#high school romance stories can be fun. adult romance stories are even better.

[arataka-reigen]

I'm gonna miss my silly children so much

[dyaz-stories]

who are we to fight the alchemy? || Gojo Satoru x Kagome Higurashi (1)

summary: All Kagome wanted to do was go home, after her friends made her go out to go clubbing. As a result, she had no choice but to go through Shibuya, on Halloween night of all nights.

Sometimes, it only takes one person to change everything.

warnings: canon-typical violence, angst, eventual fluff, eventual romance, fix-it fic (kind of), BAMF Kagome Higurashi, Adult Kagome Higurashi

word count: 6.3k

A/N: this is a crossover pairing I've ben obsessed with recently, so here is the first chapter of a story that's all vibes with little plot. I hope you have fun and it can heal other's hearts after all the harm jjk caused all of us!

Also posted on Ao3 and fanfiction.net if you prefer reading on other websites

All Kagome had wanted to do that night was get home. If anything, she was quietly fuming at the thought that she had, again, let Eri, Ayumi and Yuka talk her into going out, only to be met with thorough disappointment and boredom, and she wanted nothing more than to get back to the comfort of her bed.

Upon coming back from the Feudal Era, she had reveled in the feeling of safety, in the fact she no longer had to risk her life or see her friends be gravely injured, in no longer having the weight of the world on her shoulders, in the mundane pleasures of the modern life. Time had gone by since then, though, with the well never letting her through again, and though she had accepted it and moved on, now…

Well. Now, she may or may not be a little… bored.

The modern world had its oddities, too. Though yokai were few and far between, particularly in Tokyo, as the remaining ones preferred the empty forests and mountains, there were creatures roaming the world. They looked somewhat like yokai, but were unintelligent, for the ones she’d seen, strictly malevolent, and, from what she could tell, non-living.

They also instinctively steered clear of her and, as she’d confirmed for herself, they could not resist even the smallest contact with spiritual energy. No need for spiritual arrows, even coming in contact with her was unbearable for the weaker ones. As for the stronger ones, while they also could not withstand her touch, it was still more efficient to use arrows — but not necessary, not in the way it had been with yokai.

She wasn’t sure what these things were. Since becoming a teacher, she’d gotten used to cleaning the high school of them, as they appeared frequently, and discreetly freeing her students of them. After a few years of that, the school had started to feel… purified, with the creatures’ appearance becoming rarer and rarer.

“The atmosphere feels much better in the school, don’t you think, Higurashi?” one of her colleagues had asked her recently. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s gotten much brighter in here, I think. Even the students feel it!”

She’d hummed and smiled, but hadn’t commented on it.

That was one of the more interesting aspects of her life these days. Going clubbing on Halloween night with her high school friends, on the other hand… wasn’t.

She cursed under her breath as she wedged her way through the crowd outside of Shibuya. Maybe she’d have been better off calling a cab, but her small salary as a teacher, paired with the rising cost of life in Tokyo, meant that she’d be feeling the ripple of that for far too long. So, even if just the thought of the sea of human bodies down there exhausted her, she started making her way down, deep into the belly of the station.

She had just reached the top of the stairs to the last level, where she hoped to catch a subway soon enough, when she felt it.

Something was coming down. She lifted her head, only to be, of course, met with nothing but the ceiling. Even without seeing it, she felt its power extending, caging the whole building, and she felt it sealing as it reached the floor. Her breath caught painfully in her throat, heartbeat racing as she glanced around, trying to understand what was happening.

“Yeah, so I told him— Can you hear me? Hey, do you— Hello? Shit, my call cut off,” a young man muttered beside her.

Soon, everyone was echoing the same feeling — calls cutting off, SMS not sending, no Internet, no signal, no signal, no signal.

And Kagome couldn’t see anything, just try to keep breathing through the oppressive feeling.

She hadn’t experienced something like that since the three days she had spent inside the Jewel. The longest, worst days of her life.

She’d never thought she would have to deal with something like that again. But, unable to move, stuck between the bodies of thousands of others, as everyone slowly came to realize that no trains were coming and they couldn’t leave the building, she felt tears well up in her eyes.

I don’t have time for that, she thought, forcing them back and tightening her jaw to keep her lower lip from trembling. There had to be something she could do, and she refused to stand there, weak and useless, as whatever had caused this to happen decided what to do with them.

Except she couldn’t see anything.

She managed to take a few steps more, craning her neck in hope of spotting something others might not be able to see, when she bumped into a broad man.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, “if I could just—”

“Listen, lady,” he said, turning around a glaring at her, sweat dripping down his forehead, “no one here can move. So just stay where you are until they fix the issue, alright? No need to try anything. Stay in your goddamn place.”

Then he turned his back on her again, and Kagome stared, blinking slowly.

See, it was in moments like that when she regretted not having a big, strong half-demon with anger issues by her side.

Well, that, and whenever she was making herself ramen.

She hoped he’d found something he liked just as much, in the Feudal Era.

Bumping into the man again — one might say, deliberately pushing him, but Kagome would never —, she slipped through the crowd further, out of reach by the time he turned around to shout at her.

“You bitch!”

Asshole.

There were odd things going on, she realized as she got closer to the trails. She couldn’t see them, but she could feel strong presences, exuding the same energy as the creatures she’d been getting rid off for months, except so much stronger it made it hard to breathe, not unlike Naraku’s miasma — except that she seemed to be the only one to feel it.

The spiritual energy swirled inside her, instinctively wanting to rebel against whatever energy that was — not demonic, nor spiritual… what could it be? — and she pushed it down. She hadn’t let it out fully since the first couple of months of her first year of high school. It brought her unnecessary attention, which she didn’t want to deal with back then, and she had never gotten around to letting it out fully. There had been no need, and her emotions were either to reign in when she didn’t let herself experience everything. With her spiritual energy out, she didn’t have a choice to do that. Still, even when under control, it prickled unpleasantly when that energy infested the air.

“Does anyone know what’s going on?” she asked out loud, to no one in particular.

“No clue, but there are some dudes on the tracks,” a woman answered, somewhere in front of her. “Maybe that’s why the trains aren’t coming? The security should hurry up to get them off if that’s the case, though.”

“Some dudes?” a tall man in a suit scoffed. “There is one man there. Anyway, I heard the security is waiting for someone to come.”

“Who?” Kagome asked, frowning in confusion. She could not imagine how one man was necessary here.

“Gojo Satoru,” he replied with a shrug. “No clue who that is, though. Heard someone saying that.”

Okay. Very odd. Sounded like a trap for that guy, whoever he is, if you asked her, but there wasn’t much she could do about it from where she, and the doors to the tracks were shut close, which left her with another choice.

Going back.

Whatever it was that she felt fall earlier, she could at least try undoing it. If it was similar in nature to the weird energy of the creatures, it wouldn’t last long in front of her anyway.

Problem was, of course, that everyone was trying to leave, and there just wasn’t any space to go. She managed to make around twenty meters before getting stuck again, back at the bottom of the stairs.

This was starting to get annoying. If Inuyasha was there, she’d hop on his shoulders and they’d jump over the crowd. If Kirara was around, she’d fly over the scene and away from here. If Sango was here, well, she’d probably start mowing down the crowd with her Hiraikkotsu.

Kami, she missed her friends.

“What’s he doing up there?” yet another anonymous voice in the crowd asked.

Tilting her head all the way back, Kagome squinted to try and figure out what is was she was seeing.

If her eyes weren’t betraying her, high up there, where she thought the ground floor of Shibuya was, there was a man. Floating in the air.

She’d seen such things before, of course, but these were yokai. That man, though even from where she was she could tell that there was something incredibly powerful about him, was decidedly human.

And, as she slowly realized because the silhouette was growing closer, coming down.

Fast.

Right above her.

Surely, he wasn’t going to…?

Nope, he definitely was. She ducked with a shriek before his shoe came in contact with her face, and watched as he stepped onto some guy’s head instead, then jumping through the crowd before disappearing behind the gates protecting the rails.

Could that be Gojo Satoru? The guy that was supposed to save everyone here? Really?

Well, she supposed having the power to fly was a step in the right direction — no pun intended — but she did wonder if he could be trusted to save them.

Though, again, she once knew a boy with a heart of gold who would have saved everyone here while absolutely stomping all over them and yelling insults at the people under him too, so maybe she shouldn’t be so prompt to judge.

She still couldn’t move, could only crane her neck and try to glimpse what was happening. And things were happening, which made it all the more frustrating. She could hear the screams, as the gates to the tracks opened and people fell down, she could feel the energy’s rise and fall, she could see a blueish aura developing, become stronger. She both heard and felt, deep in her bones, as one of the things that was never really alive died, and it tugged at her heart in a way it never had before. Somewhere, she thought, a leaf had weathered and died.

She couldn’t explain it though, couldn’t explain anything that was going on there — and things only got worse from there.

She’d stayed composed, mostly, as things went crazier, even she didn’t understand a thing. Fear may have been running through her veins, but it was a feeling she was once used to, and she found that that wasn’t the kind of things you just forgot.

As a train started to approach though, slowing down not far from her, fear was replaced by absolute horror.

She could see the souls seeping out of it, contorting, bent into abnormal shapes, sobbing and begging to anyone who could hear them, for freedom.

Souls weren’t things she usually saw. Sometimes, she noticed someone with a very large one, and she wondered what their story was, if it was anything like hers, but for most people, their shapes espoused their bodies perfectly — they were right where they belonged.

She choked a sob, and it was only when she felt the tears slide down her cheeks that she realized she was crying.

She tried to take a step back, bumped against another body, didn’t comprehend the person’s protest.

Her head

spins.

These

are

all

people.

 The subway doors opened slowly, and all Kagome could do was watch as the horrible, misshaped humans with the screaming souls poured out, tearing into the other humans who stood in their paths. One of them rushed towards her, and she grabbed onto it, hands tightening onto its shoulders as it tried to bite her face off.

As she was falling, she felt its body shift under her hands.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered quietly to the young woman whose dead body remained in her arms, as her soul was freed. She saw it shiver, taking back its true form, before floating towards the exit of the station — hopefully, it would be free to do so.

