It used to be a point of pride for me. But it's hard to take pride in a lie"

Which is a BANGER of a line, but I am trying to keep the Y10 Reveal under wraps and that's as obvious as Pyros's lament to Blaise in Chapter 15 of CS.

You can see the 2020s influences now, which is very funny given this was all originally written almost a decade ago. I love seeing growth! But that's why Jacqueline is like THE HORRORS and also like NEWSFLASH, JACQUELINE! Which is a reference to one of my favourite It's Always Sunny reaction images:

It's so VERSATILE. Deffs top 10 things Dani quotes (and apparently Jacqueline. Which checks out as we are CONNECTED, muses and such. Oldest OC. Has the most dani-isms. Blah blah blah)

Then there's the "be the change you wish to see in the world" with her being like "YOU can be the change you want to see in this horrible terrible timeline!"

Which is a string of words I see on hellsite a LOT :)

Describing her fit was FUN! You can see it accurately (more or less) in this scrimbly Jacqueline, and also this Jacquie as a meme doodle!

And of course, off she goes to terrorize B-Man :)

Scene 1: Every Day Bernard WAKES UP

Their friendship is so fun to me and me alone 🥰🥰

She's such a sweetie. She's like "I will make things HELL for my brother BUT only if it's okay with Bernard first bc I don't wanna make things harder than they are for him 👉🏻👈🏻"

Him being B-Man, of course

Have you guys ever read Just An Elf by Locrain-Mode? If you haven't, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND IT (hence the link!) It's a group of oneshots based on Bernard and things he is NOT, and each one SLAPS. They write SUCH a good Bernard and B-Man's office just being a mess of paper was low key inspired by their work, lol (Chapter 5: One of Roemer's Singing Elves. I LOVED the idea of B's office just being like a vault/hidey hole. LOVED it)

FAVE B-Man characterization, hands DOWN. I strive to write him that good (and I hope I do! :)

"You should know first hand how frozen sprites get!” followed by "What's THAT supposed to mean?!" Is 100% Jacqueline getting a wee bit defensive on her Mom's behalf (and maybe a bit of Jack's but she's just going to ignore THAT feeling)

But B-Man is very, very right--usually post-hardening a heart, sprites rely on one emotion to get them through things so. Y'know. What'll it be for Jacqueline? ;)

And of COURSE he can see right through the illusion after he's done lamenting lol. He's an ELF. I bet they can see through all sorts of illusions!

“Yeah, I’ll say! I think I may be having a heart attack.” “Do you smell burnt toast?” “No, just betrayal.” “There’s no need to be so dramatic.”

^This interaction is my favourite in this scene, 100%. Bernard deserves to be a lil overdramatic! As a TREAT!

VESUVIUS/POMPEII! This is a fun bit of CS lore. Originally it was that Blaise and Jack were responsible for Vesuvius erupting and destroying Pompeii and Herculaneum, but that has since changed! They don’t talk about it much, only Winter really knows what happened, but take a tl;dr:

FT tells Blaise to go see Jack in Pompeii bc something bad is about to happen, doesn't specify what. Blaise, of course, assumes the worst, as you are wont to do when it's Jack. Takes the day, gets fitted by the tailors, off to Pompeii where he finds Jack who has built a nice little life for himself. He's got lots of friends and is getting involved with local politics, and Blaise is like "is this why FT told me to get over here? Does a bad thing happen if Jack wins? Everything seems fine here" and then BOOM. TREMORS. Jack informs him the mountain may be a volcano but nobody's bothered to check and he sure as shit won't. Blaise checks. Jack follows. Volcano day happens. Blaise saves Jack's life. But they can't save anyone else :(

It's ANGSTY! Can't wait to write it one day! I've already done research for it and everything!

So YEAH that's Pompeii in CS context. And yes, Jack did keep a bust!

"This doesn't feel right" says Bernard. "I should've listened" narrates Jacqueline. "my GOD I love foreshadowing" says safyresky as she types this up…

I think I'll need to make the line " I got up, standing tall and proud in my fluffy socks" a scrimbly. I just doodled it while writing this out and the sketch SENT ME. My god.

Scene 2: Bernard Hams it UP

Aka, the scene in which Dani realizes how ding dang crafty she has made Jack. WHOOPS

Exploring his POV has been fun, especially with the edits I've been making while crossposting, where it's his perspective being told to us by Jacqueline as he recounts to her in the present? If that makes sense

ANYWAY, making the distinctions and adding the little Jacqueline interruptions (see: the line about dwarfs) has been a LOT of fun

As much fun as Bernard had HAMMING IT UP in this scene when he delivered the frozen Jacqueline news to Jack >:3

Love me a Jack moment of clarity! Love having him look through the villain fog for a second like "wait is this…wrong? Fucked up?' only for the fog to be like SHUSH! NO! IT'S FINE! And regularly scheduled villainy is back in play!

Bernard asking why was interesting, because I was also wondering why Jack wanted more deets. And it's a combo of two things: 1) the obvious is she frozen? Ou. Maybe…new ally, perhaps? To get my little theme park business off the ground? And 2) oh shit I froze my bb sister :(

(in villain fog voice) YES NEW ALLY! PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE GUILT UNDER THE ICE!

"And something about that terrified him" man, these blorbos are getting the shadowed fore'd out of them and it is just not hitting, CRAZY!

Scene 3: Jack's a crafty one

That's it that's the BTS for this bit. He's CRAFTY

And YES, knew that it was fake originally but needs want, as we see in the next scene--he needs Jacqueline close by to make sure she doesn't SNITCH (as well as access to her repertoire), and she needs to keep tabs on him, for the GREATER GOOD (as well as for purposes of trying to find a way to prove to everyone that she's right and fix the timeline)

And it only hit me HERE. IN THIS SCENE. THAT HE KNEW THE ENTIRE TIME AND WAS ONE STEP AHEAD OF EVEN ME!

Frostmas is exhausting

Scene 4: Cold Front Face Off at the Dome

Jacqueline channels Winter bc that's all she knows for a frozen sprite that isn't Jack, and felt it'd give best results

She's not wrong but also is not right--frozen hearts are personalized, after all. She wouldn't be sad nor filled with avarice; she'd simply be FULL OF RAGE (spoiler alert, I GUESS)

Fun fact about the Frozen reference: it came out around the time I was working on Crystal Springs for the very first time! It informed a lot of the scenes. In fact, Cold Front reunion had Jacqueline literally quoting Elsa's mantra! Not anymore--I fixed that this year--but thought the throwback here would be funny. DON’T EXPLODE. DON'T EXPLODE. RARGH. DON'T EXPLODE. DON'T EXPLODE--and so on

(The Summer Sprite blood is STRONG in this one)

Look, we all know Santa Jack was certainly…a look. A choice, if you will. Jacqueline's just SAYING what we're all THINKING

Not Jack trying to catch up Jacqueline by egging her on. And then going GOTCHYA. It's so OBVIOUS he's not buying it, it's so CUTE how Jacqueline thinks it works

(maybe it does work a little TOO well given the events of Year 10)

Translator's note: coconut frosts is magical censoring for coconut fucks.

Y'know. These fuckers:

Scene 5: Well played to well played

Was well played on MY PART! One of my FAVOURITE transitions, I LOVE showing similarities between Jack and Jacqueline, ESPECIALLY in an angsty context like this! Something, something, BECOMING WHAT YOU FEAR MOST/DOING WHAT YOU FEAR MOST TO THOSE YOU LOVE~!

This had major editing done. Like, once I knew Jack saw through the farce, I couldn't have any of the old 'he bought it' drivel. Jacqueline, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry you think you got away with this and that he actually knew the entire time 😬

He just needs to make sure he knows why she did it, which is really Jack for 'making sure she's not on to me re: resort thing yet'

Scene 6: YET ANOTHER NEW BOP TO THE RECOUNTING!

I thought Y4 would be the last one, but Y5 surprised me

This one was fun. Thanks to the people who voted in the poll so I could figure out where they were, lmao

Hit you with the COLD FRONT feels and then a banger of a Jack line RIGHT AFTER

Seriously, I am really loving these little retelling segues. I just hope they don't make the blast to the present in Y9 less jarring!

Scene 7: cookies and cocoa

Crystal Springs has a time zone! I believe it's -8:30 hours? I'll have to double check, I know I wrote it down somewhere and I'm pretty sure it's a crystal springs fact post too 🤔

I checked! It's -8:30 GMT :)

"I'm not doing a sport!" She actually IS doing a sport. Bother-your-brother-on-purpose-athon, specifically

"It was for the greater good, I told myself. I was a big, frosty liar" FACT! More foreshadowing at play here, huehuehue >:3

"It’s like wading through molasses" THE STRENGTH I EXERTED TO NOT PUT A BIT IN HERE ABOUT THE BOSTON MOLASSES DISASTER IN 1919 IS ACTUALLY ASTOUNDING.

Scene 7.5: B-Man's…house?

So, sometimes, when I write, I do say the thing I want to write out loud and that's how we get organic moments like "He was all ‘what’s all this then’ and I was like ‘this is who I am now!’ and he was all ‘oh cool let’s make a deal’ and ‘bleh all is forgiven’"

Jacqueline is just having a TIME

I think I have seen in most fics Bernard always being in the Workshop, but I picture him having a nice lil tidy house just outside of the main hub of the shop! For some odd reason, despite thinking it is a bungalow, in my head I picture TWO sets of stairs up. What the fuck is up with THAT

But anyway, that's why I have Jacquie tease B about his house--when does he ever use it? 🤭🤭

Translators note: "snow queen PLEASE" is magic censoring for bitch PLEASE

Frostmas only gets swears when Jacqueline is thinking, not when she is speaking--UNLESS she is out and about in the world, so if she says a swear she is NOT in Crystal Springs! Fun fact for you all tonight :)

Scene 8: Jacqueline's discovery

I originally wrote it so short and jumpy because I thought the chapter was getting too long at 7k words

TOO LONG. CAN YOU IMAGINE?

I added a whole 5k words. And that was AFTER getting rid of some lore drop! AH!

I think though that I like it like this now! I don’t have the patience to go month by month to see how Jacqueline has been irritating Jack, and the quick, punchy summaries make the conclusion one HELL OF A PUNCH

Okay this is the last scene and I'm OVER this and said the funny things I wanted to say so I am CALLING IT HERE. ENJOY Y5 BTS AND ENJOY THE 2024 EDITION OF YEAR 5, WHICH WILL BE FORTHCOMING 💖💖

[theonlyadawong]

was tagged by beloved mutual @devilbrakers in this tag game :D

01. a character you love.

i shant go on about ada wong, the evil resident so instead i will talk aboooooooooooooouuuuut ummmm lucie jurin! from martyrs (2008) she murdered the family that abused her as a child and i think that's wonderful. she is also living with intense survivors guilt and she has a friend who is a girl (girlfriend?) who is by her side (for the most part)

02. your favourite food from your culture.

BAKED SWEET POTATOES MMM MM MM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DELICOUS!!!!!!! also carne guisada ❤️

03. what your dream apartment / room / house is like.

🤔 well, it has to have lots of open space. i absolutely HATE when my living quarters feels cramped. i would also like it to have greenery (even though i can't take care of a plant to save my life), and i would like some green walls and nice brown wooden decor. and all my decorations and knick knacks would probably be nature themed. oh!!!! and also, i would have a papasan :)

04. your personal style or aesthetic.

i wear lots of overalls, tank tops, turtlenecks, skirts, boots, and sneakers, and it's all neutral colors. not a very interesting answer but idk how else to describe it

05. a happy memory.

one time when i was a kid, i won the jackpot on that wheel of fortune game at a putt putt! it was especially cool because i didn't even know what i was doing, i was just pressing the buttons. also one time i won a minor prize playing the stacker arcade machine and it glitched, and it gave me all the carabiners inside.

06. your favourite way(s) to spend time.

drawing (digitally) which ive only been doing since october 2020!!!! aaaaaaaand also watching TV and movies. i recently watched the movie martyrs (2008)for the third time in a month and i just love it. the love between anna and lucie is so palpable and the actors are just stellar. i also love thr sopranos and i have the box set!! I've watched it all the way through 3 times over the course of last year (and a little bit into this year) and it's just so good (though i will day the racism grates at me lmfao.) i also love futurama but ONLY the first 7 seasons. but for the past month ive been playing re4r (which im sure my followers know by now lol) and im having lots of fun!

07. story behind your url / title / quote / description / icon.

obviously, my url is a reference to THEE ada wong buy it specifically comes from me being absolutely positive ada made some reference to her saying she was, "the only ada wong," in re6 but alas she says, "the real ada wong." so i was wrong.(fake fan moment 😔) but once i realized this, i didn't want to change my url bc it stuck with me. and my icon is canceled ada because i get such a kick out of it. it's so funny

08. something that comforts you or brings you joy.

SHELL COLLECTION!!!!! SHELL COLLECTION OF REAL SHELLS FROM REAL BEACHES THAT I REALLY PICKED UP!

09. what you’re looking forward to.

ik this is a tiny thing in the grand scheme of life but i just bought the infinite rocket launcher in 4r so im really excited to play a whole game with that! >:)

10. something else that’s important to you.

THEATRE! im sadly not much into it now but i love every single aspect of live theatre so much you don't even know. a chorus line, hair, and shuffle along are my favorite shows EVER!!!

uhhhhmmm idk who to tag! but it you see this and you want to do it, then pretend i tagged you!!! :D

[autisticempathydaemon]

Hi Lexi! It's so much fun that you're doing match-ups! 💜 If I may, I'd like to ask for one, please?