Around her, there was nothing but chaos. The humans that were no longer humans ripping into the ones that still were, bodies falling from the upper floors and coming to crash down near her. She didn’t have time to mourn any of those deaths, nor did she have the power to do much, not as she was. She wished that she had her bow and arrows with her, but they were forgotten in a corner of her grandpa’s shed, where she hadn’t stepped foot in months, maybe years.

That meant she had nothing to channel her spiritual energy into. The only choice that left her, she thought as she slowly rose back to her feet, abandoning the woman’s dead body on the floor, was to let her spiritual energy flow out.

It had been so long since she’d last done that, though, that she had no idea where to start. She had spent so many years repressing that side of her, only using it to protect her students and loved ones, trying to dismiss the years she’d spent in the Feudal Era, trying to fit in and be normal and forget… How could she let it out again, even if she wanted to?

No choice, though, she repeated to herself, clenching her fists. Another monster jumped on her, and with a gentle touch she set it to rest, doing her best to accompany the body of the old man to the floor. Then came a businessman, and a teenager, and a middle-aged woman with a round face, and Kagome couldn’t figure out what to do, not when they kept coming, and they were all people, all with their own lives, their own loved ones, and her eyes burned, and her heart ached, and she needed it all to—

Stop.

When the world froze, she didn’t understand what was happening.

She saw a dash of white to her left, and realized, slowly, that everyone around her had gone completely and utterly still. Former humans, humans, even the oddly shaped creatures she could spot now that the world had gone quiet. She took a step forward, then another.

Nothing moved, except — except that white bolt, running through the people, piercing through the former humans.

It was the man she’d seen earlier, she realized.

Had she been right about his identity then?

Was he Gojo Satoru?

She walked through a world gone still. She could feel, distantly, something pushing against her mind, trying to get in, but the spiritual energy inside her would never let it. It was an instinctive thing, a refusal, and she knew that whatever was happening outside of her just wasn’t compatible with what was going on inside.

She had so many questions, not even the beginning of an answer, but she let them go, walking slowly in the frozen space, bending down to brush her fingers against the back of former humans to get their bodies to turn back into their rightful form. They deserved to find rest as they had existed.

One of them was a young girl, wearing a Sailor Moon costume. She had to have gone out to have fun tonight — and her life had not only been cut short, but horrifically so, through pains Kagome could not even begin to imagine. She bent down, picking up the magical girl staff that was hung at her waist. It was a silly thing, nothing like Miroku’s staff, but holding it like it was a weapon gave her a little bit of strength.

She needed magic too, tonight.

She walked between an odd young man — who she knew was no man at all — with long grey hair and stitches all over his body and face, and a blue creature with what could best be described as a volcano for a head. She didn’t touch them, knew right away that they were not the same as the ones she had gotten rid of at her high school. She needed more information, and that meant that, at least for now, she would not risk making contact.

Plus, there was something by a pillar that had caught her attention.

Well, it didn’t feel like something. Her eyes told her it was a box, but she picked up nothing from it.

No, not nothing — less than nothing, a void, a black hole, an emptiness in a world where nothing was truly empty. It was off, in the same bizarre, fucked up way this whole situation was off, and once more, she couldn’t figure out what on earth was going on here.

The white bolt appeared again on the stairs on the other side of her, on the opposite side of the place through which he’d left, still tearing through the former humans, finally getting to the last one, a couple meters away from her. He didn’t pay any attention to her, probably assuming she was frozen like the rest. The second the head was torn off, the world switched back on.

Kagome looked at him. There was blood all over his clothes and hands, dripping from a spot on his cheek. The bluest eyes she’d ever seen appeared to shine under white locks of hair that clung to his forehead. He was panting painfully, shoulders slinking down with each exhale, chest rising up and down. He was a handsome man, but that wasn’t what stuck out to her right now. No, she thought of how he looked tired. She thought of how he had just allowed the souls of hundreds, maybe of thousands of those humans to go free, and carried that burden on his shoulders forever now. She thought of all the people that were alive now, thanks to him. She thought of how he’d done it all alone, and her heart ached.

All of her important battles, she’d fought with all of her friends by her side.

His eyes darted to the box, which was sitting between him and her, and all of a sudden, eyes snap open on the box, as the nothingness around it expanded.

The white-haired man’s eyes widened, and he spun around, starting to get away — when another man appeared. Long black hair, traditional clothing, stitches on his forehead, and something so deeply, deeply wrong about him that even after everything she’d seen that night, it still made Kagome’s stomach churn.

“Satoru!” he said cheerfully, confirming Kagome’s suspicions about the man’s identity. “Long time no see.”

The white-haired man froze, and almost right as that happened, the box started to shake.

Kagome’s body moved on instinct. Her gut telling her that something bad was about to happen, her knowledge that she could stop it, her deep conviction the white-haired man deserved to have someone on his side, it all took over, and she couldn't have stopped to think about it if she wanted to.

Just as the box was launching itself forward, she’d stepped in front of it, raising a hand. Her back collided with that of the white-haired man, so she was certain whatever was coming wouldn’t get in contact with him, another unconscious decision. Since she didn’t have anything to channel her energy into, all she could do was raise the Sailor Moon staff she’d grabbed earlier. It wasn’t anything much, but she could still push her energy through there, using it to shape it as she wished to — until she figured how to actually let it out.

“Kekkai!”

Barriers had never been her specialty. Kikyo and Miroku might have excelled at them, but her powers mostly manifested in an offensive way, not defensive. In this case though, she only wanted to shield the two of them, not a whole building, like she’d tried — and failed — to do at her school a few times. This was much more within her capabilities, even with such a small staff as her only tool.

The box shrieked like it was in pain when it hits the barrier, and her spiritual energy started pouring into the barrier, through the staff, as it purified it. A lesser priestess could have been drained in an instant. Kagome? She felt energized. As the power left her body, used as it was intended to, it felt like she finally had room to breathe.

The box fell to the floor, eyes closed again. Defeated, if only for now. Around it, space was back to normal.

Wow. Not too bad for someone who sucked at barriers, huh?

“Are you okay?” she asked, whirling around to look at the man, a hand naturally coming to rest on his shoulder.

She was met with wide blue eyes that seemed to be able to look straight through to her soul. They were cautious, inquisitive, something cold about them, but more than anything, they were curious.

“You’re conscious,” he noted, tilting his head to the side, fascination growing more and more obvious on his face.

Well, yeah, of course she was, she thought at first — until she realized, glancing around them, that all the humans looked frozen in place, bodies slack though they were still standing, mouths open, eyes dull and empty.

Why…?

“A priestess,” the man with the black hair said thoughtfully. “I thought you were all extinct.”

They weren’t, and she knew for a fact that she was far from the last one. Despite that, she doubted that this was an information she should be giving him, so she held her tongue, even if she wanted nothing more than to throw in his face how wrong he was. The white-haired man turned to face him, deliberately placing himself between him and Kagome, as if shielding her from him.

“Now that that’s dealt with,” he said, tone light and breezy, “how about you tell me who you are?”

The man’s eyes remained cold, but the corner of his lips lifted to form a smile — one that appeared quite painful to put up. Kagome wasn’t sure what was going on here, but if she had to guess, she’d say she might have thrown a wrench in that dude’s plans.

Good.

“You know me too well to ask that, Satoru,” he said. His tone was soft.

Satoru scoffed.

“Please. As if I’d be fooled.” His eyes hardened, and Kagome could feel his muscles clenching. He was preparing to throw himself into battle. “My Six Eyes might be telling me you’re Geto Suguru, but my heart and soul know otherwise. Who are you?”

Six Eyes…? Oh, whatever. That seemed pretty low on the list of her priorities right now, actually.

The man started to raise a hand, but let it fall back down to his side.

“Maybe we’ll have that conversation again, at a later time, Satoru,” he said sweetly. “For now, I’m afraid we’ll have to backtrack.”

“Are you kidding me?” the volcano dude hissed, not far from him. “Is that it? Just because some bitch appeared?”

Rude.

“I don’t know who he’s supposed to be,” Kagome said, tiptoeing to try and get closer to Satoru’s ear so he could hear her, “but there’s a presence in his head.”

He glanced at her over his shoulder, blue eyes filled with confusion now.

“How can you know that?”

Kami. Why was everyone intent on being so disrespectful to her tonight?

“No time for this, Jogo,” the black haired man — Geto, was it? — chimed. “I would advise you leave while you can.”

Satoru spun back around.

“None of you are leaving this place,” he announced calmly.

In just an instant, he was gone from in front of Kagome, launching himself at both Jogo and Geto, with a speed that made it impossible for her to follow. Her eyes left the fight once it looked to her like he could take both of them at once, and focused instead on the third bystander — the one with the grey hair.

He looked at the fight with vague interest, and she thought he might not be as invested in the result as the others, maybe not as dangerous as the rest — until he walked to one of the frozen humans, a woman with a long dress and short black hair, and she saw the shape of her soul and body change into something that couldn’t be recognized as a human.

When he let go of her, the woman, who looked nothing like a woman now, threw herself into the fight. It took less than a second for Satoru to kill her, but already the grey-haired non-human was moving on to the next one.

Changing these people’s bodily integrity, wounding them so deep in their very essence they couldn’t survive it, all to kill them.

Something started burning within Kagome.

“You’re the one who’s been doing that to those poor souls,” she hissed between her teeth.

He glanced at her, eyes widening as a big smile formed on his lips.

“You can see souls?” he asked, sounding genuinely delighted. “Finally someone who can appreciate what I’m doing!”

“Appreciate?” She was trembling with anger. She felt her spiritual energy banging against the walls of her mind, the ones she didn’t remember how to lower fully, as had been natural to her when she was a teenager, and she could feel them getting ready to collapse. “You destroyed them. All they can hope for now is death. You’re a monster.”

He laughed, light and happy, and his eyes were warm when they focused on her.

“Thank you,” he hummed. “Maybe you’ll appreciate what I’m going to do to you?”

He was in front of her before she could blink.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m sure Gojo will kill you soon. But before that, I’m going to make you so, so disgusting.”

Both of his hands closed over her face, almost delicately, as if he was cradling a small animal within them.

Almost immediately, she felt him pull on her soul. It wasn’t a new feeling exactly, not to her, though his attempts at shaping it were. She could tell it was expanding, knew, on some level, that in order to fit her body, it was forced to make itself smaller than it was. That was what that old witch had said, too — her soul was much, much larger than usual.

She heard him let out a sound of surprise.

“Oh,” he commented, obviously delighted, “oh, I’m going to have so much fun with you! Maybe I’ll keep you!”

As he pulled at her soul, she could feel his — if you could even call that a soul. She could see all the shapes it had been forced into, found it distended and fragile and about to tear. More than anything, she found it repulsive. It tried, clumsily, to change hers. But she was never going to let anything or anyone else toy with her soul, ever again.

“Get you filthy hands off my soul,” she snarled, wrapping her fingers around his wrists.

She would never have bested him in a purely physical fight, but this wasn’t one, and he was the only one to blame.

He was laughing at first as she forced him back.

Then the laughter turned into screams.

“It burns!” he protested, like a child discovering fire for the first time. “Stop it, it burns!”

She could feel it, too, her spiritual energy piercing through him as easily as a knife through butter. She forced him to his knees, and as he looked up at her, eyes terrified now, she knew he saw it. Her soul, wrapping itself around her in a wide sphere, dwarfing him and his poor excuse of a soul completely.

“That’s… beautiful,” he whispered.

Even then, he couldn’t resist trying to change it, couldn’t help himself. And so, as Kagome called it back to her, felt its warmth as it invested her body completely, she felt no guilt, no shame, not even rage anymore.

She was merely doing what needed to be done. This creature was an anomaly existing to cause chaos. It wasn’t a yokai that played its own part in nature, not a human, not even truly living. A plant warranted more respect than this.

So, through her palms, she pushed her spiritual energy on him, in him, ignored the burning it caused her. Through and through, with no regards for the amount of energy she used, she purified him. There was so much pain inside of him, and she let it pass through her, let it turn back into what it was, just an emotion, just something human that should have always stayed that way, never taken that form.

When she reached the end, all there was left was a sense of relief.

He smiled at her.

“That’s not so bad,” he whispered before vanishing.

Kagome fell to her knees, heaving. It had been years since she’d last used her powers like that. Glancing down at her hands, she saw her palms were red and burnt, and she closed her trembling fingers over them carefully.

It took her long seconds of trying to regulate her breathing and to calm down the energy within her — which was telling her it wanted out, still so much left inside her, no matter how much of it she had just used up — before she realized how quiet the station had gotten.

Glancing up, she saw Satoru approaching her, lips twisted into a annoyed expression.

“Where—” She realized her mouth was painfully dry, swallowed. “Where are…?”

“Geto’s gone,” he said, clicking his tongue. “Used the other one to escape.”

He’d gotten rid of Jogo, which had barely been a work-out, but whatever or whoever was puppeteering his friend’s body had managed to escape him.

Which delayed the moment when he’d kill it. He couldn’t say that thrilled him.

“Now,” he said, ridding himself of those thoughts to crouch in front of her. “Tell me. Who are you?”

She blinked at him.

“Kagome,” she answered. “Kagome Higurashi.”

He studied her. The name was unfamiliar, not any exorcist family he’d ever heard of. On top of that, she didn’t produce any cursed energy. It was almost reminiscent of Fushiguro Toji — except Toji had been a void, and she definitely wasn’t one. Whatever she exuded was warm and gentle.

“You’re not an exorcist,” he said finally.

“Well,” she said, glancing up at the ceiling thoughtfully, “I’ve dealt with ghosts and yokai — demons, if you’d like. So, I guess technically, you could say I am an exorcist…?”

She watched as a wide grin formed on his lips. Reaching up behind him, he wrapped a blindfold around his face, hiding his eyes.

“He called you a priestess, though, didn’t he?” he asked, fiddling behind his head to tie it.

“I guess you could say that too,” she shrugged. It wasn’t like she’d ever spent that much time working at a temple. Really, it was just a title to describe her ability, one she didn’t feel that strongly about. “I’ve been called a miko, too, but— I’m sorry, do you need help with that?”

He stilled his awkward attempts at tying the thing behind his head, examining her — she thought — from behind what looked like a thick blindfold.

Odd. Very odd, in fact, but so low on the list of ‘odd’ she’d dealt with today that it would feel silly to ask about it.

“My oh my,” he said once he’d gotten his bearings back, “is that what you’re into, then? Blindfolding guys you’ve just met?”

Oh God. She might have missed Miroku, but not nearly enough to be happy that this was where he was going right away.

“Now, when you said yokai, were you talking about curses?” he asked, having apparently succeeded with his blindfold.

“What do you mean ‘curses’?” she frowned, mind immediately going to the Wind Tunnel. “I’ve known people who were cursed, but I mostly meant… Well. Yokai.”

“Alright, Kagome,” he said, and her brow furrowed some more at the immediate familiarity. “I’m going to have a lot more questions for you, but I think my people are going to get here soon, and it’s probably better if you’re not here when they get there.”

Ominous. Another question to add to the list.

“What do we say we get out of here?” he asked, shooting her a cocky grin.

“Um. Sure, but how do you— Ah!”

Without a warning, he’d pulled her to her feet and, wrapping a strong arm around her waist, he’d pressed her against him as he— took off, basically. It wasn’t her first time flying, but it still caught her off guard. She wrapped her arms around his neck without giving it a second a thought, almost jumped back when he let out an outraged gasp.

“We’ve just met!” he protested with fake modesty. “Do you always hug strangers?”

She glared, tightening her hold so she didn’t feel like she’d fall down the second he’d let go.

“Do you?”

He let out a light laugh as he flew up. He kept her tightly pressed against his hard chest, arm not once faltering. He might have been a stranger, but for the first time since the beginning of the night, Kagome felt fully safe.

Eventually, they made it out of the building and he distanced himself from it, taking her to a nearby rooftop.

“Alright then,” he said, setting her down. “Call a cab.”

She groaned. After the way she’d spent her evening, it felt very, very unfair to have to live on a teacher’s salary.

He watched her as she reluctantly got her phone out, then sighed while she stared at it.

“Do you want me to call you one?” he asked.

Did she? If he was like Miroku, she’d never hear the end of it. On the other hand, well, she didn’t know what that weird box thing was, but she didn’t think it would have helped him, so…

“So, you’re an exorcist, right?” she questioned, looking at him. “Does that pay well?”

He seemed surprised for a second, then laughed again, throwing his head back as if she’d said the funniest thing ever.

“I can’t complain,” he said, pulling out his phone and pressing a few touches on the screen. “They’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“Thanks,” she sighed. “It was nice meeting you…?”

“Gojo Satoru.” Then he paused, as if for dramatic effect, and his grin widened when she didn’t react. “Well, I’ll be in touch, Ka-go-me,” he said, stretching her name as if he was testing out how it felt on his tongue.

She opened her mouth to ask him a question — she wasn’t even sure which one, there were so many on her ever-growing list, but before she could, he’d raised a hand, and then he’d vanished. She didn’t think he’d run, though, no, he was just— gone. There one second, away the next.

She had no idea what on earth had been tonight.

The news talked about some sort of terror attack in Shibuya that night. She let herself weep then, mourning all the lives that were lost, wishing them a safe travel to the other side, hoping the next life would prove kinder to them.

She knew she would not have that long to get used to those thoughts, to that world that she had only caught glimpses of until then. She knew that whatever had started in Shibuya, this was only the beginning.

Next time, she would need to be ready.

“So you’re saying that Geto Suguru, whose body you refused to have destroyed last year, has come back, possibly as a curse himself, and was responsible for the attack on Shibuya?”

Gojo scratched the back of his head, failed to stifle a yawn.

“It wasn’t Geto Suguru,” he answered with a shrug. ‘A presence in his head’, Kagome had said. Not that he had any clue what it meant, of course. He’d had to look into that, but he couldn’t do that while these old farts kept interrogating him about something none of them could have even hoped to achieve. “Are we done here?”

“We’ll see what the consequences are for your actions, which have endangered all the lives of those living in Tokyo, will be,” the distant voice boomed. “For now, we have one more question.”

On a screen, a camera recording of Kagome appeared.

“This woman. While we lost sight of her, it appeared she was not affected by the use of your domain extension. Who is she?”

Gojo stared at the screen with fake concentration.

“Oh, that’s what I forgot to do! I didn’t ask her that.”

There was heavy silence on the other side.

“We will find her identity,” the voice threatened. “You are only delaying the inevitable.”

“Well, you should tell me once you do! I sure would like to know who she is, too,” Gojo answered with a shrug. “Now, if we’re done here, some of us are actually working hard, and need to rest.”

He waved as he turned his back on the Higher-Ups, moving towards the doors with some wide strides. They didn’t bother answering him, and he didn’t bother looking back. He could have been worried about Kagome, but all they had to go off of was the grainy footage of a damaged surveillance camera. On top of that, even if they tried to find a better picture somewhere, doing that while looking at the footage of Shibuya on Halloween night would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Maybe they’d be able to pull it off eventually, but it would take them time.

He was sure that he would get to her first.

It's been a while since I had as much fun writing a fic as I did this one! I'm super excited for this pairing and I have a ton of ideas for them. This story is really just so I get to write for them before I finish outlining other ideas I have for him that will have a little more plot than this. I hope you liked this, please consider supporting your writer (me, I'm your writer) by reblogging, commenting and/or sending me an ask about it! I thrive on interaction, and also I would LOVE to talk about this pairing. See you in the next chapter!

[thebroccolination]

So, I had a tiny epiphany tonight.

I have divorced parents with diametrically opposed approaches to maintaining relationships with their children. My father is self-absorbed, manipulative, and insecure to the degree that even though he's intelligent, funny, and interesting, all three of his adult children believe our lives are better without him. My mother, on the other hand, has never been on the outs with any of us.

I didn't want to travel back to the States for the holidays this year, because 1) it's expensive, and 2) it's always, always emotionally exhausting in some way. I was fully prepared to spend it alone or with friends, but my mother came to Ireland to spend Christmas and New Year's with me.

Then I broke my foot. But that's another story.