To answer a few of your questions,

I have no idea what an Enneagram type is. All I know is I'm an INTJ, a Scorpio, and a Slytherin. All of which makes me sound like a villain but I promise I'm actually ridiculously polite and friendly. Mama raised me right

My go-to way to fall asleep has been listening to ASMR for 7 years now. Back in college, my apartment was literally right next to the freeway and it was always so loud that I needed to listen to something else. Which is when I discovered and delved into it for the first time and have stuck around ever since.

I have so many different names I'd consider changing mine to but I really like Aurora "Rory"

My brand-new favorite Redacted audio is Avior's S1 finale. I've been waiting for so long. Hopefully that doesn't give away who I am lol. Other favorites include all of Elliott's happy ones, the Elemental boys non-canon confessions (Huxley's is my favorite of the three), and almost all of Caelum's playlist. My son

I don't really get the hype for Yanderes in general but Blake in particular, like, I got nothin'.

I could literally stand in front of you and quote The Incredibles front to back, doing Very Bad Impressions of all the character voices, and bad vocal renditions of the soundtrack. I watched it every day when I was like 8-9. I love that movie.

I would also like Cam and Caelum to be my best friends.

Fun fact: my go-to ramble is also space! I watched one (1) Bill Nye video on the sun when I was like 8 or 9 and I was hooked. Fast forward to college and I got a 97% overall in Honors Astronomy my freshman year and my honors program advisor looked at my transcript and went, "How did you get that high of an A in Honors Astronomy?" and I was like, "It wasn't hard???" And my advisor goes, "Yes it is! No one gets that high of an A in Honors Astronomy." And I'm sitting there like, "Well, uh... I did." Also, in said Honors Astronomy class, the professor put up two nearly-identical graphics (emission spectrum of hydrogen) and asked what the difference between the top and bottom ones were and I raised my hand and said, "The bottom one is red-shifted" (not knowing he was about to introduce the Doppler Effect but already knowing what that was) and my professor stares at me for a solid 10 seconds in stunned silence and said, "I've been teaching this course for 20 years and you're the first one to get that question right on the first try." So... yeah. Big space nerd. 🌟

One other thing that says a lot about me is that I adore that the Redacted d(a)emon aesthetic is music and stars. Music was the first thing I was taught to love by my musician family, and the stars were the first thing I loved for myself.

Also if I were an Empowered race, I'd definitely be a Freelancer, but one with a heavy emphasis in Dreamwalking, Psychokinesis, Fire Elemental Command, and Electro Command. I'm not cool enough to be a specialized race. Oh man I'm a rambler. I'll stop now.

Don’t stop the rambling; I think it’s wonderful, and you know what? So would Lasko.

I think it’d be so cute to have a thoughtful and rambly partner for Lasko. Conversations are a push and pull, and I think Lasko is too often one or the other, trying so hard. Because of that, I imagine it would be so peaceful and quieting for him to not feel like he has to talk or contribute and to be able to just listen and be there for you.

Overall, Lasko is uniquely situated to uplift and care for you. INTJs (and Slytherins to an extent) are characterized as intelligent, ambitious, and virulently independent. Lasko, who strikes me somewhere on the brink of an ISFJ, would be a lovely partner for you in that his hardworking nature and ambition would not combat or stifle yours but would support it.

Song:

What's the hurry/ When you know that you've got me/ Don't you worry, I've nowhere to be/ Other than right next to you

I went looking specifically through my Lasko/OC playlist for this one, and I was not disappointed. Lasko is such a ride or die dude, you feel me? He’s so dedicated to the people he loves and the family he’s chosen, so once he chooses you, there’s nothing stopping him.

Runner-Ups:

Anton also strikes me as a wonderful listener; I can easily picture him tinkering with some machinery while nodding and humming and listening to you wax poetic about the music playing in his workshop. Vincent would also be a good listener, not by his own virtue but just by being a fuckin simp. He’s the type who’d have his chin perched on his hands, starry eyed and mooning as you infodump and trying his honest to god best to understand what you’re saying even if he has no clue.

Note: I don’t think you sound like a villain! I’m an INTJ, and my boyfriend is a Slytherin, so you’re in fantastic company in my opinion 💜

Want a match-up of your own? Read this post, and tell me about yourself!

[hxhhasmysoul]

I just read your meta that compare Gojou with Killua on how the later is a much more better character than the former. Okay, I love Hunter x Hunter, and Killua is in my top 10 fav animanga characters ever (Gojou included of course) but really....

To quote from someone who said it just perfectly :

"Remember when Gojo’s older brother and Dad tried to manipulate him into leaving Geto and focusing on his duties instead? That was so interesting. Also, when Gojo hesitated to fight against stronger enemies because his philosophy (more like his brother’s but whatever) was to flee at the first difficulty. I loved the part where Gojo decided to step away from Geto to truly find himself because the codependency had gotten so strong that it hurt them both.

Another thing they have in common is that they’re both “sponges”. Remember how his emotions so often were a mirror of Geto’s. When Geto was depressed he got depressed too! Cause their story is totally about how toxic a friendship can become when you’re constantly together, see your best friend as your saviour and have so much empathy that you feel his grief hundredfold. It’s not about solitude at all. Gojo’s story is totally about being gaslighted (or is it gaslit? Omg) and manipulated by the people who raised him and learning to grow independent from their influences. It’s not about grief or loneliness or the burden that comes with absolute power. It’s not about changing the system to shield his students from the things his best friend experienced.

OF COURSE KILLUA IS MORE EMPATHETIC BUT THAT ISN’T NECESSARILY A GOOD THING FOR HIM. He was so empathetic and devoted that it hurt him. He put being a good friend before his own needs and payed the price of it. Almost ended up resenting Gon in the end. Almost. Almost. Only almost."

I'm not sure if we're agreeing or disagreeing XD

Well, I mean we're at least agreeing that the characters and their stories are very different XD

[stephaniedola]

oldass ask meme that i have been answering at different periods over the course of 15ish years

feel free to ignore but im posting it so i can find it again later

1.This survey gets a little personal; can you handle it? I sure hope so by now.

2. If you married the last person you texted, what would your last name be? withnocrown–– I'm sure that's its actual last name, right?

3. Were you happy when you woke up today? I woke up a lil achey and queasy but then I rolled over and listened to a voice memo from my friend and his GF and they were cute and asking me over for dinner sometime so now I'm happy

4. When were you on the phone last? And with who? Ummm I think it was my friend Evan asking me if I could pick him up at the mall on the 26th, but I was going the wrong way

5. What are you excited for? New Year's Eve! And my birthday (the 1st) I guess but mostly NYE.

6. What were you doing yesterday? Errands + resting + recovering from earth shattering sex (12 year old me would be so shocked to read how far I've come)

7. Honestly, who was the last person to tell you they love you! My friend in aforementioned voice memo

8. What's the last thing you put in your mouth? Water.

9. Have a best friend? Yup, he's my platonic husband. He's also pretty much always been my answer to this question :3

10. Are you scared to fall in love? I have spent the last few years building up an immunity to love powder.

11. Do you think teenagers can be in love? Honestly, yes, but I feel like it's extreeeeemely unlikely that teen relationships actually last. But they do sometimes!

12. Last person you wanted to punch in the face? God, I can't even recall. How did I get through 3 different family Christmasses without wanting to punch anybody?

13. What time is it right this second? 05:09

14. What do you want right now? More tgirl dick

15. Who was the last person you took a picture with? My mommy <3

16. Are you single/taken/heartbroken/or confused? Single, aromantic, poly, and for the first time not at all confused. Also, let the record show my original answer to this question in 2010 was: "Taken! O_o Don't ask! :/"

17. When was the last time you cried? Uhhh within the last week I think? but idk when

18. Do you have a good relationship with your parents? That's a fantastic question! Yes and no

19. Do you find it hard to trust others? Extremely

20. How fast does your mind change? To quote 12-year-old me, "Fast. :3"

21. I bet you miss somebody right now. Every day.

22. Can you honestly say you're okay right now? Yeah, I can.

23. Why do you think so many people cheat? Because love is cursed by monogamy

24. Tell me what's on your mind? Kinky t4t sex

25. What are you looking forward to in the next three months? NYE, my birthday, catching up with people in the new year, my senior year of university.

26. Have you ever worn the opposite sex's clothing? I'm gonna choose the asshole answer to this question which is, um, I'm intersex 🙄 but strictly speaking, yes, obviously I have

27. When did you last talk to your number 1 top friend? Yesterday

28. When is your next road trip? Honestly? Ideally within the month to Montreal. More realistically over the spring or summer (Bro I'm screaming I've also been reading along with my 2017 answers and I had written "No idea honestly. Hopefully soon-ish to Montreal." I have not changed at all)

29. Do you have someone of the opposite sex you can tell anything to? Anything is a strong term.

30. How's your heart? Still beating.

31. Have you ever felt like you weren't important? Yes, but not any more. (Keeping this answer as long as I believe it)

32. Do you think somebody's in love with you? Oh, for sure, baby~!

33. What are you planning on doing after this? Getting ready to go to my cousin's surprise birthday party and then stay with family for a couple days.

34. Next time you will kiss someone? Nonzero chance it is on NYE.

35. Have you told anybody you loved them today? Yes <3 Always

36. Who do you not get along with? Really, only people who actively disrespect the people I love.

37. What does your 3rd recent text say? "ahh yeah how could i forget ov"

38. What are you wearing right now? Nothing, darling~

39. You're locked in a room with the person you last kissed, how is it? I imagine we would engage in similar sexual escapades to the last time we kissed

40. When's the last time you had a grilled cheese? A couple weeks ago

41. What's your favorite boy and girl name right now? Feminine: Meredith Masculine: Lewis Neuter: Avery

42. How did you feel when you woke up? "Queasy and achey"

43. Do you wish someone would call or text you right now? Nah, I'm popular

44. Do you crack your knuckles? It's one of the few joints I don't crack tbh.

45. What were you doing yesterday at midnight? YESTERDAY at midnight or TODAY at midnight? The answer to both is sleeping.

46. What are your LEGAL initials? All I shall say is that it spells the name of an animal.

47. Who's the first B in your contacts? Some dude in Florida named Bailey

48. When was the last time you laughed really hard? I think it must have been on the 22nd with my friend we had a lot of fun and were stoned as hell so

49. Your number 1 top friend walks out of your life, do you go after them? Been there, done that, and I would.

50. Explain your last awkward moment? I feel like I said something awkward to my cousin that I thought his current gf had said but it was actually his ex fsajgkhls

51. Are you afraid of the dark? More and more every year

52. Do you have good vision? Yea, particularly in the dark actually lol

53. Have you ever tripped someone? Yes and he sucked and it was hilarious and I regret nothing.

54. Have you ever slapped someone? Yea

55. Are you Irish? Like 50%

56. Do you use chap stick? Mmmhm

57. Do you have any scars? Soooo many. Newest one is growing on my finger.

58. Is there someone you will never forgive? Never? Surely not

59. Are you dating the person you last held hands with? God no they're insane

60. Name the last person to text you. Prinxë

61. Would you marry someone 8 years older than you? I would barely even marry my husband aside from for legal maneuvering

62. Can you go in public looking like you do? I would get arrested so no

63. Have you ever kissed someone whose name started with a A? Yeah,,,, my hot TA last semester

64. What side of the bed do you sleep on? Da middle

65. What's the first thing you'll do on your wedding day? Cry and be like why did I spend so much money on a wedding

66. Do you fall for people easily? P much on sight yea

67. Has anyone put their arms around you in the past 5 days? Yeeeees

68. Do you miss the way things used to be? Of course. Who doesn't?

69. Song you're thinking of right now? Talk – Coldplay

70. Want someone back in your life? Yep. So bad. Soooososososo bad. If he texted me it would make my day in a heartbeat. I also want her back, but I'd like to think if she texted me I wouldn't respond.

71. Will tomorrow be better than today? It's n ew years eve baby I sure hope so

72. What's the color of the shirt you are wearing? Beige flesh

73. Who was the first friend that you had? Lindsey

74. Does it bother you when someone lies to you? Yes I cannot decipher your neurotypical nonsense

75. Is there anyone who understands your relationship status? There are, yeah, but it's a pretty damn select few

76. Are you a naturally happy person? Or is your happiness forced? I have bipolar disorder

77. Is there anyone you wish would fall in love with you? Everyone all the time

78. What do you wear when you sleep? Same thing I'm wearing right now

79. Are you obsessed with something right now? SEX

80. The first person you loved is? Terry

81. Something terrible happened with you? My stepdad died slowly of dementia, so

82. You are locked up with someone you love, what happens? Again, the deranged sex

83. If you could wish something, what would it be? For more deranged sex. Ideally in Montreal.

84. Ever forced someone to do something? Like it's hard?

85. When you are alone, what do you think about? SEX

86. How was your first kiss? Romantic and sweet. We're still friends.

87. What's your favorite music genre? Alt rock, that'll never change

88. Are you going to tag people to do this? Me in the future

[itscrazy-itsparty]

ESC2023 Reaction Post

Just like the title said, I'm writing this post as I listen to most of the 2023 entries for the first time. So far, I have only heard Italy (of course), Spain, Finland, Serbia, Portugal (I just couldn't miss their national finals), and Norway (heard it in the wild).

My top 6 of these entries would look like this:

1. Finland: Käärijä - "Cha Cha Cha"

I've definitely caught the Cha Cha Cha fever! At this point, I've streamed it 240 times in less than a month. It's an instant dopamine boost, it hits several spots of my taste in music, the transition between the two halves of the song is seamless and reflects the lyrics perfectly (I recommend Eurovision Histories' analysis of the song, he explains it really well), Käärijä is such a charismatic performer and an absolute sweetheart, but most of all...

2. Spain: Blanca Paloma - "Eaea"

I rarely cry over a song, so when one does manage to get my eyes wet, it must be special. The fusion between flamenco and a contemporary production, together with Blanca Paloma's flawless and intense vocals, make "Eaea" a contender not only in my ears, but also in my eyes, as the staging completes the package effectively. Hopefully she doesn't change it much for Liverpool!

3. Serbia: Luke Black - "Samo Mi Se Spava"

It seems like Konstrakta might have paved the way for a more experimental side of the Serbian music scene! I first heard "Samo Mi Se Spava" at Pesma za Evroviziju's final and, while I loved the dark electro-pop style, I was also left a little confused - maybe it was the vocals that I couldn't fully get? But with more listens, I've now warmed up to it. Its only flaw is that it's too short. Give me a 7-minute long extended mix with a drop going absolutely bonkers, please.

4. Italy: Marco Mengoni - "Due Vite"

Yes, it's a classic Sanremo-style ballad. But the artist can make or break this kind of songs with their way of singing, and Marco definitely makes it with his distinctive vocals and artistry. While he has a bunch of upbeat bangers and I would have loved him to show this different side of his music this time around, I really can't complain as "Due Vite" makes yet another entry we can be proud of. Forza Marco!

5. Portugal: Mimicat - "Ai Coração"

This keeps growing on me! Such a cute and classy song, retro sounding in the best way. Portugal is one of my favourite country in the ESC, and "Ai coração" is faithful to their brand. Mimicat is such an endearing performer and definitely sells the song!

6. Norway: Alessandra - "Queen of Kings"

It's 'last' as for now, but I'm sure it won't be last in my overall ranking! In fact, I can't see it dropping outside of my top 20 once I've heard all of the entries. Epic feel, pumping bass, powerful vocals - I wouldn't be surprised if "Queen of Kings" landed the second top 10 placement in a row for Norway. Bonus points for Alessandra being half Italian!

Needless to say, I really enjoy all of these songs. It feels so hard for me to imagine a personal winner other than "Cha Cha Cha", but maybe I'll be surprised...

Now to my live reaction to the remaining 31 entries: what I'm going to do is play ESCBEAT's Spotify playlist on shuffle without looking at the title, so I'll make it even more interesting for myself and try to guess which country's song is playing - with the exceptions of Armenia and San Marino, as they're not available on Spotify yet so I'll check them out individually on YouTube.

Armenia: Brunette - "Future Lover"

Ok, before the song starts, let me say that basing her song on Tumblr quotes is honestly iconic behaviour. Truly one of us. However I fear I won't be able to take it 100% seriously after reading this fact.

Alright.

After listening: you know what... it makes a lot more sense to me now. The first verse can be interpreted as her scrolling her dashboard, reading such posts and fantasizing over this ideal partner to do all of these cute and mundane things with. The second verse is when she gets hit by reality and acknowledges that she's spent so much time obsessing over someone who doesn't even exist, and that realization hits her hard. The music seems to explode together with the racing thoughts in her mind. Solid, r&b-tinted track, has potential to be a memorable moment on the Liverpool stage. Oh, and once again Armenia shows that they're capable to make a music video.

San Marino: Piqued Jacks - "Like an Animal"

I have already read the lyrics to that, and they are definitely Something™. Let's see if the music and the performance can make up for it...

I was expecting so much worse from what I've read around the eurofandom spaces? It's a pleasant, very well sung rock song. The lyrics didn't even bother me that much while listening, although they're kinda awkward indeed. Maybe they'll change them up in the upcoming revamp?

Now to shuffling the Spotify playlist.

Sweden: Loreen - "Tattoo"

Oh, this has to be Tattoo. The start is indeed a bit reminiscing of The Winner Takes It All! It's what Sweden can do best - a strong pop song with slick production, in which Loreen's personality and artistry is the added value. I wish she had presented something more experimental, but seeing how it went with "Statements", can we really blame her? "Tattoo" does sound like a jury winner, and it would surely be deserved. I'm sure it's even better live - I'll make sure to check her Melfest performance out!

Australia: Voyager - "Promise"

Have no idea of what this could be, but the sound is interesting. Hope the build-up does not disappoint.

Okay, it has to be Australia! I was expecting it to evolve into a full-on dance-pop song, lmao.

I'm digging this! "Dreamer" was a national final favourite of mine last year, and while I'm not sure I like "Promise" more, I still did like it a lot, and I can hear some common patterns between the two songs - poppier verses, the chorus suddenly getting heavier, and then the peak in the breakdown and the final chorus. Oh, and there's a short but sweet guitar solo in here! I wonder how it will be received on the ESC stage, as it might come across as confusing to some.

Slovenia: Joker Out - "Carpe Diem"

Is this Joker Out? I've been SO curious to hear their song, as I heard some of their back catalogue and it sounds really cool.

OMG I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. Such a strong indie-rock banger, reminiscent of what I used to hear on the alternative radio stations in the mid 00s, but still sounding fresh in 2023. Also Slovene sounds adorable together with rock music. It's been absolutely worth the wait! I NEED THIS TO QUALIFY OKAY.

Austria: Teya & Salena - "Who the Hell Is Edgar"

OH MY GOD YOU'RE SUCH A GOOD WRITER. Yeah, recognized it instantly. MASSIVE BOP ALREADY. Was... not expecting this opera bit.

POE POE POE POE POE POE POE POE POE POE POE POE POE POE POE EDGAR ALLAN EDGAR ALLAN

Everyone stand up for the new Austrian anthem. Honestly iconic. Loving it unironically, great production, love me some satire, and I trust them to deliver live. Hope they go bonkers with the staging. I feel like ranking these entries is going to be hell...

Switzerland: Remo Forrer - "Watergun"

Oh, piano intro.

Army mention. Switzerland, isn't it?

Not bad, just sounds kinda cliché so far... very nice voice though. Can't see myself replaying it. Probably going to end up in my bottom 10.

Georgia: Iru - "Echo"

This is a banging intro, I'm listening respectfully.

...Georgia?

There's going to be a drop, I hope so...

I'm... disappointed so far? Not really hearing the build-up I was hoping for. It seems to be a fan favourite, but I'm not getting it. Maybe it will grow on me, who knows?

Moldova: Pasha Parfeni - "Soarele si Luna"

ROMANIAN. Has to be Pasha. Another song I was eager to hear!

THE DROP. THANKS FOR MY DAILY DOSE OF DOPAMINE. THIS IS SO GOOD HELP. The bass, the flute, the backing vocals, everything. This might be my favourite Moldovan entry ever. Pasha Parfeni came on this bitch mad as hell. Welcome back!

Azerbaijan: TuralTuranX - "Tell Me More"

Automatic voice message? This sounds kinda unserious idk why.

Oh, it has to be Azerbaijan.

I'm glad they left the artists more creative control this time around, but this is really not doing it for me. It sounds like the demo to some 90s song. My last so far. I fear this won't do well and the delegation will go back to Melfest rejects...

Ireland: Wild Youth - "We Are One"

We take our first breath and then we exhale. King of teaching us how to breathe. Can't figure out which entry this is, but it sounds cliché so far.

Oh, Ireland. Wild Youth, what have you done? I already knew their song "Can't Say No" and it's so good, are we sure it's the same band? It's like they came together and decided to deliberately write the most stereotypical ESC song. It's a no from me.

Latvia: Sudden Lights - "Aijā"

Interesting beat, wonder where it's going to go from here. Oh, guitars.

5/4 to 6/8 tempo transition? A bit confusing but in a good way, I'm enjoying it a lot! Definitely original. Could it be Latvia? I've been VERY curious to hear it.

Well, he's saying Aijā now so no doubt. First impression is really good already, but I feel like I'll end up being obsessed!

Malta: The Busker - Dance (Our Own Party)

Funky pop, nice. Enjoying it more and more as it progresses, and that sax? *chef's kiss*. It's sensual, retro but there's also something a bit futuristic about it at the same time? Still not sure about what it is, even now that the song is coming to an end. Kinda want to say Malta? I'll figure this out by exclusion. What's sure is that it slaps.

(Spoiler: it was indeed Malta)

Romania: Theodor Andrei - "D.G.T. (Off and On)"

Is it Romanian again? Thought Romania's entry was in English, so this is surprising. And it's pretty good? This was one of the entries I just couldn't figure out the vibe of from the eurofans' comments, and I'm positively surprised honestly! Was expecting it to be maybe more upbeat, definitely was not picturing this jazz-rock fusion. Oh, turns out it's bilingual. I don't know how memorable it will be in the mix, but it's solid. Such a diverse lineup so far, it's shaping up to be a stronger year than I thought!

Albania: Albina & Familja Kelmendi - "Duje"

Oh, this lady CAN vocalize! Something in the Albanian water...

I was expecting this to be more ballad-y for some reason but it's making me want to shake my ass. I feel like something in the production/mixing is holding it back a bit, though. Overall it's Albania doing Albania, and I can't complain.

Iceland: Diljá - "Power"

Iceland time, I think? I'm enjoying it a lot so far. EDM hasn't been particularly successful at ESC, but she has a lovely voice and her winning Söngvakeppnin suggests to me that she can deliver live, so this could be a dark horse!

Denmark: Reiley - "Breaking My Heart"

Very modern production for this and vocoder for this next song. Okay, this is probably Denmark. It's most likely not going to be one of my favourites, but it's a personal taste thing. It's a solid pop song, hope he can deliver it live.

Estonia: Alika - "Bridges"

Now a lovely tone of voice being accompanied by just a piano and strings. I've lost count of which songs are left to listen to, and while I'm at the last chorus, I'm still struggling to figure out which country this is. WAIT IT'S ALIKA FKFHFKFHDKDH. Girlie said "bridges" a ton of times and I didn't catch it lmao. Really liked it though! It could stand out in a less balladful year like this one.

Czechia: Vesna - "My Sister's Crown"

FINALLY HEARING VESNA'S SONG!!!! This has been so hard to resist BUT GOD HAS IT BEEN WORTH THE WAIT. I've been listening to their music for some time and I was so excited when they were announced for ESCZ. It's what I was expecting from them and more: a gorgeously sung, very well produced folk-pop tune, and the rap verses are such a great surprise! Up to my top 5 you go.

Belgium: Gustaph - "Because of You"

Gustaph delivers some good old eurodance, and I can tell this is going to be a sort of guilty pleasure for me... except I do not, in fact, feel guilty. It's the good kind of dated. Good job on bringing out the 90s kid in me!

United Kingdom: Mae Muller - "I Wrote a Song"

Sounds like slick pop so far. Oh this is building up nicely.

Yes, the UK delivering a quality, very radio-friendly host entry. They seem to be determined in changing their course, and hopefully we'll see a competent enough staging to bring out the entry's potential!

Greece: Victor Vernicos - "What They Say"

Is it Greece? Cute song, I just think I'm not the audience for it. He's really young and this seems to be his first performance on a big stage, so I'm a bit worried about how he might cope with nerves... But then again, there have been 16-year-olds who did amazing on the ESC stage, so fingers crossed!

Croatia: Let3 - "Mama ŠČ"

CROATIA TIME LET'S SEE

This is as all over the place as I was expecting, it's far from a musical masterpiece but it's clearly not meant to be. They're just vibing, and I support that.

Cyprus: Andrew Lambrou - "Break a Broken Heart"

What in the Imagine Dragons is this? Oh, that's Cyprus. This is pretty good, I just don't see myself coming back to it much. But I feel like it's the kind of song that might be elevated a lot by strong staging.

Poland TVP: Blanka - "Solo"

BEYBAH ITS KAINDA CRAYZAH.

...yeah. It's a song. I get those who say it sounds like a Margaret song, but it's also giving me early 00s vibes. At the same time, while I'm a slut for early 00s pop, this is giving me nothing. And the context around it makes everything worse.

Israel: Noa Kirel - "Unicorn"

I've heard "Unicorn" is a messy song, now I'll get to witness it for myself. So far it's a respectable dance-pop entry, but that "power of the unicorn" sounds so random ngl.

Oh well. This is definitely a song meant FOR a staging. The breakdown after the repeated "do you want to see me dance?" line reminded me of kpop a bit. The ending was... so abrupt?

Netherlands: Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper - "Burning Daylight"

This might be the Netherlands' entry? You can surely hear Duncan Laurence in it. I was afraid it would sound too forced as a song and a duet, but it's flowing well so far. However I'm not a fan of what the drums sound like. They sound... buried? I liked it the most until the second chorus.

Germany: Lord of the Lost - "Blood & Glitter"

Metal? In MY Eurovision Song Contest? Love to hear it, especially from Germany, since it seemed like they were stuck in their safe approach to the competition. As for the song itself... maybe I'll warm up to it with time, but on a first impression, I like the intro and the verses a lot, the chorus not as much. The ending was great!

Ukraine: Tvorchi - "Heart of Steel"

Oh, what's this? Slightly off-beat chorus, very interesting!

Right, Ukraine! Tvorchi use their host entry privilege to bring something we've never heard at the ESC before, and definitely a change of pace from the folk-driven songs of the past couple of years, proving the richness of this country's music scene.

Lithuania: Monika Linkytė - "Stay"

ČIŪTOOOO TŪTO

Another returnee! Sweet ballad, really pleasant vocals. Turning into more of a midtempo now, with sort of marching drums. I can't remember which country is in which semi, but I wouldn't mind this in the grand final at all!

France: La Zarra - "Évidemment"

So far, so French. And yes, it's a compliment - I'm a French pop slut. It's now surprisingly evolved into pop-funk, and I'm loving it! France is truly on a great streak (STILL MAD ABOUT FULENN OKAY.) - maybe we'll see them win in the next few years?

Overall: what a year! I was planning to make an initial ranking, turns out I'm too overwhelmed right now. As the years go by, the songs seem to be less meant for a contest, and more as a bunch of stand-alone solid and diverse tunes that happen to compete with each other, therefore it feels unfair to choose some over others. I'll take my time to warm up to them, and see which ones I will come back to the most, which ones will grow on or off me.