Anyway, tonight we were having dinner, and I showed her the newly revised pitch for the book I'm writing. She doesn't dislike fantasy, but she's more of a romance gal, so my whole motivation in showing her was more of a, "Look, Mommy, I made a drawing for the fridge," kind of thing rather than a, "Here is a book you would choose and then tell your friends about," thing.

And as casual as can be, the way she has done since I was a child, she supported me.

She said she can feel it, that this upcoming year will be the year Big Things happen, and she said, "You're gonna write the movie screenplay for your book, and I'm gonna come to the premiere."

She's always been like this.

Once, when I was in high school, I was lying on my back near her desk and I said, "Remember that short story I wrote in first grade about the wolf who eats the hunter?"

She said, "I certainly do," and opened her desk's bottom drawer, took out a manila folder, and handed the looseleaf papers to me.

I've always felt humbled by her belief in me. Possibly because my father seems to see all of his children as extensions of himself, so his emotional support is forever conditional. Hers is just…always there. Unfailing, unquestioning.

And I've apologized to my mother over and over throughout the years for not succeeding more. For not making more of the support she's given me. She always seems so confused by my guilt.

Then I realized, maybe for the first time, that her love and support aren't only not conditional, they're just…easy for her. She isn't trying to be supportive. It isn't work or effort for her to believe in her children and to tell us.

Tonight, she rattled off a stream of compliments, confident in my future in a way that I've never felt, and for once, I wasn't focused on myself, but on her. And rather than apologize to her yet again, or internally punish myself for getting praise that I don't feel like I deserve, I actually absorbed it.

I'm in my mid-thirties now, and I'm still finding all the ways my father wore down my heartstrings and tangled my brainstem. And who knows, maybe some of this insecurity didn't come from him. Life is complicated, and it can be too easy to blame everything on a bad parent.

The epiphany I had is that even when I'm complimenting my mother for not being like my father, I'm still centering him instead of her.

And that's why I want to focus more actively and more often on the good my mother has done for me. Because her words have shaped some of my favorite things about myself.

When I was four, I stood up to some classmates when they made fun of a friend for crying, and when I told my mother about it later, she said offhandedly but proudly, "You have such a strong sense of justice," and so protecting others became one of my core values. Very literally in that moment. I'd never thought of myself as someone who could protect anyone until she said it was so.

She has built the scaffolding of my life in so many ways, and I'm going to appreciate that more.

And tell her that I'm proud of her, too.

[thebluestbluewords]

Moral Education

*chanting* OT3 OT3 OT3!

+

Mal's teeth are sharp when she grins. “The beast king locked all the royal children up in his castle, just as he’d been locked up and abandoned by his own people. It’s to teach us all a lesson. So we can learn the power of isolation, or something. I don’t know what moral lessons your father is trying to impart. I’m not from here.” 

“Where did you hear that?” 

“School.” 

“Do you–” Ben starts, and then just stops for a moment, with his mouth open and his jaw working like he’s trying to digest the fact that the villains have more accurate information about his father than he’d reckoned for. “Did you have a source for that? One I could read, maybe?” 

Mal scoffs. “Like I’d ever steal a textbook. That’s school property. I’m a beacon of goodness and moral integrity for these trying times, and I’d never steal textbooks from a blessed institution of learning.” 

Ben levels an incredulous sort of look at her. “Really.” 

“Really. I didn’t steal anything–” anything of value, Mal adds to herself. “From Dragon Hall.” 

“Because there wasn’t anything to steal.” Evie adds unhelpfully. “And you didn’t attend very often.” 

“I had better things to do.” 

“Liar.” 

Mal rolls her eyes. She attended school enough of the time. Like, at least half of the days that they were allegedly supposed to attend. She showed up just often enough to keep all the little villains in line, and to get the free food that some particularly enterprising adult got for the cafeteria. “Whatever. The point is, we know that your father donated his old castle to keep the royal children all locked up in one place, and that’s why we’re not allowed to leave. The king wants us all contained so we can be just like him.” 

Ben’s face folds up into a frown. His eyebrows do this cute crinkly thing when he’s confused that makes Mal sort of want to kiss the point in the middle of them, right where his head goes all wrinkly. Like a weird, sexy old man. “That’s not true. We’re allowed to leave on the weekends.” 

“You’re allowed to leave,” Evie chimes in. “We’re not. Only the Auradon kids who have parental permission can go into town. I asked Fairy Godmother, and she said that we don’t have signed permission slips from our parents, so she can’t bend the rules and let us out, even though we could just send the permission slips over to the Isle of the Lost for them to sign.” 

“Like my mother would ever sign something to make our lives better.” 

“My mom would forge her signature for you,” Evie says sweetly. Ben’s eyebrows are reaching a new level of distress, but that’s not their problem. “She knows how. It’s something you learn, when you’re cohabitating with someone. Which our mothers are doing. Because they’re fu–” 

“OKAY, OKAY, OKAY.”

“Fucking,” Evie finishes, flashing an absolutely wicked grin. “They’re fucking. Because that’s just the headache we needed. Our mothers having a forbidden isle romance, after we already claimed that story.” 

“I’m going to end our romance if you don’t stop talking about my mom’s sex life,” Mal grumbles. She’s watched a lot of shitty, awful things happen on the Isle of the Lost, but her mother’s romance with the Evil Queen has been one of the most disgusting.  “They’re like watching a pair of goblins try to catch a fish.” 

“Disgusting and wrinkly,” Evie agrees. “And something that feels illegal. In the boring, gross way. Not the fun way.” 

“I’ll show you the fun way.” Mal shoots back. Her mouth just runs on autopilot sometimes, without any actual input from her brain. It’s sort of a problem. “In bed. You wanna get up to some indecent exposure together, princess?” 

Evie’s mouth is so red and sweet, and Mal is well aware that it’s lip gloss, but she still wants to lick the shine off of Evie’s perfect smile when she turns it on like this.  

“I think that should wait til later, M. We have a guest right now,” Evie says sweetly. “Ben?” 

Right. They have his royal highness over. 

“I’m–yeah,” Ben squeaks. He’s so cute when he’s flustered. “I mean, sorry. I didn’t know that Fairy Godmother wasn’t letting you four leave on the weekends. I mean, I knew that you weren’t going anywhere, but you’re always so busy, Evie, and I just figured that you were staying on campus to get everything done, because that’s what I have to do, and– uh, I can talk to her. About it. If that would help.” 

So sweet. 

“That would be great, babe,” Evie coos. “You’re the best.” 

Ben ducks his head into his smile. It doesn’t make sense for the crown prince to be shy, but Mal’s maybe, possibly been keeping track of when they can coax a real smile out of him, and nine times out of ten, when they get his real smile instead of his public one, he ducks his head to hide it. 

It’s cute, in a sad sort of way. It’s one thing for Mal to watch Evie, and Jay, and Carlos hide their real smiles, because they’ve grown up hiding their emotions from everyone but each other, but Ben’s supposed to be the well-adjusted one. He’s supposed to be Auradon’s perfect prince. The boy wonder who always has a kind word for everyone. Their future leader, equipped with a strong arm and a kind heart and a level head. It’s sort of distressing to think that he’s been taught to hide his emotions just the same as they have, so Mal buries the feelings for now, and keeps watching and waiting instead. 

“The best,” Mal echoes. “Best boyfriend ever.” 

Ben’s eyes flicker up to meet hers. Gods below, but she has got to stop falling for this boy every time he smiles at her. It’s not fair to the others. She’s got a limited number of butterflies that her stomach can produce, and they all seem connected to the way Ben’s smile makes his eyes crinkle up at the edges. It’s even worse when he’s all sunlight and golden like this. She’s going to have to have Evie make blackout curtains for their room, because it’s just not fair to keep bathing Ben in golden afternoon light. He’ll get some sort of complex. 

“Thanks,” Ben says, voice round and soft around the word. It fits naturally into his mouth just like it doesn’t in Mal’s own. “I’ll do what I can. There’s nothing I can do about official school policy, but I’m pretty sure there’s a loophole about students whose parents don’t have custody that we can exploit to get you four off campus. I’d wondered a bit why you never took us up on visiting the ice-cream place.” 

“Maybe we hate ice cream.”  

“I’d believe that.” Ben says seriously. “I would. That was a good delivery. But I know you, Mal, and I know that you’d never turn down an offer of mint chip.” 

Ugh. Unbearable. The butterflies aren’t going away. 

“ANYWAY,” Mal says, spinning away from her boyfriend and his stupid golden eyelashes. “As I was saying, I’d never steal from Dragon Hall, because I am a beacon of moral purity now, and stealing is wrong.” 

“And because you didn’t go to class,” Ben agrees, with just a hint of a laugh in his voice. “Or so Evie says.” 

“Evie’s a liar and a cheat.” 

“And she’s right here, Malfeasance Bertha, so if you want any help with your remedial goodness homework later, you’d better watch your mouth.” 

Her girlfriend is the worst. 

“Anyway,” Mal says again, turning so she can face both of her beautiful, perfect nerds at once. “We were taught that king beast locked up the royal kids in his former castle so he could keep control of them. And for moral lessons, or whatever it is you good folks tell your kids to keep them compliant. And then we got here, and we’ve been stuck on the castle grounds since then, soooo.” 

“So your logical conclusion was that your teachers were right, and my dad locks us up here,” Ben says, nodding. “Okay. I see it now. Do you want to know the real truth, or would you rather bring it up to Fairy Godmother when we ask her to let you off campus?” 

“I want the truth.” Evie breaks in. “Please. I spent enough time locked in a castle back on the isle, so if there’s another way of living, I want to know about it.”

[blue-mostacho]

~Cherry Bomb~

Warnings: mentions of SA (not detailed), alcohol and drug abuse.

I decided to just change up a little bit the introduction of the prologue. I hope it doesn't disappoint you guys, it doesn't mean that the Billy romance is completely out of the table. That's not the case AT ALL, like, not even close. I just chose to change it up a little bit so it fits better the fic as it could lead anywhere.

I chose two songs to accompany this first chapter, you will find a symbol with the name of the song right at the beginning. As you read the chapter, the symbol will appear signaling the moment you need to play the songs and when to stop them.

Before you start reading it, please read the prologue for full context.

You can find it here.

I hope you enjoy!

Previous part (prologue), just in case bc I panic xd

Chapter One - Bruises and burgers.

★ Afraid - The neighborhood

☆ Kickstar my heart - Mötley Crüe

The tick-tack coming from the clock hanging on the wall is giving me an eye tick. I roll my eyes as the boredom is driving me nuts, yawning I stretch my back, lifting my arms. Another shitty day at work with shitty customers and shitty coworkers. I'm not very fond of people, I've never really had a lot of friends, in fact, I don't even recall having friends as a little girl. Of course, I had a couple of kids with whom I would play at recess, but that was it. In high school, I would hang out with different groups of people, but I never felt like I really belonged to any of them. It wasn't their fault though, I just didn't feel that way, you know? Like, I never had no one to rely on. On the other hand people didn't seem very pleased with my presence either, so...

It never bothered me too much, I liked being alone. I used to spend a lot of time in my head, making up stories of all sorts, fake scenarios and adventures. I had fun that way. My whole life revolved around books and comics, movies, and any other medium that would enrich my imagination. Although I must say that over the last few years, I have met some wonderful people, like Don. I met Don a couple of years ago, I'd landed a pretty decent job at an arcade in California, and the paycheck wasn't bad at all, he was my coworker. He wasn't into video games or comic books, but he needed the money to pay for school loans. Since I liked working there, the thought of settling down, getting a small room in a shared apartment, and starting a new life didn't sound bad at all. I did for a while, I was 20 at the time. I'd spent two years on the road and it was starting to take a toll on me. Everything was going well, but remember what I said about never having a real group of friends? Yeah, well, I actually had one for a short time. ★ I used to do night shifts at a local bar since I needed the extra cash to fix my car, which had broken down. When I said I had a rusty car, I really meant it. Every night, a group of six people around my age would come in and spend the night playing cards, drinking, and doing the usual shit people in their 20s do. I was the only one covering the nights, so it wasn't long until we became friends, especially since one of the guys in the group had his eyes on me. I liked hanging out with them. Soon, my shifts stopped feeling like work. Most of the nights they were the only customers, so I would just sit at the table with them and play poker until the end of my shift.

In the beginning, everything was fine, just a handful of wannabe adults having fun here and there, nothing special. But as the weeks went by, I started to notice small but weird details, I brushed them off. After all, they were in their twenties, living in a place like California, so of course things like alcohol and drugs were something usual.

During my first months in California, everything went well, I was convinced I made the right decision, but life wasn't planning on making it so easy for me, so eventually things started going south.

Don tried to warn me the few times the guys showed up at the arcade. I guess he could see something that I didn't. There's not a day that I don't regret not listening to him. I was so caught up in my own world that I missed all the signals until it was too late, and I know I deserved everything that happened.

With each passing week, everything turned more and more sketchy. New people started joining them at the bar, some of them were older, way too old. I just knew that they weren't just playing poker anymore. Slowly, they were going down a really dark path, and I was being dragged down with them.

I tried to stay out of it, but one night, one of the guys, Axel, showed up at my door. He was covered in blood, his own blood. That was his first mistake because after that they wouldn't leave me alone. I guess they assumed I was his girlfriend and tried to send him a message through me. We were actually pretty close, that's why he came to me when he needed help.

That night, he told me everything that'd been going on while I was nursing him up. After that, I understood why it's said that young people are stupid. Because we are.

Long story short, they got involved with some nasty drug dealers. I'm not talking about Eddie type of dealer. It was more of a drug network, they used to party a lot which led to them experiencing with strong, exotic substances. Safe to say they became addicted quickly, which resulted in consuming every day, and those substances were also expensive. So by the time Axel found himself knocking on my door, they were all in deep debt, and that's why he got the beating of his life. They did fuck him up real good, I was freaking out trying to convince him to go the ER to check for possible concussions. Needless to say, he refused.

After that I distanced myself from him and the rest, but as I said they already fixated on me.

Weird things started happening to me. It didn't last long though, just a couple of weeks. But I guess that's what you get when you ignore the red flags.

Don was there the whole time, he knew everything and kept insisting I cut off any ties with them, that just distancing myself wasn't enough.

I still saw them from time to time, especially Axel and Nadia, a breathtaking blonde with baby-blue eyes. I will never understand how she managed to fall into something like that, I swear she is the sweetest girl I've ever met.

I tried to help them both as much as I could, but it was to no avail.

Everything got too much for me on Axel's birthday, we all gathered to celebrate. I wasn't sure about going, but he insisted. That was his second mistake, and it was also mine. Don tried to talk me out of it, but we were just going to have dinner. They were planning on going to a club after that, but I'm not a party person, so I would just skip it with the excuse of having to work the next day. And that's exactly what I did. I had dinner, and then I went home, or at least I tried.

I will never forget that night. It was dark, the dining place we chose wasn't far from my home so I didn't take the car.

To this day if I close my eyes I can still feel the pain radiating through my body.

I would've ended up worse than Axel the night he showed up at my house if it wasn't for a couple of passers-by, but i was too late anyway. By the time the two strangers interfered, the other men had already managed to rip off my clothes between punches and have their fun with me on time. My entire body was aching, and the cold air didn't help soothe my already shaking figure.

After that I just left, nobody knew except Don. He was the only one I called once I managed to get into my house.

Eight months. That was the duration of my time in California. After that, I spent three months driving nonstop until I found Hawkins.

Today marks one year since that night, and I still shudder at the memory.

You're probably wondering why I decided to stay here after what happened, why not keep on traveling and avoid any attempt at a more stable life, or maybe go back home? Honestly, I don't know. I guess the contrast between this small town and a big city was too appealing after everything that's happened. Not gonna lie, my friendship with Eddie did help too. Of all the people that I've met in all these years of traveling, he's my favorite one. But I'll never tell him that, the fucker won't stop pestering me about it.★

The ticking of that goddamn clock still drumming in my ears pulls me out of my thoughts. I zone out a lot more than before, but I got used to it.

I groan annoyed, looking at the time. I still have thirty minutes left and I pray to God that I don't get any customers.

It's almost Christmas, so everything is decorated with tinsel and colorful lights, the streets smell like freshly lit fireplaces mixed with aromas of holiday sweets that had just been taken out of the oven.

I love Christmas, but like, obsessively. Although this year is kinda hard to get into the festive spirit, around this time is when I miss home the most. Reliving that night doesn't help either, it feels like my body knows exactly what day it is and decided to keep bringing the memories back on a loop. It's not like I think about it all the time, but sometimes it just comes to my mind like a slap on the face.

I shake my head, pushing those thoughts away, tired of the subject. I realize that I can start with my closing routine, first flipping the sign on the door as always. Soon enough I'm on my way to my car, not before grabbing some instant ramen and a few other snacks from the store. Sometimes, I walk to get to work, but the cold air of Indiana's winter is unbearable at this point.

It's a ten-minute drive home, it's already dark outside, it's almost 10 pm so my headlights help me see enough so I don't crash.

As always, I drag my feet to the entry of my roulotte, cigarette hanging from my lips like a ritual. My eyes fall on Eddie's trailer as it's parked thirty feet away in front of mine, just like every day. He's home, so as soon as I set foot in my house, I just throw my bag on the bed and rush outside again.

I make my way to the long-haired boy's door, I don't even bother knocking. Once I open it, the warmth of the house hugs my body as I make my way inside.

–Momma's home!- I shout, to make sure he can hear me. But I get nothing in response. I can hear some struggling, a frustrated 'fuck' coming from the living room. I look to my right just to find him lying on the floor with his arm under the couch, his neck hurtfully bent as his head rests on the front of the piece of furniture.– What are you doing?

–What does it look like I'm doing?- he tries to turn his head to look back at me, but clearly, he fails. I walk over there, swinging my legs over him trying not to step on him. I crouch, so now I have a perfect view of his face, it is red, and the vein on his forehead looks like it's about to explode. His bangs are bathed in sweat as he keeps struggling.

–I don't know, you tell me.‐ I try not to laugh as the words leave my mouth.

–My fucking arm is stuck under this thing.- he punches de couch with his free hand.

–How did it end up there Eds?- I don't even bother to keep it in anymore and a laugh comes out from the bottom of my chest.

–Oh it's just something that I enjoy doing...what do you think? My fucking guitar pick fell under it!- he starts out with a calm tone full of sarcasm and ends up yelling with a pitched voice.–Could you just help me already?

I laugh even harder, but I get up and place my hands under the side of the couch, lifting it up, freeing his arm. He rubs his now red, almost bruised, bicep as he mutters a "fucking couch" under his breath.

–You're welcome.- I let it down again and let myself fall on it.–Didn't it occur to you to just move it to the side?‐ His eyes snap up at me.

–Well, obviously not smartass.- getting up to sit beside me. I lift my hands in a surrendering.

–Okay okay, chill.- but I am laughing hysterically, which only increases his bad temper. His face turning red again.–Anyway, I brought ramen. Do you have any clean pots?.- I turn to look at the kitchen only to find the sink full of dirty dishes.–Nevermind.

His back is now laying against the cushions, he's lookin at the ceiling, putting on display his side profile.

Eddie has long, curly hair that falls a little lower down his shoulders. Big brown eyes, right under the waves of his bangs. We actually have the same haircut... kind of. The only differences being the orange dye in my hair compared to the chocolate of his locks, and mine has a lot more layers and volume. We're pretty similar in a lot of things, even in clothing.

His skin is pale making his pink lips stand out more as he bites on his bottom lip thinking.

–I'm too tired to cook right now.- he says with a dramatic sigh.–Why don't we go out?‐ He tilts his head to look at me.–I could use some fresh air.-I roll my eyes.

☆–Okay but I'm not driving.‐He shruggs nonchalantly.

A few moments later I'm handing him the keys to my car, as he enters the driver's seat. The sound of the engine roaring in the trailer park as he speeds off.

–The guys really want to meet you, you know?- I'm deep in thought when his voice fills the car, gaze lost in the window while i suck on a cherry lollipop.- Dustin wouldn't shut up about you after he met you.