I think Finland is still my favourite, though.

Most likely to end up in my top 10: Czechia (definitely top 5), Slovenia, Latvia, Moldova, Malta, Austria

[enbyboiwonder]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

Of course! I’m picking one character per piece of media, and the numbers are just the order I think of them in rather than ranking, and they may not even actually be my top 10 favorite series. I’m bad at ranking things.

Warning that I will ramble a lot (especially about Aoki) and this will get very long.

01) Ao no Hako - Chouno Hina

I just started this manga so it may be too early to judge (and I’m reading with a book club, so I won’t be advancing very quickly—the current pace is 1 chapter/week, but I’m hoping it’ll pick up later on), but I love her so far. She’s great. She’s in the gymnastics club and seems like a little force of chaos, and she enjoys teasing our MC Taiki.

02) 2.43 Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu - Aoki Misao

While it may seem like my fave 2.43 character is Yuni, based on the amount of content I make (fics, drawings, incorrect quotes, etc.), that’s just because Yuni’s the easiest for me to draw and write and the most fun to put into Situations—my actual #1 is Aoki. He makes me feral.

He’s a good person but not a nice one, though he’s certainly capable of playing nice. If he doesn’t wanna do something and you don’t have the authority over him to make him do it, he ain’t doing it, and he ain’t gonna feel bad about not doing it either (you can’t tell me he doesn’t ruthlessly exploit loopholes)—unless, of course, you are one Oda Shin’ichirou, in which case he’ll put aside his own feelings on the matter and do it willingly. He’s also a scheming bastard and isn’t afraid to play dirty, especially if it’s for the sake of those important to him (which is mostly Oda, though he does care about the rest of the team, and not only because it’s Oda’s team. We don’t see much outside that, but he seems the type to generally keep his distance from others).

He doesn’t much care for people in general, but he has a weakness for the underdog (he’s getting a law degree at KyouDai, and while I don’t know what he’s planning on doing with it, he’s probably most likely to become one of those lawyers who draws up and negotiates contracts, but if he became a court lawyer, I can see him being a defense attorney just as well as I can see him being a prosecutor)—and even if that’s part of why he originally became interested in Oda, it’s not why he’s so devoted to him now. If that’s all it were, it would not have lasted 2+ years, much less beyond.

He’s selfish, but since meeting Oda, a good portion of that selfishness has been for him rather than for himself. Oda sees himself as selfish and thinks Aoki’s just being pulled along by his selfish whims, but he’s a lot less selfish than he thinks he is and Aoki’s a lot more selfish than he gives him credit for—Aoki does very little unwillingly, and Oda doesn’t see that Aoki is the one selfishly going along with what he wants and even selfishly doing things that Oda can’t and/or won’t ask for (and sometimes doesn’t necessarily want). Because he never knew Aoki before and doesn’t see how he is with other people all that often, really only sees the way Aoki is with him, he can’t really fathom Aoki being selfish. And when Aoki’s default misanthropy shows through, he gets exasperated, and sometimes he scolds him but sometimes he’s basically like, “Well he’s got a lot on his plate right now, he’s stressed, he deserves to complain/vent.” Obviously something would have to change moving forward, probably on both ends, even if it’s just letting themselves properly and honestly communicate with each other, but just. That the Aoki whom Oda sees is so different from the Aoki whom everyone else sees?

He doesn’t like sports and never planned on joining a club, but he allowed himself to be convinced by Oda into joining the volleyball club despite turning all other invitations down and despite not liking that the upperclassmen only saw him for his height (and despite, this early on, Oda doing the same)—and despite not caring for volleyball, he devoted himself to it seriously; if he decides to do something, he doesn’t half-ass it—and he got himself elected as vice prez of the student council at the end of second year so Oda would have to be captain—both because he deserves it and Aoki doesn’t care about the captaincy, and so that Oda couldn’t be switched to libero from his chosen position as left wing spiker. Though in reality they’re more like co-captains than captain and vice captain lol. He just wants a break, but also he brought like at least half of this on himself.

Oh, and most characters who are as devoted to another as he is to Oda are ranked below the object of their devotion in some way. Technically he is too, but only because he deliberately put himself there. Otherwise, they’re equals. He was captivated by Oda’s passion and determination back in first year and decided he would do everything he could to get him as close to realizing his dream as possible. Even if it meant Oda coming to dislike him and wanting nothing more to do with him after high school, though of course he still wants to be in his life, if Oda will have him.

He makes me insane. I hate him (lying).

03) Haikyuu!! - Tsukishima Kei

…Probably. My fave is definitely one of the autistic characters or else maybe Suga or Take-chan (okay so maybe not exactly “definitely”…), but it’s so hard to choose! I love so many of the characters in this series. But I have been leaning toward Kei lately. I do have two main basic types of fave characters that most fall into—the dumbass sweetheart (also “idiot (affectionate)”) and the asshole who does actually care (also “grumpy bastard”)—and he certainly fits pretty well under the latter.

He’s an asshole, yeah, but he’s not a bad guy, and probably neither of those things is ever gonna change. His snark and assholery are part of the walls he puts up around himself not just to keep others from getting too close but also to keep himself from caring, but he just is snarky and sarcastic and assholish even without them. And seeing him gradually start to let himself care (and/or acknowledge that he does care) and let himself be passionate about volleyball again… I love his character development. It was probably the one I was most excited to see, and it gets me every time, no matter how many times I rewatch/reread. That fist pump!

04) Cool Doji Danshi - Mima Takayuki

Mimaaaa. I adore him. Well, I adore all of them, but I relate most to him and Hayate, and he’s the one I kind of have a crush on, so I guess that makes him #1 lol. He’s a lil dumb, but he’s sweet and earnest and his heart’s in the right place. He never stops trying. He’s also voiced by Umehara Yuuichirou, which is always a bonus.

05) Bungou Stray Dogs - Kunikida Doppo

My ideal was born when I realized a world where people died in front of me was not my ideal world.

The love of my life. I was introduced to BSD through the anime, and I fell in love with him the moment he appeared on screen. He’s super serious but also a giant dork. He’s grumpy and has a short temper and tries to keep his distance, but he cares more deeply than anyone else, so deeply it’s broken his heart more than once already and certainly will again. But still he cares and still he doesn’t give up and chooses to do and be good, rather than become jaded completely.

I haven’t gone near this series in years, but he’ll always have a special place in my heart. (Also, Asagiri-sensei, please just let my man be happy!)

06) My Time at Portia - Arlo

Don't go getting hurt when I'm not around. I couldn't bear it if such a thing happened.

The other love of my life. I had started this game originally intending to wait and see who all is romanceable before aiming for one, but when he kicked open the door to the Commerce Guild, he also kicked down the door to my heart. I immediately knew he would be the one I’d romance, and as I continued to play the game, I only grew more certain. He’s, like, perfect. He’s handsome and kind and a total sweetheart and always tries to do what’s right. (Also I love his voice and his accent.) I’ve seen him likened to a German shepherd before, and honestly, yeah.

I’ll romance other characters in other play-throughs, but he’s always gonna be my #1.

07) Yotsubato! - Koiwai Yousuke

I love Yanda’s dynamic with Yotsuba and the antics they get up to, and he might possibly have been my fave when I first read this series in middle school, but I really love Yoh-san. I’d always liked him, but more on the periphery; I didn’t actually come to appreciate him until my recent reread. He may not have planned to become a father or really know how to be one, but he still tries his best to be the good father Yotsuba deserves (and succeeds at it, imo) and not fall into toxic parenting norms. He tries not to get angry with her or yell at her for no reason that she can understand, and he doesn’t give punishments that don’t befit the “crime.” He encourages her to be curious and to try new things and to learn by experience and to not be afraid of making mistakes—and teaches her that even if one does make mistakes, rarely is it so bad that it can’t be fixed. And! He lets himself be soft and willingly participates in femininity. (I know toxic masculinity is more of a Western/Christian thing, but it does still exist in Japan, even if it doesn’t always look the same.) He lets Yotsuba put flowers in his hair and doesn’t take them out when she goes out. When she plays with beads, he joins in without any hint of reluctance, and he proudly wears all the jewelry she’s made him. All of it’s really nice to see, and I fell in love with him a little bit this latest reread. Also he’s kind of gender, and him working as a translator from home has made me realize that maybe that’s something I can do too, if I ever learn enough Japanese.

08) Uramichi-oniisan - Daga Iketeru

No thoughts, head empty, only onigiri.

He’s one who falls squarely into the “dumbass sweetheart” category. I adore him.

I wish I could say more, but it’s been a while, so I don’t have anything more specific.

09) Ookiku Furikabutte - Mihashi Ren

I dunno if he’s actually my fave (maybe Abe? or Izumi), but currently he’s #1. I’ve been rewatching lately and I love this anxious lil birb so much. I relate to him, like with feeling like you’ll never be good enough but still not wanting to give up anyway, being torn between not wanting to be an annoyance to or be hated by others and not wanting to stop doing what you love, and with never really having a support system and feeling alienated from your peers (though he’s got one now at Nishiura, which, ♡♡♡), and of course with the anxiety and social awkwardness. Oofuri was one of my first anime and it was my first sports anime and it’s always been special to me, but it was really only with my last rewatch a couple years ago that I could really start to appreciate it. Just, the team are so good with Mihashi, and seeing it is ♡♡♡. Like, I want that. Also I wanna give him a hug.

10) Dragon Quest - Terry

He's another of those characters who's been hurt before and tries to keep themself closed off so they don't get hurt again. He also falls into the "asshole who does actually care" type. I first met him in Heroes 1, where several characters from main games get sucked into a different world/timeline. Despite being more of a lone wolf, he does join the party, but he's not interested in becoming friends or anything. As soon as he finds what he's looking for and finds a way back, he's leaving. I haven't gotten very far in this game yet, so I dunno how much character development any aside from the original characters may go through, but he does seem to get along with the others and care about them at least somewhat. But I loved him pretty much immediately, and I love him more out of spite any time I come across someone who dislikes him, starting with the person in the comments on Steam who was like Terry Is Actually A Woman Crossplaying As Link (also when I started headcanoning him as trans out of spite, but now I do it because it's fun).

In DQ6, the game he first appeared in, his sister Milly was taken away when they were young, and he was powerless to do anything to stop it or get her back, and in fact was nearly killed because the people who took Milly don't care about killing young children. He decided to become strong enough to rescue her, but somewhere along the way, he forgot his real goal and it morphed into becoming the strongest swordsman. Fast forward about a decade to the present day, and Milly has since escaped and has joined the Hero's party. The party crosses paths with him a few times, and while Milly recognizes him, he no longer recognizes Milly. Eventually we battle him, and after he's defeated, he remembers it wasn't power for power's sake that he was after and he recognizes Milly, and he joins the party. It takes some adjusting for him, and he's still kind of a snarky asshole, but he softens some and learns to start caring about people again.

[chickenandwafflesandtv]

Haikyuu Season 3

Let's finish this the same way we started: with Haikyuu!

Welcome to my final blog post. I didn't intend for this to happen, but the final show I watched ended up being the same show, but a different season of the show I firsted started this blog with

HAIKYUU SEASON 3

Obviously, Haikyuu means a lot to me. I'm wearing a Haikyuu shirt as I'm writing this (also didn't mean for this to happen but I guess its fate). Honestly, I'm feeling a little emotional writing this. I don't know why, to be perfectly clear, but watching and writing about media is something I truly enjoy, and writing about a show that I'm extremely passionate about feels really good. This show has a lot of good messages in it and quotes that really stick with you. In the words of the motto of my favorite team, Fukurodani, "we are the protagonists of the world".

BACKGROUND

As a recap of the background from the previous time I posted about Haikyuu, the show follows high schooler Hinata Shoyo and his team's journey to win nationals. This is season 3, so it takes place before the season I posted about last time. This season is shorter than usual, but the entire season focuses on one single game: the regional finals to see who gets to go to nationals. The game is between Hinata's team, Karasuno, who just beat powerhouse school Aoba Johsai in a huge upset, and Shiratorizawa, the school that usually gets the ticket to nationals and features wing spiker Ushijima Wakatoshi, one of the top 3 aces in the country.

REVIEW

I love this show, I love this season, and of course I'm going to praise it in just a moment, but I gotta complain real quick. An entire season (granted, it's only 10 episodes long) that depicts one single volleyball game? It's kind of unnecessary. But honestly, it was needed to show the importance of this game. One of the most important thing to note as a difference to Season 4 is the animation style. Like I said before, the animation changed and frankly wasn't as good. This is the last season before the animation style changed and it was really nice to see the classic style back in action. I also have to mention that one of the reasons that I love this season so much is because a large chunk of it focuses on my favorite character, Tsukishima. Tsukki is a middle blocker, most often directly up against Ushijima. No one has ever stopped one of Ushijima's spikes before, but Tsukki works hard and accomplishes the challenge. Fun fact, its his birthday as I'm writing this (September 27).

SIGN OFF

This show is phenomenal. It really does go above and beyond and is everything one needs to have a successful sports anime.

So this is my last blog post. I'm sad to see it go, but I may just continue it in my own time. I love writing and I love writing about what I'm watching. Thank you for a great few weeks.

Signing off, Abigail

9/29/22 10:13am

[nubianamy]

Top 10 of my fic

Thank you @beshrew-my-very-heart for tagging me in this. I love hearing you talk about your work, and our collab work is very dear to my heart.

Rules: List your "top 10" (or up to 10 if you haven't written that many) fics ranked by kudos on AO3. Are you surprised by what's most popular to your readers? Then, under a cut, provide your ranking of your personal top 10 fics (with explanations if you want!), and then tag a few fellow writers.