–I mean, I will be having a few days off from work during the holidays.- I say, taking the sweet out of out my mouth, focusing on him. He's been trying to introduce me to his friends for a while now, I usually work double shifts so I barely have any free time. I kept promising him that I would find some time, but it's nearly impossible. After all, we are short on people at the store. But I did meet Dustin one evening after work, I'd stomped into Eddie's place unannounced as always. They were so focused on the videogame they were playing that I almost killed them from a heart attack. Kid's pretty cool though.

–Maybe you could join the D&D Christmas campaign.- My eyebrows rise in surprise, he's very picky about the people he allows into his D&D club. I've been pestering him about it since I came here, but he always would spit out something along the lines of it not being just a game, life or death situations and not allowing himself to recruit nothing but the best warriors he could find. Everything in a very dramatic way, just as he is. Even after I told him that I've been playing for years now, he wouldn't change his mind. Saying that the key word was "playing", and that it was enough for him to know I wasn't worthy of a place in his fantasy world or the Hellfire Club.

–Are you okay? Do you have a fever or something?- I tease placing the back of my hand on his forehead, fake concern lacing my voice. He pushes it away, not moving his eyes from the road.

–Shut up.- he laughs.–I'm just tired of listening to you bitching about it.

–Yeah, sure.‐ chuckling I place the candy back I'm my mouth looking outside the window again. I don't need to look at him to know that he rolled his eyes. He stretches his arm to reach the cassette of the car, turning up the volume and banging his head to the beat of Mötley Crüe. He speeds up the car almost to its limits, enjoying the thrill of the adrenaline as he laughs vibing to the song.

It only takes us two more songs before my car is far behind parked as we reach for the door of Richie's, I swear they make the best burgers here. The place is full, diferent groups of teenagers spread throughout the ample space. We make our way to a table and just as we were about to sit down, someone shouts behind us.

–Munson!☆

Next chapter.

[writingquestionsanswered]

any tips for writing Childhood Sweethearts?

Tips for Writing Childhood Sweethearts

Here are the main types of childhood sweethearts, what works, and some things to watch out for. :)

1 - The "Never Parted" Childhood Sweethearts

These two grew up together, fell in love in their teens, and either married out of high school or stayed close friends even if they moved on to other relationships, eventually getting back together. Either way, mutual romantic feelings were discovered and shared early on.

Pros of the "Never Parted" Childhood Sweethearts:

-- Shared background, experiences, friends, geography, and in-jokes leads to built-in familiarity and personal knowledge

-- Already know each other's family

-- Were friends before romantically involved -- No "skeletons in the closet" or unknown baggage

Cons of the "Never Parted" Childhood Sweethearts:

-- May not truly know themselves outside of the relationship

-- Long term goals may not stay the same from childhood to adulthood

-- May be choosing familiarity and comfort over romantic needs

-- No fun surprises or mysteries to learn about one another since they were never truly apart

2 - The "Star-Crossed Friends" Childhood Sweethearts

These two grew up together and were always best friends, but romantic feelings either weren't mutual until they meet again in adulthood, or they were mutual but not discovered until they meet again in adulthood. Either way, no actual romance was mutually known or occurred until meeting again in adulthood, and the pair spends a long period of time apart and probably out of contact.

Pros of the "Star-Crossed Friends" Childhood Sweethearts

-- Same as for the "Never Parted" Childhood Sweethearts

-- Also: since these two parted ways at some point and find each other again later on, they have been through experiences and changes apart, so there will be fun surprises, mysteries, and new things to learn about one another

-- Also: since they've spent time apart, they know who they are outside of the relationship and have been with other people, so they have a better idea of what they want in a relationship

Cons for the "Star-Crossed Friends" Childhood Sweethearts

-- Since they're not the same people they were as children, they might not be as compatible as they were or not compatible in the same ways

-- There may be a conflict in long term goals

-- If they had a sibling-like relationship growing up, that leads to some squick if they get together as adults

-- If one person had feelings for the other since childhood, it can lead to jealousy and entitlement issues that can be problematic

Have fun with your story!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[sleepychailatte-blog]

When I was in school, there seem to be a camp of two types of girls when it came to literary choices. You had the Twilight/vampire romance girlies and the Hunger Games/dystopian gals, and you would have thought these two groups were the two families from Romeo and Juliet. Yours truly was part of the Hunger Games camp, and middle-school me was obsessed. I’m talking book and movie premieres, Team Peeta shirts from Hot Topic, wearing a mocking jay pin publicly, the whole gambit. God forbid if you read Twilight, that poorly written, low-brow, dumb, vampire romance. We were the readers of dystopian fiction, which was superior because it made you FEEL things about capitalism, broken societies, being true to yourself, etc. etc. etc.

It’s been over a decade since 2008. To all my Twilight girlies, I would like to offer you my most sincere apologies. I should not have judged you so harshly.

Recently I watched Twilight for the very first time as an adult. A friend of mine came over for a painting/movie night, and Twilight was our featured film. I knew the memes, I knew roughly what the plot was, but I wasn’t ready for the experience that was to come.

So without further ado, I’d like to offer my thoughts and review on the 2008 masterpiece, Twilight. If you aren’t familiar with the Twilight story, go read a quick synopsis and then come back.

🌘So, did you like it?

I had an absolute blast watching this movie. Would I say it’s a good movie? Probably not. Did it age well? Nope. But it was delightfully cringey, as you had to suspend all believe of realism. You couldn’t take this movie too seriously, because this movie took ITSELF way too seriously. It’s like they cranked the drama/teen angst meter up to 100 and everything seems so life-or-death…even though the main characters, Bella and Edward, are 17 year old juniors (ok so Edward actually isn’t 17 because he’s an old vampire but you get what I’m saying). It was very much that kind of relationship where “they can’t even bear to be apart or they will DIE” oh no how tragic (I think we now call that co-dependency).

When I was 17, I sure as heck didn’t know what love was. But again, this story is based in absolute fantasy, not realism, and that’s the fun part. Oh to be swept off your feet by a mysterious, handsome, brooding vampire that you met in your biology class!

🌓Favorite part of the film?

The script for this movie is pretty bad, I’m not gonna lie, and that’s part of the charm. It’s so bad, that it’s kinda good. Here’s some of my favorite quotes:

“You better hold on tight, spider monkey." -Edward to Bella because he can jump really high and run really fast. I about peed my pants from laughing when Edward said this.

“This is the skin of a killer, Bella." -Edward to Bella because vampire skin *literally sparkles* in direct sunlight. Again, almost peed my pants.

I will say that I love Edward’s family, the Cullens, as a whole. This vampire family tries to cook a regular meal for Bella, Edward’s human girlfriend, and oh my heart. Vampires don’t cook because they don’t eat normal food; the Cullen family had never used the kitchen in their house. The fact that they would go out of their way and attempt to do something so foreign to them in order to make the human girlfriend feel comfortable? Um, wow that’s actually really sweet.

Also, shout out to Bella‘s dad, Charlie for actually trying to connect with his daughter. Bella and Charlie have a bit of an awkward and tense relationship but this doesn’t stop Charlie from trying to be a good dad. I will say that one of my other favorite scenes was when Bella asked her dad if he wanted to meet her boyfriend Edward… while he was cleaning his shotgun. When he said, “sure, send (your boyfriend) in” and loudly snapped his shotgun shut, I about lost it. What a dad move! A national treasure.

🌒Would you watch it again?

Under the right circumstances. I would need either anesthesia or a large sangria. If I ever showed this film to my children, it would be for a study of what not to do in a relationship. If your significant other says “I can’t live without you” when you’re 17…that’s some big creepy co-decency energy.

🌑Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Um Team Charlie all the way. Hands down the best and most sane character in this whole film. We love to see a dad do his best and love his daughter…even when she starts dating a super weird pale dude.

🌘Conclusion

Watching this film made me think about guilty pleasures. We all have them, and they all look different at unique stages of our life. One of my favorite guilty pleasures is watching Judge Judy. My 70 year-old grandmother used to watch the Bachelor. For a friend of mine, it’s those cheesy Hallmark Channel movies. Others enjoy vampire romance novels. Are these things high-quality and sophisticated? No. Are they of good taste? Meh. But they are meant to be enjoyed, and that’s the whole point.

Twilight is the same way. Is it good? Not really. But that doesn’t matter, because it’s a cringey/angsty teen fantasy that’s meant to be enjoyed.

You can be both a Twilight girlie and a Hunger Games gal, and still have a pretty darn good time 🖤

[wynharper]

Hi, besties!

So, over on my main page I've kept saying 'surprises are coming soon' and I know it's late on a Sunday here on the east coast of the USA but I know it's still light out on the west coast, my European besties will be waking up soon and my Australasia besties are already in tomorrow. I also know it's a holiday here in the US this weekend but that's not the case everywhere and I'm not too afraid to continue reblogging my own things.

Last year, I started writing this story called Flash in the Pan. It's a summer romance between a single dad and his young nanny. Due to some.... fun brain things, I had to walk away from this project but I was never done with it.

In fact, when I started to get better, I started to think of Tilly (and Nathan) again and how much their story means to me and how important it is for me to write a rather extreme age gap romance that is a lot about safety and mutual respect and understanding of power dynamics. The kind of age gap relationship I have and have not experienced in turn, essentially. But in thinking about them and rereading what I'd written so far I just realized that.... some things needed to change for me to be able to tell Tilly's story to an audience the way I wanted to and the way that would do what was in my head justice and I just didn't think I could achieve that with what was already on the page so I've been rewriting some things.

Behind the cut because this is a long post, my beloveds!

The first key difference in this rewrite of Flash in the Pan is that Tilly is slightly older. She's still nineteen but she's nineteen going on twenty and, in this version, she is in college instead of having just finished high school. Like I said, there was a lot that I was thinking about and one of the things that I was thinking about was Tilly's search for independence and wanting to be seen as an adult and that's definitely something I've been drawing from my own experiences about. And while I was drawing from my own experiences about seeing an older guy when I was freshly nineteen and freshly graduated from high school, I wasn't feeling like that was exactly something I could fully use as a playing ground for the growth I wanted Tilly to also experience from this relationship with Nathan. I want her to be at a point of transition in her life but I believe that I can achieve that still (and maybe even a lot better) with this difference.

And, honestly, from a marketing standpoint of this story, I'm aware that while I may be drawing inspiration off of a lot of my own experiences, the situation I was in is one of those situations where even just the mention of extreme age gap is a hard no boundary for some people. I expect that there will still be some hard no boundary on that and I respect that. At the end of the day, I write for me but I also want anybody who wants to read this to feel as safe as possible consuming these words.

Another really big difference here is that I'm not taking the best friend away in this version but I am changing the nature of their relationship. I like Tilly and Nina's flirtatious nature with each other, I like their obvious attraction to one another. I like that this is a person that Tilly has always, without a doubt, felt safe with. Safe to talk to, safe to explore things with. And I'm not saying I'm taking that away but I am going to dial it back. Tilly is not going to be as experienced in this version as she was in the first, especially not with Nina.

The reason I have decided to dial back that aspect of their relationship is because I started it with the goal of safety, I started it with the goal of showing that Tilly is really only comfortable talking about her sexuality with people who make her feel safe. However, there was such a gap between the episodes and after I got sick and didn't write for a long time, I came back and I read it and I read my notes and I thought, "I don't have the energy to do what I want to do for this." If I don't have the energy to do what I want to do for that plot line, that means I will not do it justice. At no point do I want that aspect of her relationship with Nina to come off fetishistic of WLW relationships and if I don't believe that I can do it justice then, for me, it is inherently fetishistic and that's unacceptable to me. Because there's already so much media that horribly portrays WLW relationships or curiosity in sexuality and I do not wish, after years of being harmed by that kind of media as a consumer, to contribute to the very problem and continue the cycle.

So, I'll be relaunching Flash in the Pan via both Kindle Vella and via Patreon. The reason I'm going to upkeep on Vella is because I know there are people who prefer that platform and it also exposes me to possible new readers! But for all my non-US friends who have been telling me for months that they want to read it and it's not accessible because of the platform and for my friends who have told me they don't like how Vella is set up, I'm going the route of Patreon. More to come soon on that and thank you for wanting to read about these people I made up falling in love or something like it.

[magicmindless]

A HC list but it’s just Sue Part 2

First time I’m making a part 2 for a character I’ve already written for despite the overdue requests I still have… I’m sorry

Part 1

- She’s afraid of bugs. If she ever sees them in her home, they’re being killed on-sight. If one touches her she’ll freak out, even if it’s a nice one like butterflies

- One time she and Mary were staying in a hotel and Sue woke up to a couple of bedbugs crawling on her arm. She screamed and then immediately started crying

- It is not easy for her to cry. A lot of people think she’s just hiding her emotions but genuinely she’s just not a crier

- Is really shy about being called pretty, at least by people she cares about

- She’s able to run for a very long time without losing stamina and can also run FAST

- Has gotten herself chased multiple times during Mocharia from pissing off Petrona

- Never went to college or university since she couldn’t afford it so she worked right away after high school at Fluffmart

- Her dream job would be to own a library or bookstore

- She and Mindy have a petty friendship where they like to roast each other for fun but they also do fun things like sneaking away to buy a bunch of sweets and eat them

- Should be mentioned Sue loves sweets and has eaten cake for breakfast multiple times because she’s an adult and can do whatever she wants

- Likes to grow out her nails so then she can file them into claws to scratch people with (and also open packages)

- Had to get used to living with and taking care of Mary’s pugs. She likes them a lot now and sometimes has strangely in-depth conversations with them

- Did random things in high school to distract herself from her home life, mainly after school clubs and stuff and was even part of student council all throughout

- Has done exactly one high school production as a main role in a musical (I don’t know what role she was and don’t know what the musical would even be so if you have ideas please tell me)

- Is a bit carful with money and feels bad whenever people spend a lot of money on her like when it comes to gifts and stuff

- Her least favorite trope in stories is miscommunication, especially if it drags on for way longer than it should. It’s also kinda why she never likes romance stories

- She considers herself lesbian but thinks she may also fall somewhere in the asexual spectrum. Demisexual perhaps?

- She used to be really terrible at video games, even Greg could beat her at most games. However, because of playing with Mary she’s somewhat better at games like Minecraft and Terraria but struggles still

- She likes card games but gets really intensely competitive with them. One time she and some others were playing spoons in the pizzeria and Sue tried to jump over the table to tackle Robby

- Her main love language towards Mary, her friends, and family is gift-giving. Her favorite to receive is quality time

[bl-recs-and-reviews]

Hi....Can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite BL manga/manhwa/manhua/ tv series that you've finished? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

Hiii! ❤❤

I have not answered this before I think. But even if I did my taste are always changing, so it's always fun to think about what my favorite ones are.

I decided to make 3 lists, so here goes :)

Tv series

Utsukushii Kare - this one is my favorite of all time currently, it has everything that made me like the BL genre and all my personal favorite tropes

We Best Love - this one stands out because of the contrast between s1 and s2, also amazing chemistry

Old Fashioned Cupcake - give me middle aged men having feelings every day please. I love adult love

Eternal Yesterday - heavy topics taken with kindness, sadness that manages to make you happy

I Told Sunset About You - amazing coming of age, and visuals

A Tale of a Thousand Stars - how people relate to each other and how you find your place in the world through kindness

Semantic Error - korean romance at its peak, all the feels and the tension

Light On Me - typical highschool light-hearted love, with all the kdrama beats

Bad Buddy - even though it is not perfect from beginning to end, the portrayal of the main couple is pretty unique and spot on

Color Rush (S1) - the am I a monster? trope got to me, and even though it's not perfect the story is pretty unique

Manga

Doukyusei series - one of my favorite manga sagas ever. I am a fan of the author and the story. Intense but quiet, with a beautiful art style

Escape Journey - misundertanding trope done right, imo. And I also love the art style

Smells Like Green Spirit - it took me forever to read this one, but when I did I loved it because of how 2 gay boys decide to face society each in their own way, it's more about friendship than romance

Double Mints - from the same author as Dokyusei, I like the unsettlingness of the romance. Is it romance or obsession?

Mou Ichido, Nandodemo - a quick, better sweet love story with a cool amnesia story

Kurayami ni Strobe - a favorite of mine when I was thinking high school, also the art style caries the mood of the story

Jackass - highschool romance that was a little different than the usual stories I read, it has stayed as one if my favorites

Niichan - the art style and the fucked up-ness of the story (cw: pedophilia)

Golden Sparkle - sweet high school love with a little twist in the usual tropes

Manhwa/Manhua

King's Maker - the story, the art, the everything

19 days - the art, the story, the feels

I have not read a lot of manhwa, but the ones I have, I liked.

If you want more details on why I love these ones, let me know and I'll explain better :) but most of them I love because of the tropes they use. I'm a sucker for a certain type of trope 😎👍

[lazlolullaby]

Batman Beyond episode idea: fun with fan fiction.

if they just go directly back to high school shenanigans - Batman RPF. Self-shippers. Fangirls and fanboys. The writing club slipped that one of the prompts was "batman" and it just ran wild. I know Batman isn't considered "good" by society but teenagers are like that. Getting attached to "bad role models" and such.

I'm talking full gamut of "batman saved y/n" and "batman is my bf/gf" AUs, and NSFW/Smut.

(teens are allowed to have sexy thoughts. It doesn't mean they're evil or secretly suddenly mature adults. they gotta grow into it. It's natural.)

This almost ends Terry's career as Neo Batman.

With all of this school chatter there's renewed interest in OG Batman and Neo Batman among the teenagers. Compiling sightings, known fights, and personality traits. It comes out that Batman does hang around the teenage spots - Terry and Max will point out about the school counselor AND a coach being Rogues but no one will listen.

Bruce and Terry are worried someone is going to put together the pieces. But the days go on and it's less "who is Batman (under the cowl as a real life person)" and more "Who is Batman (that I can assign a personality to and play around with as a character)"

Terry is immediately singled out for being "un-schway" with talking about either of them. He just - gets flustered, stumbles over his words, never wants to talk about the Caped Crusaders at all.

The idea throws him off. It puts him in position to try and imagine what Neo Batman (and even Bruce!) is like off the clock based on the actions in the cowl. And he just can't, it's not computing for him.

Terry can't separate himself from the Batman persona - at least in personality - and it's just - why are they writing him like that? He'd never kidnap anyone out of misguided love? He'd never have a three way with Dee Dee! stop writing Jokerz romances for slag's sake!

Bruce attempts to help him by trying to imagine the OG Batman instead of himself. He just identifies OG Batman as Old Man Bruce and that's somewhat better. But not much.

He brings it up with his mother and Mary goes to her old records and pulls out a bunch of Zines, some disks/USBs of Batman fanfiction. "Well, if your friends like it so much, you could share." Terry just buries his head in his hands. "Thanks ma." There's even a section for Robin and Nightwing focused stories. Matt almost grabs them but Terry and Mary both have to sort through the right ones for the little kid.

It's all fun and games until teenagers start to get into trouble to meet Neo Batman. Baiting Jokerz. Calling in fake 911 calls made Commissioner Barbara Gordon reach out to the school.

The school attempts to do a crackdown. The writing club basically goes "Not Safe for Work" rules. Anything that you'd get a higher rating than PG-13 just don't bring it. Keep it in your house. Don't ruin it for the rest of us. The school gets even stricter on texting. The writers in class have to resort to pen and paper notebooks that get passed around in lunch/in the halls. Terry interrupts a "dead drop", flips through the book and drops it like he was burned.

It takes some soul searching, but eventually Terry does accept that Batman has to have a separate persona than him. Even if it doesn't feel like it from the inside. So. Terry plays up the "horny teenager" aspect in his response. (thank you billionaire playboy Brucie!).

"Yeah I've been weird about it. We've met face to face so he could stop me from taking revenge or some stupid slag like that. Look, Neo Batsy busted up the illegal weapons project that got my Dad killed. If we ever met again. Fancy dinner at least. I'd kiss him on the mouth if I could find him. A thanks if he doesn't want any of that."

The school paper armchair analyzes and comes back with. "Yeah he was a criminal, maybe his flirting could be considered going after a partner that has a strong moral compass and can fight him if needed."

People start writing "reformed bad boy x Neo Batman" fanfic based on that sound bite alone. "Be Bi, did crime" is another fun meme. Terry as Robin was probably the worst, especially the implications with the OG Batman and the OG Robins.