Top 10 AO3 fics according to kudos (out of 166 total works):

Only Held By Gravity (Teen Wolf Stanny soulmates, 939 kudos)

Fasten You to Me (Teen Wolf Sterek fantasy, 852 kudos)

Glasses, Coins, and Golden Rings (Teen Wolf Sterek historical fiction AU, 549 kudos)

We Might As Well Close Our Eyes (Glee Fuckurt teen BDSM, 447 kudos)

Until It Hits You In the Teeth (sequel to Only Held By Gravity, but with more polyamory, 380 kudos)

Those Magic Changes My Heart Arranges (Glee Puckurt teen theater series, part 1)

Searching For Words (Hawaii 5-0 McDanno one-shot, 275 kudos)

Emergence (Teen Wolf Allison/Stiles/Scott horror, 269 kudos)

Time in a Tapestry (Glee Puckurt what-if, 229 kudos)

Glitter on the Front Porch (Glee Puckurt-to-Fuckurt fluff part 1, 217 kudos)

I am not at all surprised that my Teen Wolf stories top the list, because that fandom is ridiculously loyal—but check it out, #1 is a RAREPAIR, Danny/Stiles!

I will say technically #2, a Sterek fantasy oneshot, has had more kudos because it was taken down in 2015 for including quotes of too many Beatles lyrics. The podfic also has its own following!

I am very proud of #3, set during the Civil War; that was a big stretch, but a fun one to write.

#4 is our first Glee story, and that's a collab with someone who's even more prolific than I am (and a much better writer).

#5 is the sequel to #1 but was only recently completed.

#6, another Glee story, is the first in a trilogy I'm very proud of, with lots of theater references and canon compliance for most of the story.

#7 is my first McDanno fic, but really hit a chord in the H50 fandom. I worked very hard to get Danny's character voice right, and it was satisfying to know I was able to achieve that.

#8 is another Teen Wolf rarepair, this time with a real horror backdrop, and that was also a good challenge for me, as I love horror fiction but had never written it.

#9 is a collab with one of my dearest friends and cowriters, @knittycat99. We always meant to continue writing the next part of the story, but life does intervene!

#10 is the first in a very adorable Puckurt fluff series.

Read under the cut for my recs!

10 of my fics I wish people would read:

The French Drop is based on the heist film Sneakers from 1992. It stars Robert Redford and Ben Kingsley. God, I love this movie, and I absolutely had to write this story, because they needed a happy ending, or as close to a happy ending as I could give them.

Auld Acquaintance is a collaborative D/s Puckurt written by myself and @beshrew-my-very-heart. It was a challenge to ourselves to see if we could write something short and complete, and we did! (Of course, we are now writing the much, much longer sequels.)

Dancing Through the Same Noise is a Glee Puckurt-to-Fuckurt patterned after an episode of How I Met Your Mother. It started light and funny and quickly got very serious. It has the advantage of having beautiful art (it was so beautiful that I purchased the original watercolored pen-and-ink sketch from the artist and had it shipped across the world to me).

So Tyrannous and Rough in Proof and A Trivial Comedy for Serious People are parts #2 and #3 of the These Magic Changes Puckurt series. I finished the series fairly recently, but I hope more Glee readers will go back and reread the whole thing, because I think it really hangs together very well.

Blue Rubber Band is a Puck-focused Puckurt AU one-shot based on a Regina Spektor song. It's about drug addiction and homelessnes, but is ultimately a hopeful story. There is also a podfic.

Gold Mine is a Glee Dave/Puck what-if story that is unbelievably sweet, sexy, and romantic—and monogamous and vanilla! I am really fond of it, mostly because canon totally supports this pairing and I think they would have been great together.

While We Got the Chance to Say is part of the enormous Glee Donutverse, but I think can be read as a stand-alone pretty well. It's a BDSM-flavored polyam love story focusing on Kurt and Adam Lambert (no, not Elliott Gilbert!). If you've ever wondered about the Donutverse and you would like to give it a try, this is a very glittery introduction.

Family First is a Glee Kurtofsky futurefic one-shot which I wrote during the two days of the 2020 election. It does deal with cancer and contains minor character death, but Dave's character arc centers around his friendship with Finn and the whole Hudson-Hummel family.

the soul slakes its thirst in fearless draught is a Finn/Dave/Kurt futurefic patterned after Cyrano DeBergerac. It is very romantic, with a smutty followup chapter.

Lucky Connection is a Dave/Finn story based on a Hallmark movie, so you can imagine just how sweet and romantic it is. There is zero smut, but a happy ending.

BONUS: the only fanvid I have ever made was completed a few weeks before Cory Monteith's untimely passing, so it is somewhat bittersweet, but I am still very proud of it.

I will tag @pterawaters, @knittycat99, and @flinchflower, but if you are a fanfic writer, consider yourself tagged too!

[racingliners]

F1 Re-Watch 2013: Round 17 - Abu Dhabi

"Back in my day Abu Dhabi wasn't the final race of the F1 season" "Okay Grandma let's get you back to bed"

The way AD has been the season finale race for 10 years and I'm still not used to it dfvhdfjv. Anyway, This is another "no thoughts, head empty, Seb won" race for me - I'm 90% sure I only saw the BBC highlights programme of this race.

The only other memory I have apart from Seb winning is Kimi Raikkonen going over a bump that was so bad he ended up having back surgery that meant he missed the last two races of the season.

So this might be boring, but let's jump in:

If I'm to be brutally honest Abu Dhabi's only redeeming feature is that it looks very pretty at sunset.

(2010 and 2012 will forever be the best AD races though)

Lewis had broken suspension on his car after quali???? yikes

with that mildly cursed fact in mind, starting grid over view!: a Martian 1-2, Brocedes second row, Alonso P10 (???), Jenson P12 and JEV P13 (pain 😭)

Helmet watch: Lewis helmet has a gold sheen on it, it's very pretty. As is Seb's black and gold helmet. (GOATs always have the prettiest helmets)

Tyre compounds for this race are the Softs and mediums

[Formation Lap]: I'm still not over the fact that Lewis' suspension broke after quali. This is not the Mercedes AMG Petronas I know and love.

Apart from Seb I cannot remember who the other two podium finishers were so that'll potentially be fun seeing that unfold.

That shot of Alain Prost standing in the RBR garage feels very fake

Shoutout to Bernie Collins at McLaren though!!

[Start/Lap 1]: oh the Mercs were FAST off the line

It was almost a Merc-RBR sandwich

and there's Kimi on the side of the track out his car

Nooooooo Jenson has a damaged front wing

[Lap 2]: And Seb already has a 1.9 second lead because of course

(that's my goat!!!)

Top 5 is: Seb, Rosberg, Webber, Grosjean and Lewis

[Lap 3]: and after that first lap absolutely nothing has happened.

well apart from Jenson being called into the pits

[Lap 4]: And already we have a Seb fastest lap

he's also 3.2 seconds ahead of Rosberg 🏃‍♂️💨

"Good news, it [Jenson's stop to change his front wing] only took them 9 and a half seconds which is pretty quick!" The way Ted said that still made it sound sarcastic despite that legit being a good stop for a front wing change (the joys of Southern English accents)

[Lap 5]: Anyway Jenson's running in last so the grid is now a Séanagh's favourite drivers sandwich

[Lap 6]: Webber is already reporting KERS problems, who hexed him?

oh another Seb fastest lap!

[Lap 7]: Perez makes his first stop for the mediums.

Grosjean has caught up to the back of Webber! The gap between them is about half a second

[Lap 8]: Lewis makes his first stop! Also softs for mediums, and he comes out in 12th

And we're starting to get golden hour lighting on the track 👌🌇

[Lap 9]: Webber and Grosjean both pit! Both softs for mediums and their order remains unchanged (and they just came out ahead of Lewis)

[Lap 10]: Jesus Seb is 8.8 seconds ahead of Rosberg 😳

[Lap 11]: and Nico adds himself to the "first stop softs to mediums" crowd.

meanwhile Lewis' tyres aren't doing so great.

I mean I know that seeing Seb on the podium will be worth it but like... I'm almost a quarter of the way through the race and I'm rather whelmed

anyway we persevere

[Lap 12]: So because Seb hasn't stopped yet he has enough of a gap to the cars behind to pit and still be in the lead.

to quote Taylor Swift, that's my man

also the floodlights on the track are once again reminding me how much I miss the grid having glossy liveries. Matte F1 cars my beloathed.

"He's [Seb] lapping faster on old soft compound tyres than the rest of the field on new tyres" THAT'S! MY! BOY!!!

[Lap 13]: Meanwhile Lewis is still stuck behind Gutierrez who hasn't stopped yet

(and I think it's lap 13 bc the timing and position graphics have disappeared from the screen so I have no idea what lap I'm actually on. If it helps anyone I'm at 32mins39 seconds on the replay)

Seb finally pits! And he's also gone from softs to the mediums

And there's Kimi leaving the track dvhfduvhdfu

#JustKimiRaikkonenThings

[Lap 15]: yay the graphics are back

still a few cars to make their first stops so I'll wait until then to do a top 5 overview

[Lap 16]: Lewis is still behind Gutierrez

[Lap 17]: meanwhile Alonso makes his first stop for, you guessed it, mediums

[Lap 19]: Lewis got past Gutierrez everybody clap!! 👏

and he somehow managed to stay ahead of Massa

[Lap 20]: Bono immediately telling Lewis to cool the car 😭

Webber gets past Rosberg for provisional P2!!! (di Resta ahead has yet to stop)

[Lap 21]: Okay so with almost all the first stops completed, the top 5 is: Seb, Webber, Rosberg, Grosjean and Sutil (yet to stop, started on the mediums)

Seb leads by just over 27 seconds which is quite frankly insane but again, that's my goat!!

[Lap 23]: gosh the RBR livery under the floodlights, we used to be a proper country

(begging the powers that be at Red Bull to bring it back, it's so superior to the matte navy blue)

[Lap 25]: Sutil in P5 and yet to stop, Team Silverstone be Team Silverstoning

Make that P6, Lewis just got past him.

...oh not Lewis losing two places in one corner thanks to DRS.

ouch

[Lap 26]: Not Hulkenberg getting past Alonso.

Oh, my beloved midfield spice, welcome back to the party

so after all that the top 10 is now: Seb, Webber, Rosberg, Grosjean, Massa, Sutil, Lewis, Fernando, Hulkenberg and Perez

That was a rather eventful lap and a half

And Lewis is back into P6!

He got a better exit so wasn't as vulnerable on the second DRS straight and was able to stay ahead of Sutil

[Lap 28]: oof not a potential unsafe release by Sauber, Perez had to stamp on the brakes to avoid going into Hulkenberg

and at long last:

🚨HALF-DISTANCE KLAXON🚨

[Lap 29]: Jenson's still down in 17th 😭

[Lap 30]: And there's the unsafe release investigation notification for Hulkenberg

And Lewis makes his second stop! He's onto another set of medium tyres

[Lap 32]: aaaaaand another Seb fastest lap 🥰

and a Seb sighting!!!!!!

the TV feed has barely shown him all race

probably because he's 30 seconds ahead of Mark 😅

(when Seb and Lewis do this it's sexy, when anyone else leads by 30 seconds it's boring, fwiw)

[Lap 34]: drive through pen for Hulkenberg for the unsafe release

meanwhile Webber and Rosberg make their second stops

my eye twitched upon seeing the track limits investigation for Sutil and Maldonado. Curse you Austria 2023.

[Lap 37]: You wait all race for another Seb sighting and you get two in five laps.

(sorry pals there really isn't much happening)

Oh wait a minute, a lesser spotted Rosberg fastest lap.

[Lap 38]: And Seb makes his second and I assume final stop, again he's staying on the medium tyres

and Grosjean stopped immediately after, also for another set of mediums, he comes out just ahead of both Ferraris

[Lap 41]: Jenson's up to P14!!! this is genuinely a very good improvement!!

also hi Force India mechanic who waved at the camera!! 👋

[Lap 45]: Lewis overtakes Jev to move into 7th!

and Fernando bails out of the one-stop and pits for a set of softs, he comes out in P8 but almost took out Jev in the process

[Lap 46]: Somehow, Di Resta is in P5. I have not been paying attention to him so I've zero idea how that happened.

[Lap 49]: Meanwhile Jev is dropping down the field and is in 11th, the one-stop strategy clearly wasn't the bets call

[Lap 50]: Also also Fernando is catching Lewis who's catching Di Resta 🍿

ah Di Resta stopped on lap 20 and is also on a one-stop

[Lap 51]: 5 laps remaining!

And Fernando overtakes Lewis for 6th

[Lap 52]: And he gets past Di Resta for 5th

[Lap 54]: oh, Niki sighting 🥺

quickly followed by another Seb on-board

[Lap 55]: FINAL LAP!

Lewis please be serious and get past Di Resta

aaaand SEB WINS!!!!!!!!! 🥳🍾

Rest of the Top 10: Webber P2, Rosberg P3, Grosjean P4, Alonso P5, Di Resta P6, Hamilton P7, Massa P8, Perez P9 and Sutil P10.

Well, it wasn't exactly a blockbuster, but hey ho. Seb was very iconic and I will always support him winning by a stupidly large margin. Next race, USA!

[kira-fluff]

Heeey!

Saeyoung, Yoosung, Jumin and Zen reacting to to “hotel only one bed” trope ? ♥️

a/n: of course you can lovely! <3 *AHEM* Lemme just say this trope is ELITE and I will NEVER not love it // also, i’m writing it like it’s before they’re dating (OF COURSE) because I want it to be spicy (actually that’s the only thing that would make sense for this prompt but you get my point whatever). ALSO also I’m basing the fancy hotel off my stay at the Ritz Carlton (it was like $25,000 a night) because my grandma couldn’t manage money N E WAYSS. Also, if y’all could let me know whether you prefer Y/N to MC pls lmk k thx 

TW: drunk old lady w/no filter, gets pretty suggestive because I couldn’t help myself, an overbearing aunt, savage Italians, and loud hotel neighbor 

Note: omfg i accidentally made this so long oh well here’s yo present lmao 

“There’s only one bed” PT.1 PT.2

- 

Saeyoung 

Getaway missions are mad cool until you can’t sleep 

When you finally neared the parking entrance to your hotel you were SO looking forward to taking a nice hot shower before shimming into the covers of your crisp, (clean, you hoped) sheets. 

It was past 3AM when Saeyoung finally drove his elegant vehicular device (because what other word is there for it) into a secured parking space 

“Because I don’t trust those shady valets, y/n.” 

“Whatever you say, Seven”, you replied groggily. 

You hauled ass up to the front desk, then to the elevator of the exquisite hotel you were staying at

not that you cared 

because S L E E P 

but Saeyoung likes to quote Jurassic Park (because of course he does) like “I spare no expense, y/n” 

“I’m too tired to laugh” 

*gASP* 

“Not everyone naturally stays up until the early morning light before going to sleep.” 

“It really should become a thing, it’s honestly very iconic of me.” (it’s not)

By the time your conversation ended you were glad to see your hotel number and a little key card slot. 

Saeyoung made a show of sticking the key card in like a spy or something 

it was funny for normal y/n but not for tired y/n 

“Here’s your room, M’lady.” 

He held the door open to your room as you looked around the room 

a large, lush bed set before a ginormous flat screen TV with complimentary expensive chocolates laid before you as well as complimentary take-home elegant towels and slippers. 

suddenly, you heard a knock on the door 

blinking in confusion, you opened to see it was Saeyoung 

“Um.. hey! What’s up?” 

Saeyoung looked a bit bewildered himself before saying, 

“Hey, so, I realized my key card was the same room number as yours and I was like ‘That’s weird!’ so I called the front desk who verified that I had placed a reservation for one room, not two, so I hacked into their system to see what went wrong and if I could change it but it looks like they’re completely booked and I think I had made the reservation before I knew that you had to come along and I’m so sorry” 

he was breathless after the mouthful he just gave you 

As it was 3AM a drunk, old woman was tripping her way to her room and shouted much louder than she should at 3AM, “Kiss her already n’ fuck, ya youngin’s!” 

Saeyoung’s hair now matched his face :) 

His ears were tipped bright red before coughing awkwardly 

“I can sleep on the ground. I’ve done it plenty of times, it’s actually pretty comfy.” 

“Um, Sev’ I’m not going to make you just sleep on the floor. If you want--” 

“You’re not making me, y/n, I want to do this” 

“Actually I think I’ll sleep on the floor, I sleep a lot better on the ground”, you fibbed. 

“You’re sleeping on that big ass bed.” 

“No you are.” 

“If you don’t listen I’ll sleep in the bath tub instead of the floor.” 

“Then I’LL sleep outside the room!” 

“LIKE HELL YOU WILL!” 

“WATCH ME” 

the phone rang, a worker politely asking you to quiet a bit down because even with your luxurious privacy walls, guests could still hear you arguing. 

Saeyoung began whisper shouting, “Guess that settles it.” 

he plopped on the ground, fake snoring with his arm as a pillow

you sighed 

“Fine, if neither of us are going to agree to this then we are both going to sleep in this bed.” 

Saeyoung blushed lightly at your boldness, a tad worried you’d find him creepy or weird

You started again, beginning to undress a little, causing Seven to yelp in panic and turn around immediately, shielding his eyes,

Now in your tank top and your leggings you’d been wearing under sweatpants and a t-shirt, you said, “I’m gonna go take a quick shower and go to bed. I’m so tired.” 

Seven turned around only when he’d heard the bathroom door shut 

he sighed, What am I going to do with this girl. 

By the time you’d come out of the bathroom, drying your wet hair, Seven was lying on the bed, clad in casual t-shirt and jeans. 

“Come on, Saeyoung, you have comfy clothes! It’s okay, change! I’m done in the bathroom now.” 

“Nah, this is fine.” This was not fine. Saeyoung was out of his area of expertise of expecting the unexpected because God you were so unpredictable. 

“Please” you jutted out your bottom lip in a little pout, being sure to make eye contact with him 

Something glowered in his eyes for a split second before he half-smiled saying, “Ah, little Y/n, you know I can’t say no to you when you go all sad on me.” 

He stepped into the bathroom to change, but let’s be honest. He was freaking the fuck out. 

he covered his flushed face, changing into his soft sweatpants and a cozy sweatshirt. he was scared 

the more comfortable he became the more likely he’d accidentally get closer to you and then you’d freak out because you’d hear the sound of his heart beat like it’s a fucking rave concert and then you’d be weirded forever and quite possibly never talk to him again

but on the outside, he stepped out of the bathroom, whipping his phone out with a huge smirk saying, “Smile” 

you threw up a peace sign with your tongue sticking out 

he laughed before sending it to the RFA chat 

707: Sleepover lolol [see attachment]

immediately both your phones blew up with buzzes of notifications from the chat 

you laughed lightly, brushing a stray hair from your face to tuck it behind your ear 

this was gonna be a long night for Seven. 

Zen: UGH get away from her!!!!!!!!!111!!1!!

Jumin: Maybe you should learn to type first. 

Zen: shut it cat freak

Zen: seven answer 

Zen: hey 

Zen: y/n, text “qwerty” if you’re in any kind of danger 

Jumin: What a strange code. 

You: qwerty :(

707: lololololol

Zen: !!!!!

Zen: ASJDHKJFASHFKJA 

Jumin: -_- 

Zen: WE NEED A CAR, NO A HELICOPTER im omw!! 

You: just kidding <3 i’m fine you guys 

707: lololol 

Jumin: Have a bit more faith in your subordinates, Zen. 

You closed the chat and muted your phone, expecting the incoming argument that was quickly to ensue. 

You patted the bed lightly, ushering Saeyoung to lie down next to you. 

He obliged, though he politely laid at the far edge of the left side of the bed. 

You yawned before shutting the light off and whispering a “good night”. 

Saeyoung glanced at the clock. 4AM. Only 15 minutes had passed. You were breathing softly in your sleep within the 10 minutes after you’d said goodnight and here he was still awake. 

You suddenly tousled in your sleep, and Saeyoung raised his head, whispering a soft, “Did I wake you up?” 

You replied with a soft moan before abruptly turning left onto his corner of the bed and grabbing for the first thing you’d felt -- his torso. 

Saeyoung’s breath hitched as he felt you exploring the new found “object”, running your fingers up and down his torso and nearing dangerous areas below 

Saeyoung whisper-shouted, “What are you doing?” 

He leaned closer to hear your reply, but your only answer was more soft little snores 

Saeyoung sighed, trying to lightly grab your wrists without waking you up, and directing toward yourself

no matter how hard he’d try, your arms kept finding his own

your nails would softly ghost over his chest or neck, causing him to shiver and blush profusely 

again, he sighed, trying his hardest not to give into your sleepy state 

until you broke him with a soft utterance, “Sae....young..” 

Saeyoung’s eyes widened to the size of saucers before he dared to look down at you, your hair curling on the bed every which-way.. your mouth slightly agap... 

he groaned, his brows furrowed and his eyes shut

at last he slunk his arms around your torso, being sure to respectfully keep them high around your waist 

he buried his face in the crook of your neck to subconsciously try to hide his ever growing blush (and erection) 

I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this ‘friend’ thing when you’re driving me this crazy, y/n.

You awoke to a sleeping Saeyoung, his toned arms enveloping your small body in a hug

shamelessly, you laid still for a few moments longer. 

Yoosung 

this bean is lonely uwu

so when he’d invited to you go with him on a trip his uncle had paid for, you felt bad saying “yes” because it’s a paid trip!! 

until he begged you because his cousin Chaewon would be there and he was always really pushy and borderline a huge fuck boi 

so you conceded 

but hey free trip for the both of you minus shitty family gatherings with no one you know, right?! 

you hope there’s at least one dog. and alcohol. 

dog + alcohol at a party = an actual fun fucking time 

you were glad Yoosung was there with you because he honestly couldn’t agree with you more 

You opened your beach-side resort room to find there’s only one bed. 

Yoosung blanched and quickly dialed his auntie, who’d made the resort reservations

“Ah...hi auntie! Um, how come there isn’t a separate room for me and y/n?” 

his aunt cackled into the phone, “Aren’t you an old fashioned little gentlemen!!! Awe~~~ you’ve grown up to be such a good boy! <3 Well don’t worry, I won’t say a word to my sister or your pops. Enjoy the time you have with your adorable girlfriend and get it on a little!! I’ve got condoms if ya need ‘em honey~~ Remember dearie, when the shlong is not covered, the child support better be.” 

Yoosung hurriedly hung up the phone, his face completely red, praying you hadn’t heard the conversation that’d just ensued. 

You did 

but you smile and say, “So.. what’d they say?” 

He cleared his throat before saying, “Well, --err.. Basically there’s been a little mishap. B-but don’t worry!! I can just ask Chaewon if I can spend the night in his room.” 

“Didn’t you say he leaves a sock on the door handle every time--”

“YES but I want you to be comfortable, okay! It’s really not a big deal.” 

You shyly smiled while looking down before softly saying, “You can sleep with me.” 

Yoosung’s eyes widened and you quickly looked up, your face flushing to a deep crimson 

“I-I-I meant in the bed!!! With me. We can lie together. In the bed---- I mean we--” 

Yoosung could practically see the steam coming out of your ears and the room felt a LOT hotter 

“S-sure! Sounds great.” he had a feeling if you didn’t agree you’d end up embarrassing yourself further.. and he didn’t want you to feel bad. And he didn’t want those thoughts circulating his mind again. 

“Alright, so I’m going to hop in the shower, y/n... unless you want to go first?”

Gulping down some complimentary water you’d found in the hotel mini fridge, you quickly replied with a shake of your head. 

Nodding, Yoosung make quick work of washing his hair and trying to give himself a pep talk before he would be sleeping next to you. 

Thankful for the big size of the resort bed, you climbed under the covers, already beginning to feel sleep take you 

When Yoosung had at last dried himself off and walked out to the bed area of the resort room, he gazed at how small you looked, hugging a soft pillow in your arms, your eyes fluttered shut 

He looked away, feeling like a creep. 

He shut off the light after making a call to the resort staff to wake him up at 8AM as directed by his uncle’s itinerary

He slid under the covers, shoving a pillow in between the two of you as a little border to separate the two of you 

it wasn’t until further in the night when Yoosung had felt a jolt and he looked up in panic, through the blackness recognizing the pillow-border had been cast onto the ground 

and even more noticeably, your leg was swung over his hip, your body flush to his own 

your arms were snaked around his neck

he felt like he could feel every inch of you

your soft breath just below his ear 

your soft .. er.. chest... against his torso 

your stomach and .. the rest of it... against his own 

Yoosung could not breathe

like someone actually help this man for he is losing oxygen by the minute 

He squeezed his eyes shut and make the executive decision to wait it out til morning 

he was terrified that if he’d move you, you’d wake up and see just how much you affect him. 

And so, when the phone rang that morning, you’d startled, looking up to see your tangled limbs lying on top of his own

“oH MY GOD I’M SO SORRY YOOSUNG UGH IT’S A HABIT OF MINE AHAHHSAHDAJSHS” 

he looked at you with eyes that had noticeable circles under them (darker than even after his LOLOL gaming) 

“you look like you didn’t sleep much.... --- Is it because of me!? Oh my god I’m so sorry you should’ve just shoved me off or something seriously I didn’t mean to do it on purpose, honest!!” 

“N-no, no it’s really not!! I promise!!” He tried his best to grin, though it probably looked like a grimace, because the next thing you said was, “I’ll make it up to you” 

“You don’t need to do that. Really, I liked it.” 

It took a moment for him to realize what he just said. 

“I-I mean I like you! I mean I liked sleeping with you!!! I mean--!!” 

Yoosung was quickly spinning circles in his mind 

you couldn’t help the little giggle that came out of your mouth, “I guess we’re pretty similar, huh?” 

Yoosung smiled lightly, “Yeah, guess so.” 

You walked out together toward the breakfast area of the resort

“Hey”, you started, “Is.. Did you mean what you said? About liking me?” 

Yoosung glanced away, taking a deep breath before saying, “Yeah, yeah I did. I really like you.” 

You couldn’t hold back the big ol’ smile that took over your face as you proudly declared, “Me too!!” 

Right when Yoosung was going to go in for a kiss, he saw his auntie suddenly right next to the both of you 

“Oh my GOD when did you get here?!” 

She smirked, “My question first, dearie, what did you two like?” 

Neither of you answered, your cheeks growing red 

“You know, the first time your uncle did it with me I felt the same way. Like, what a man! Must run in the fam--” 

“OKAY! THANK YOU FOR THAT AUNTIE BUT BREAKFAST IS CALLING MY NAME MM SMELLS GOOD SEE YOU LATER.” 

Your blush didn’t leave you as you smeared strawberry cream cheese on your toasted bagel 

This trip was going to be very VERY difficult. Thank God there was alcohol. And Yoosung. And probably dogs. And Yoosung. 

Yeah. 

Gotta love relatives. 

Jumin 

You received a call from a stern voice you didn’t recognize

<<“Hello. This is Mr. Han’s chauffeur. I’m approximately 6.3 miles away from your residence. Do not worry about clothes or other necessities. All will be provided for you.”>>

“Uh.. thanks? Where....?” 

<<“Mr. Han has invited you to join him on his stay at the Ppalgan Vineyard Estates. Have you not received the notification?”>>

You glanced at your phone, seeing two unread messages on your phone. 

You read them, feeling bad you hadn’t seen them before. 

“Yes, yes of course. Thank you. Tell him I said thank you. Are you sure it’s okay for me to attend?” 

<<“Miss Y/L/N, Mr. Han gave me specific instructions to assure you would be able to come with him. I have been ordered to give 2 minute updates following your being picked up. I can assure you, it is his utmost wish that you join him this weekend. I’d be honored to thank him on your behalf, though I feel it would mean much more to him if you said it to him rather than me.” >>

“You’re right, thank you. And thanks for driving me. And for all the other stuff you said”, you replied nervously. 

<<”There is no need to thank me, Miss. I am glad to serve Mr. Han in anyway I can.”>>

The call hung up before you could spout out more thank yous 

you phone buzzed, startling you. 

you clicked the notification

<<(XXX-XXX-XXXX HAN COMPANIES) I’ve arrived at your residence. Let me know if there is anything I can carry for you. Sent 13:52>>

You quickly texted a reply of gratitude before rushing down the stairs out of your apartment, not wanting to make Jumin’s chauffeur wait. 

“Good to see you Miss Y/L/N. Is there anything I can get you? I have been given orders to purchase anything you may want or need on our way to the airport.” 

He quickly texted something on his phone, presumably a text to Jumin about your safe arrival to his limo.

“A-airport? You mean, like, flying? Are you sure I don’t need my wallet? It’s not too late for me to go grab it, right? I have my debit card on my phone too, otherwise.” 

“Miss Y/L/N you are not to spent a single won on this vacation. All is paid for.” 

“But my clothes... I don’t want Jumin to have to pay for all new things!!” 

"I assure you, money is not something Mr. Han wishes for you to be concerned with.” 

You’d stayed silent at that, feeling bad that you’d already bothered the poor man who’d just been ordered to drive you, not reassure you of Jumin’s financial affairs. 

You grew quiet, looking out the window as trees, streets, and cars zoomed past you. 

“If you so wish, there are numerous meals options in the compartments below the seats as well as alcohol, carbonated beverages and iced water glasses. You are, of course, welcome to any of these. Please do not hesitate to notify me if there is something you’d like instead. We’d glad to make it a regular option in all of our limousines.” 

You flushed, embarrassed at the amount of power Jumin’s words, and effectively, your own seemed to have on the entire Han Conglomerate as a whole. You laughed a little, it was funny thinking to yourself that you had so much power as to decide snack options for Jumin’s cars. 

Jumin was extra like that, he always went above and beyond to make you comfortable. You loved that about him. It made you feel a little spoiled, so you instinctively rejected most offers at things that seemed to further complicate his worker’s duties. 

You had no idea that when the chauffeur had said airport he meant the Han Private Airway Transportation Zone. 

As in... private jet. 

It was hard not to feel like you were in a whole different world. 

Not that Jumin treated you that way... but it was hard not to notice! 

You bowed in thanks to the driver before hastily finding your way to the nearest man standing in another black suit, his hands folded together in front of him. 

As soon as you uttered your name, his whole demeanor changed and he instantly had gone from cool and collected to humble and overwhelmingly kind. 

He’d quickly made his way to the boarding area, escorting you to the jet before leaving you at a polite distance way from Jumin who’d been looking at you from the moment you’d entered the aircraft. 

His eyes searched your own as you’d yet to discover his presence 

He couldn’t help but rake his eyes up and down your body, admiring the way you could look just in anything. 

He at last saw you searching the spacious cabin, at last laying eyes on him. 

His heart pounded faster, as if your noticing him made his heart leap in joy

You looked relieved and smiled, running over to him and sitting down next to him 

“Hi Jumin!! Oh, should I be calling you Mr. Han? That’s what your chauffeur called you.. sorry if that’s what I should’ve been addressing you as!!” 

His deep voice rumbled in your ear, causing you to shudder, “Jumin is fine.” 

You gazed up at him through your lashes, noticing the way his perfectly tailored vest made him look so... well... for lack of better word...hot. 

“Wow. You look...” Your eyes moved from his hair, to his face, to his neck, to his torso, slowly to his groin, to his legs... before you realized what you’d been doing and quickly your eyes shot up again. 

You bit your lip, “You look nice.” 

“Nice?” 

You laughed shyly, and slightly (embarrassingly) breathless, “Yeah. Yeah you do. Nice.” 

Jumin couldn’t help the sly smile he’d been holding back before replying, “You look beautiful.” 

You flushed and looked down, squirming in your seat a little before looking at him once more, offering a small, “..thank you..” 

After a few minutes of silence, you’d decided to change the subject, chattering on about how you wondered what this mysterious vacation would hold 

Jumin couldn’t help is concentration half on every word you were saying, but also your lips. Slowly licking his own, he nodded along when you’d gotten especially enthusiastic, grinning slightly when you’d gotten so excited you’d leapt out of your luxury seat. 

Within a half hour of the trip to your destination in Italy, Jumin had trouble concentrating on much else. 

Get it together, Jumin, you’re not some fool like Zen. 

It’d gotten worse the more you’d leaned further in your seat, your chest becoming slightly exposed

he covered his mouth with a hand, opting for looking out one of the many windows of the jet. 

You’d always caught his attention and made him lose his focus -- something he’d never lost before he met you 

He blamed the strawberry sent that you’d always carried with you 

He wasn’t much for expensive, faux perfume that so many of his father’s skanks would wear... it was like no other. 

After a few hours of grueling torture on your part (though you hadn’t know every single time you’d grabbed his hand or arm it’d sent his heart on a sky dive) Jumin was glad to have arrived in the gorgeous Italian acreage of the countryside. 

It was even more beautiful at the dusk of night, you’d decided 

Immediately a shiny vehicle pulled up, ready to transport you and Jumin to the estate you were to be residing in for the weekend. 

Upon pulling into the culdesac, you almost scoffed at the word “estate” -- it was more of a country in and of itself, land stretched beyond what you could see 

The mansion itself stood on pillars and high, Gothic windows. 

Inside, flying buttresses decorated the building, giving it an elegant and aged ambiance that you just adored 

“It’s so beautiful.” 

He smiled at you then, watching you take in the wonders he’d realized he took for granted. 

He was then directed to a double-door entrance way, “Your room, Mr. Han, Miss Y/L/N.” 

“Separate, correct?” 

The man stood in surprise, looking slightly aghast, “T-they never specified such details.” 

“Contact them immediately to confirm. I’ll work it out from there.” 

“Yes, Mr. Han.” From there, the man scurried away to contact the head of the estate. 

After a few moments, he returned, “The Rossi Conglomerate had assumed that you’d brought your fiance with you.” 

“Did you mention I don’t have one?” 

“Y-yes, of course! But, Mr. Han, your father--”

Jumin sighed, “I’ll take care of it.” with a wave of his hand, the man was gone 

You thanked him on his way out. 

Jumin looked at you, searching for a reaction of displeasure or worry

When he didn’t find one, he began, “I was notified the Rossi had booked their other estates to their American investors. My being here is a formality, but it is business. It would be a great discourtesy to demand--” 

You smiled reassuringly, “Jumin, don’t worry about it.. we’ll share the bed, okay?” You held your hand in his own, rubbing soothing circles on his knuckles. 

Jumin looked at you, choking on his spit slightly. 

“Y/N you do understand that--” 

“It’s fine, Jumin!! It’s late already, I’ll just put up my hair.. and.. do you know where the night clothes would be?” 

He watched as you fixed a bobby pin between your teeth before running your fingers through your hair, watching as you arched your back to-- 

“Jumin? ...you don’t know?” 

He cleared his throat, looking away, pink dusting his cheeks

“Bathroom.” 

You thanked him, unaware of his watchful eyes 

It had been a few seconds since you’d entered the bathroom before he heard a loud and alarmed, “..UM....JUMIN...?!” 

He’d quickly made his way into the bathroom

“What’s wro--” 

He looked and laying on the long granite island of the large bathroom was a silky set of lingerie as well as a note in Italian you couldn’t read. 

Jumin’s words stopped dead on his lips as he stared at you, then the silky underwear set, you, silky underwear, you.......silky underwear. 

On the outside, Jumin liked to think he came off as calm and collected, saying, “I can get you something else to wear.” 

But when he’d made it two steps out of the bathroom he had a little collision. And by collision, I mean his face.. and the wall. 

He looked in every drawer, finding nothing. He presumed clothes would be delivered as specified. But it was late already.. their servants are dismissed, only the protective guards surrounded the inside and outside of the estate.. explaining the situation to them didn’t seem very promising. 

Of course you were kicking yourself, before you’d found their little....gift... you’d cast your days clothes into the washer. They were probably soaked by now. 

Maybe I could use a hair dryer...? Or I could stuff them in the dryer?? 

Either way you’d be without clothes for.. too long. 

And nothing would be greater punishment then showing all that in front of the man you had completely fallen for... 

You heard a knock on the bathroom door. You listened from inside. 

“Hey, I, uh, couldn’t find anything. Do you think you could wear your clothes from today?” 

You whimpered, on the verge of tears, “I already put it in the washer!” 

He knocked again, “Can I hand you something?”, he asked, undoing the buttons of his formal shirt. 

“C-close your eyes!” 

Jumin chuckled darkly before covering his eyes and handing her his collared shirt 

“I’d give you the pants, too, but I don’t think they’d really fit you. Could you look at what they’d provided for me? Maybe slip on something from mine.” 

“N-no! That’d be even worse for me!! .. and you!” You blushed again imagining him half naked

You hurriedly shuffled through the drawers, but to no avail. 

You gulped, slipping on the lingerie to ensure that maybe something would be covered before buttoning Jumin’s formal shirt on you as well. 

it was so big it didn’t leave much for the imagination 

but you decided through a 10 minute pep talk that you’d suck it up and try your best to make his shirt into a night gown. 

You at last stepped out of the bathroom, Jumin’s head shooting toward the sudden noise before taking you in 

He could scarcely breathe, much less come up with a coherent sentence 

you were in his shirt... 

with barely any clothes on underneath

and you looked up at him shyly, biting your lip a little 

drawing even more attention to your lips 

Jumin had to stifle a groan, opting to head to the bathroom to change

After splashing some cold water on his face in a poor attempt to get his head out of the gutter, he quickly got on his pjs 

after you both were ready for bed, Jumin sat on the bed, opening a small novel he’d been enjoying, Anthem.  

His attention was immediately diverted from the dystopian fiction when he saw you were stretching

His shirt rode up high as he took in the way the lingerie perfect accentuated your curves, though it didn’t cover much below the waist 

Noticing your folly, your eyes widened in shock before you immediately put your hands down

which, just your luck, made it all worse. 

the sudden movement disheveled the shirt, causing it to ride down completely on one side, openly displaying the soft brassiere beneath it 

Jumin slammed his book so hard it left an echo in the large room. 

Great. He couldn’t even make it look like his book was suddenly unbelievably interesting that he just so happened to not take notice of the obvious sight before him.

You blanched, feeling a breeze along your shoulder, gasping before running to your side of the bed and pretending you don’t exist anymore 

Meanwhile Jumin is in a  c r i s i s 

In the most eloquent of words, his mind said holy fucking motherfucking shit oh my God fuck fuck fuck AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH oh my god shit shit shit fuck shit sdfasodjgiajsidogjosdg MALFUNCTION!! WARNING!!!! RUN BITCH!!! 

But Jumin didn’t run

because mama ain’t raise no bitch 

but also because if he stood up it would be blatantly obvious that he had-- 

Stop thinking about it, Jumin.

He tried to redirect his mind to his 5 senses, a grounding technique he’d learned when he got too anxious when he was younger 

But sight seemed to dominate it as his mind replayed your facial expressions, the way your hands awkwardly tried to cover yourself up, the way you looked the way he’d take it all off--- 

Oh God. I’m deep in shit. 

He had never been so pissed at himself... and embarrassed. 

He looked over at you, a horrible decision, really. 

You were still awake, your face was redder than the strawberry sent that adorned you 

“s-sorry..” you whispered, willing yourself to try to forget, “pretend that never happened..” 

Jumin was practically feral and you were saying it never happened? 

Jumin couldn’t just pretend he didn’t just see a fucking goddess 

but he would for you 

“..........pretend what never happened?” 

You sighed, a small smile on your face as you quickly turned to thank him 

but he was a LOT closer than you imagined 

he was propped up on one elbow, looking down at you, his head slightly angled. 

And suddenly your faces weren’t so far apart.

And you couldn’t help but slowly close your eyes 

Jumin felt confusion when you’d done this

he can be a bit of a pea brain, so he of course said, “I’m sure you’re very tired.” 

He shut off the light, reaching over you 

You held back the big frown you’d gotten when you realized he’d rejected you 

unbeknownst to you that it took everything in him, from the moment he’d saw you in the jet cabin, not to scoop you up in his arms and make out with you the whole way there. 

Zen 

Was Zen going to invite you to his own fucking tour? 

Of course he was 

he liked flexing his connections 

and most of all, showing you just how much he cared about you 

and loved you

but not the love part because God if you ever found out Zen might jump into the nearest body of water and never return 

not that he didn’t have any confidence

he has lots of it 

but it all kind of disintegrates when he gets to talking about his real feelings

But come on, it was blatantly obvious to anyone who had heckin eyes 

or ears 

or just any functioning body 

the way he’d try to subtly throw an arm over your shoulder 

or he’d lean in whenever you spoke 

or the way he’d readjust his posture when you walked into a room 

or the way everyone caught him staring 

like anytime you weren’t looking 

or when you are looking because he is “built different” 

So the limo ride to the fancy hotel he was to stay at was something that had him looking forward to the tour, but also dreading it 

you’d sat close to him in the limo because his agent and other workers were sitting along with him. 

So close that your ass got pushed further and further onto his lap

because damn where the fuck are we and why are there so many goddamn potholes 

Zen tried to steady you by firmly grabbing your hips 

which was NOT the move 

because now that you were firmly set on his lap, every bump felt like a fucking war against his hormones. 

Like a gentleman, he quickly opted to seat you next to him, not wanting you to feel embarrassed 

still, he could feel you being pulled closer to him with every long turn the limo made or every bump or abrupt stop 

and it was torture. 

like this man is sweating 

but by some miracle you arrive at the hotel in one piece! Yay! 

but Zen’s soul has left his body~~ 

so you get set up 

You open the room, “Look, Zen! This bed is HUGE!!”, you ran over to it and plopped your face onto the sheets

He chuckled, watching you act like a little kid excited about a hotel for the first time 

his brows furrowed when he realized there was no door separator between your rooms 

He immediately called the front desk 

all you could over hear was “No, there seems to be some kind of mistake” 

and “I reserved two rooms -- conjoined” 

“Alright, ok. Thanks.” and then he hung up. 

“So..” he sighed, “They can’t get another room because they’re completely booked. Someone must’ve recognized the limo and lots of fans immediately bought up all the rooms in hopes of seeing me.”

“It’s alright Zen! I can ask to switch with your agent or something!!” 

“NO!” Zen said a little too loudly. “No. Um, look it would be bad because he’s a man.” 

“Your a dude, too, Zen.” 

“I-- yeah, but that’s different because I’m a guy you can trust.” 

“True..”

“So I’ll sleep on the couch, ‘kay?” 

“Zen, no! You need your beauty sleep to be ready for your performance tomorrow!!!” 

“It’s alright, really!”

“I’ll sleep on the couch!” 

“Like hell you will.” 

“Please :(”

“Y/N, seriously--” 

“Then how about this! You and I just sleep in the same bed!” 

Ever the dramatic soul, Zen gasped with his palm over his heart “How SCANDALOUS!” 

“Aren’t you supposed to be Mr. Playboy?”

“Only for you, baby”, he winked. 

You stuttered, “T-that’s not funny! Seriously don’t make it weird you horn- dog!” 

He threw his head back in laughter, “Horn-dog?! I thought you said you trusted me!” 

“Not when you’re obviously thinking about doing this and that to me!!” 

“Doing this and tha---Hey! Who do you think I am?!”

There was suddenly a loud bang on the wall and a burly man shouted, “GO TO FUCKIN’ SLEEP YOU OBNOXIOUS, SEXUALLY FRUSTRATED LITTLE SHITS!”

You smirked, holding in a laugh saying, “Sounds like your fans are getting jealous.” 

Zen’s mouth dropped and you began laughing hysterically 

“T-that was like a 60 year old man!” 

“I’M 42 YOU LITTLE SHIT” 

You fell back on the bed, laughing louder 

Zen shouted back, “WELL EXCUSE ME, SEXY, 42 YEAR OLD MAN” 

There was silence before a harsh knock sounded at your door 

All Zen’s bravado disintegrated and he made a dash for the bed, whispering loudly for you to “Turn off the fuckin’ lights, turn off the fuckin’ lights!” 

You stifled more giggles rising up to your throat as you clicked off the light, making sure the room was locked, and climbed into bed

you breathed out your last laughs, sighing to yourself contentedly before noticing the close proximity you were to Zen 

You stared at each other for a long moment 

You leaned in closer 

Zen placed a palm on your cheek, gently cupping it

he softly whispered, “Can I kiss you?” 

You answered by harshly connecting your lips

The two of you feeding off each other’s oxygen as Zen bit your lip, causing you to gasp and open your mouth to make way for his tongue 

you whimpered, feeling faint from lack of oxygen

the two of you parted, out of breath 

Zen wanted to say something smooth like “I’ve always wanted to do that.” 

but instead he said “I’ve always wanted to do you.” 

He mentally smacked his head, blaming the lack of oxygen for his stupidity

But you smirked up at him coyly, replying, “Then why don’t you?” 

Um yeah rip your hotel neighbor he will literally hate both of you so much 

I had honestly SO MUCH FUN writing this!! Let me know if you want, like, a part two to this. I think I’d just be so fun lol

[snow-in-the-desert]

Dramione Recommendations

Ok so, 2020 has been A LOT but on a personal note one of the most surprising things to happen was me discovering Dramione fanfiction and becoming unashamedly obsessed with it. I really didn’t see that coming but I’m here now and I’m here to stay. 

I think I started reading in the Dramione fandom around mid July last year?? (In all honesty I’ve lost any true sense of time’s progression at this point so I could be well off the mark with that) And I’ve decided to compile a list of all my favourite fics I’ve read so far. Why? I really just want to gush over all the amazing writers I have found through this fandom because y’all deserve it. 

Side note: If any of the authors actually sees this post just dm so I can buy you coffee or post you writing supplies or something idk I feel like that’s the least I can do for all your amazing work x

Remain Nameless by @heyjude19-writing

Ok I have to start with RN because this fic is pretty much the sole reason I decided to create an account with A03 or a tumblr or just decided to get involved with this fandom at all. 

I headcannon this story hard. But I think even if you aren’t a fan of Dramione you should just read this because it is so unbelievably good and well written and poignant and Draco’s sarcastic personality in this is truly a thing of beauty in this - I relate to his inner monologue’s on a deep personal level. 

I could rave about this story any time, any day of the week, just ask me. In fact, maybe I’ll just start a HeyJude19 fan club to fulfill that urge.

There are so many elements that I love but for the sake of brevity, RN is a beautifully told story of Draco and Hermione finding love and healing in a post-war HP setting. Heyjude19 had the very special ability of making me want to simulatenously laugh, cry and swoon with the power of her words. Just stop what you are doing and go read it now if you havent already, ok?  

I also really enjoyed reading Bells on a Hill, Beers, Potions and Unwise Notions and A Shift in Focus, if you are looking for smaller fics, definitely give these a go. They are all funny and heartfelt stoires that will make your tippy toes wriggle with glee. 

The Rights and Wrongs Series by @lovesbitca8

The Right Thing To Do, All The Wrong Things and The Auction are the holy trinity of Dramione writing. I have christened it thus, so mote it be. And frankly I’m not interested in any other opinion than that one, thank you very much!

After reading this series I don’t think I’ll be able to look back on the orginal HP books without thinking of Hermione’s and Draco’s memories of their time at Hogwarts in these fics as anything other than strictly cannon. 

So many things to love about this series but I think one of the major highlights was Hermione and Draco’s use of occlumency. LoveBitca8 created such beautiful visuals with how occlumency works as a magical practice and seeing Draco and Hermione so devoted to eachother to the point of safeguarding their inner most feelings to protect eachother was unbelievably romantic and poetic. 

Also the smut is divine ;)

Manacled by @senlinyu​

My heart will never be the same after reading this story. Like I actually can’t think about this fic without getting a lump at the back of my throat. I have never felt so emotionally ruined after reading anything, compared to the likes of this fic. Just please, please read it. To badly quote HP, reading Manacled will make you suffer but you’re going to be happy about it.

The flashbacks are a rollercoaster in of themselves but the way Hermione inadvertently refers to them when she is still in a state of memory loss was so heartbreaking to read. My heart still aches for them both. Also its a truly satisfying to see Draco and Hermione written in a way were they are both so fiercly protective of one another. They make my insides go soft. 

I also really enjoyed Snow Fall, Now Is A Gift and All You Want by the author but to be honest anything written by Senlinyu is always thoroughly enjoyable and worth a look. 

The Erised Effect by @adaprix​

Ada is QUEEN of dramione smut but ‘The Erised Effect’ is top tier. Its equal parts funny, romantic, sentimental and oh so sexy. Ada really knows how to build and build on sexual tension and doesn’t disappoint on the final delivery. I’m a big admirer of her writing style and just veraciously read whatever she posts but ‘The Erised Effect’ is just golden. A must read. (Also Pansy’s sexual fantasy in this story is a visual I don’t think I’ll ever be able to remove from my brain so thanks for that Ada)

Also quick side note: Adaprix’ stories were the first I read when I was looking into this fandom and it was enough to get me hooked on the pairing from the get go so I have that to thank Ada for too. I remember devouring all the stories she had posted to A03 and when I was done I was like... now what am I supposed to do with my life?? And that’s basically when I began to look deeper into the fandom and thus the course of my life in 2020 changed for the better. 

Some other stories I love by her are Break for Me, All My Sins, The Big 4-0, The Fucklust Series and The Flat in Bath. 

Clean by @olivieblake​

This 6th Year AU where Draco and Hermione work together on a class assignment and end up falling in love had me feeling all kinds of ways when I read it. I almost don’t know where to start but I think one of the stand out things for me was how immersed I felt in reading it. 

Hogwarts is captured really well, you get a good sense of class atmospheres, character nuances and behind the scenes of events that happen in HBP but from a Draco and Hermione’s perspectives. It’s well executed and intricate tapestry of a fic. With an excellent plot twist ending! 

Also Hermione and Draco’s relationship in this is equal parts fluffy and smutty and it just ticks all the right boxes that you want to see for those characters ;)

Breath Mints / Battle Scars by @onyx-and-elm​

The angst in this one is just *chef’s kiss*

God I love this fic. The way Draco is portrayed is very true to his defensive and tetchy character in the original books but he is also given so much more depth. The way his diary entries are written are just so well executed. It’s a true testament to the author’s creative writing skill. And I LOVE how even though Draco is clearly in such a messed up place, he still has a basic level of self respect and dignity that he won’t tolerate being used or undervalued in his relationship with Hermione. 

Yep, I really love Draco’s characterisation in this one if you can’t tell.  But Hermione is also well written too. Her stuggles and trauma of returning to Hogwarts after war is described in a believable and grounded way. And my heart definitely ached for them both. I just wanted to wrap the pair of them in a big fuzzy blanket and tell them that everything will be alright. 

WANDS OUT! by @persephonestone​

This murder mystery / Dramione / Theo x Harry / AU crossover is everything I didn’t know I wanted until I read it. I felt like I was picked up and plonked right into an alternative dimension where all the characters of HP are just living it up in an Agatha Christie novel. 

It’s a funny and clever story that I found refreshing to read amongst all the other fanfics that are usually cemented in the HP timeline or universe. Theodore Nott in this fic is perfection he should be written like this in every fic from now on in my opinion. I couldn’t stop giggling any time he had a scene in the story.

And the ‘only one bed’ trope in this fic is 10/10. I don’t want to give spoilers but ohmygod. It hits all the right notes. 

The One With Technical Difficulties by cassielassie 

Cassielassie has an excellent three part series of Dramone called ‘The One with...” but I have to give special credit to this story in particular for one main reason. ELEVATOR TROPES. I can’t get enough of em. I think I have my early childhood viewings of NCIS to thank for my obsession with elevator tropes they just do something to me that simply cannot be explained with mere words. The palpable sexual tension of being in a broken down elevator with an ‘enemies to lovers’ pairing, a heated arguement breaks out followed by a discovery of mutual feelings and a romantic embrace...

Eugh. It gets me everytime. And this fic is no exception. I loved it for all the reasons I’ve already stated above but also for the attention to detail in Draco and Hermione’s careers makes this one particularly immersive. The dynamics between them established in this one-shot are convincingly portrayed and the chemistry between them is so undeniably hot. 

The Light is No Mystery by @masterofinfinities​

Yooo if you want to read a dramione fic that is a deep dive into Pureblood culture and Post-War recovery but is also a perfect allegory for discrimination and today’s political landscape of moral grandstanding for votes then look no further than this one. 

This story has a bit of everything. Intrigue, mystery, ptsd and recovery, enemies to lovers / secret relationship, government conspiracy and humour, to name a few. I eargerly await every update to this story and am anxious to know how it ends!

The Eagle’s Nest by HeartOfAspen 

Finally! A fic that gives me the Ravenclaw representation I crave. I think I could recommend this fic on the lore depicted of Ravenclaw house alone. ‘The Stacks’ and Rowena Ravenclaw’s own ‘come and go room’ are just such cool details that I could see being real in the HP universe. 

This fic is so cosy and makes me feel like I’m just popping back into Hogwarts for another year. You get to see all the usuals like prof. Mcgongall, Nearly headless Nick, PEEVES, Hagrid, as well as learn more about minor characters from the other school houses. The story follows Hermione going to her day to day classes and there are interesting concepts about magic and alchemy that are explored. 

Draco and Hermione’s relationship in this one is of course very fluffy and heartfelt. But it’s the attention to detail that really makes this fic outstanding and the experience of reading it feels fleshed out and true to HP universe.

A shorter fic by HeartofAspen that I recommend is one called Set in Stone, it has an adventurous, Indianna Jones vibe to it, that I am so down for. 

Teachable Moments by @purplesugarquills

In this fic Hermione is an innocent little virgin determined to learn everything about sex. And Draco Malfoy is her tutor. If that isn’t enough to get you on board then I don’t know what is. Both Heartfelt and Steamy. PurpleSugarQuills writes smut so well but it’s the progression of their growing attachment and the nervous treading of new uncharted waters of romantic relationships for both of them that just adds a whole other level of feels to the story. Also chapter 9 is like reading poetry - its so good. Eugh just give it a read if you haven’t already.

Les Pèlerins by @pacific-rimbaud

This story is high art. It’s transcendent. Reading this story feels like the emotional equivalent of standing around a hundred glowing fairy lights, sipping hot cocoa and being wrapped in the loving embrace of a s/o. I can’t speak my praises highly enough or even become passably coherent in my words when I try to articulate a review. 

From the very first paragraph I felt like I was just whisked away on a Parisian holiday and I’ve never even bloody been to Paris but damn it if this story didn’t make me feel like I was there. The writing style is just so tactile and intense it’s like I could feel the cold winter air brush against me as I read it. Eugh I just completely fell in love with the story and the writer. 

New Year’s resolution. Read everything PacificRimbaud has ever posted online.