Like all fads, it dies down after another month. Sure, there's some diehard fans, but they keep to themselves.

(Max keeps a file of her favorites anyway.)

[ram-de]

[read] oxnard is my son

Reading wolfsong rn and why is the writing style so eerie LIKE... you know what it reminds me... Like typical murder thriller storytelling in mangas I used to read. (like I know it will? Eventually involves murder) BUT MAN ITS SO EERIE

I guess it's the way the story is told like a diary. Like a dissection to the innocent thoughts of ox... he's so precious like I get why gordo wants him in the pack it's the paternal instinct. Ox's dad is probably the murderer right...

Not going to comment about the romance bcs it felt icky at the point I know I know no yucking peoples yums and its just like, what, 5?6?years age gap. but idk they're like at different levels of school... Like... Typically high schoolers wouldn't date a middle school kids right?? Then again idk when I was in middle school, ive heard of (typically girls) students that thought of dating highs schooler as something, like, normal... Idk how they would meet in the first place but?? Like alright ill stop writing. This is a post about wolfsong asshdhdjjj idk the point is im not too keen on age gaps...... Typically I wouldn't even mind 6-7 years if that happened when they're both adults at their 20s or something it's just this one they met at the very young age... ;-;

But I looked up at some spoilers and got reassured that the romance part happened in later parts, which I guess?? Makes it better??? I DON'T KNOW guess I'll see how it's handled OK, in tj klune I trust

ALRIGHT AGE DISCUSSION ASIDE I love love love the writing of the book so far. It has the thrills, the suspense but also... How soft it can be. I've read like, what, two books involving werewolfs so I get the gist of like wolf-traits but not so much on packs and groups aspect of it. Wolfsong delves heavy (as far as I read) and the affectionate (I would say platonic) touches, ruffling heads, patting backs LIKE... ox deserved that yes give my son the affection he deserve

Idk why ox is in two packs tho aren't wolves like territorial how come he has gordo's and the bennets... Hm...

UGHH OX LEARNED HOW TO TEXT😭 that's my son right there (we're barely years apart)

Joe uses =D emotes... I uses :D (and I know I've said enough about the age topic but the fact that joe has to ask for his mom if he can go to cinema with ox is a bit... Like this doesn't make it better, mentally THIS kid is a kid!!! what do I do im like pretty invested in this book but also... Is the age gap rly necessary mr klune... I'll pretend that joe is only two years younger for the rest of my readthrough for my own sake and see if that changes anything. Crisis averted! I'm a genius.)

Did my son ox really just had his 𝕴 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖙𝖊𝖈𝖙 𝖞𝖔𝖚 moment HSGSHJSSJJ

Did gordo just sneak into ox's room in the middle of the night... like is he,, is he sneaking through thee windows or the front door. And did they lock the house when they left I HAD SO MANY QUESTION

PackOursMineBrotherSonLove

STOPPPPP IF I ENDED UP LIKING WEREWOLF STORIES I'M BLAMING TJ KLUNE AHHHHH

Why is he leaving my man gordo in the forest why is this so eerie and why I am having a lot of fun reading this chapter... noooooo he's leaving gordo's pack😔

I LIKE PUPPIESS I've been watching a lot of cute doggies wagging their tails videos though I'm not too keen on alpha/beta/omega dynamics (why the hell i read a werewolf book then, uh, tj klune)

They really spammed (pack pack pack pack) in my son's head hsgzhsjsjhs so are they sharing like a mind?? Telepathy??? Is ox tethered to two packs now... Pls no abusive alpha😔 I trust in you nephew joe

Omega were dark things in the wolves society??? I thought they're the one that can get pregnant??

Tethers... Possessive... ANYTHING TO SAY GORDO....??? I'm sure he's gonna be paired up with Mark for second chances stories in another book bcs I know this is a series

This isn't fair to Jessie ngl

I'm visualizing the story as if it's told in a manga medium and I'm floored... It fits so well... The dramatics...! The sound effects in the bg. I'm being weird

"I'm always going to be here." Ox denied what his mom said, but he promised Joe the same thing himself. Loyalty runs wild within the pack...

JUSTICE FOR JESSIE she was brought to the story to be given dirt I hate this tropes in mm books sometimes AND WHATEVER HAPPEN TO GORDO'S GUYS, like Chris?? (fuck me I spoiled myself looking for posts about Jessie, WELL OK THEN)

Ok I wrote too early there he is, chris

thank the lords that my son ox is checking out peers his age at this point bcs pls let joe's be one-sided until for a longer while. on another note, Carter... Cutie... same age... what we could have... 😔 I could get away with forgetting but mr klune kept reminding me of the age problem ughgcgj (and I keep writing it to the point of casual reminders) I will try harder to ignore things I do not want to perceive.

I was so used to see a/b/o dynamics being soooo sexualized (is it a sexual term? Idk) in like memes when I casually scroll Twitter or YouTube so I can't take the whole 'My Alpha' thing seriously... Tho it's nice to see it portrayed like, possessiveness, taken two levels higher I guess, then again it's... This isn't really Abo per se?? It's like typical cute wolf pack dynamics. If so, I don't mind pack dynamics that much.

wait they took ox's mom (I forgot her name) to training and bonding too that's so cute AAAHHJ I love love love tu klune's side character and how it brings a lot of life to the story, how they're incorporated and like have character growth... (I STILL LOVE THE KIDS AT CERULEAN SEA though I forgot most of their names except Lucy I'm sorry dwarf daughter slime son uhh fairy kid and griffin (not?)kid and Lucy too)

my son ox forgets names easily too, he got it from me😭

Carter and ox being domestic. this is love... I LOVE THIS PAIR.... Who tf is nick? Wdym he never saw him again. DID... DID JOE KILL HIM...

Four years later, and Joe is actually 20💕 brainwashing myself has never been this easy

AHHHHH I remember ox's mother name... Remembered the spoiler I saw.... Connected the two....... Spoilers alert even tho it's in tags pls😭 ok I'll mourn ig....

Fuck me ox is catching feelings... I tried to ignore the age but they kept mentioning Joe's age and how short he is AND I'M.... OKAY... But then Joe turned 17 and suddenly ox is realizing the butterflies like I'm sorry is the age gap really necessary mr klune 😭 but I like everything else.... The characters, the world, the writing... I need to pause and sleep it off for now...

I CANT SLEEP I WANT TO READ AHHH ok ok it's ok, haven't even see how it's handled so it's ok. Alright denial is a river in Egypt whatever which means I'll get over it soon so...

I warmed up to joe(21) and ox(23) already😭 CUTE my son is so clumsy and delusional (mildly)

am I yucking someone else yum... if so I'm sorry but the later half of this chapter, seriously... The word underage is mentioned and this is still the direction they went with shzvjsjshshshs how can I live in denial if things kept getting shoved on my face wdym it's okay carter😭

flustered ox is so... Hes so cute UGHH not to mention joe(21) being smug about it like this man (guy (kid)) is confident as hell. He's gonna be the death of ox (hopefully not literally)

I folded so easily because why is this so cute... This is like peak friends(both adults and /over/age) to lovers pipeline

PLEASEEE joe(21) just did a proposal... a cutiepie and a half

this is cracking me up so bad I love this book (certain trope aside) they're just hiding outside listening😂

Okay, okay, so the reasoning being that thing about experiences and how some kids mature early and stuff balut werewolves minds and compatibility and stuff. Fair, fair, but, AHHH whatever, moving on...

Maybe I teared up a bit,,, oxnard my son you're indeed worth everything😭

Joseph you possessive pup... His speech? Poem? Is peak creep and obsession... As expected from alphas ig

[thebroccolination]

I've Been Revisiting Stargate Atlantis…

Because my broken foot is still healing, so I'm trying to rest at home as much as I can, and SkyReplay airs it pretty regularly.

It's also because I love revisiting my favorite fandoms. Especially the fandoms I was in as a teenager. Hours upon hours spent reading these incredible fics written by people whose talent just made them feel heroic to me as a younger writer. When I rewatch these episodes, I remember my life as it was then. Fandom as it was then.

When I first watched Stargate Atlantis, I was in my third year of high school. I still posted my fics to FFN. I hadn't even heard of LiveJournal yet. I took a laptop and a book everywhere. I hadn't realized my queerness. I had few friends. And I was years away from leaving the States to live in another country where I'd finally stop trying to find the perfect way to change myself to impress my family. I'd find out that living like that would have chipped away at my heart and, ultimately, slowly erase the person I am now.

I was a lurker in most fandoms since the age of nine. I wrote fic and posted it sometimes, but I didn't engage in many forums. I rarely talked to anyone online at all, and I didn't really make fandom friends, either. Whenever I found a fandom with a huge amount of fics, I didn't bother writing anything myself. I just read as much as I could, the longer the fic, the better.

I knew fandom as a mainly adult space, and I was excited to be part of it. These fan-written stories felt more familiar to me than the media they were based on, especially with queer romance instead of heterosexual. And while there were famous episodes of Drama and Fandom Wank, fandom was, in general, my safe space.

Online fandom insulated me from all the school and family strife that I couldn't avoid offline while Being a Teenager. Fandom was a treehouse I could climb into. Pull the ladder up behind me, sprawl on some pillows, feel the cool breeze and the sun pouring in through the windows. Safe and alone with my imagination and the stories shared in a little-known community where no one who felt unsafe could find me.

And the fandom of Stargate Atlantis was an extra special escape. The fic was phenomenal, and the meta was incredible, and the show was ridiculous sometimes but fun and full of potential to explore in fic.

I just rewatched "Trinity" and reread Time in a Bottle by @astolat today, and all those feelings are still where I left them, only now I'm older and more experienced. And I'm so much happier than I was then. It's like revisiting the treehouse and finding everything right where I left it, untouched by time or weather or discovery.

Fandom has changed. Even back then, fandom wasn't a treehouse for everyone. But when I think about what it was for me, when I look back on how much it saved me and made my life worth living and celebrating in the darkest moments, I think, That's what I know to pass on now. I can't give my experience to anyone else, but I can make treehouses. I can create communities where people feel safe in their joy.

That is, in a way, what AO3 is. The big treehouse. Where our stories are safe.

And I think that's what we're here for, in the big What Are We Here For? sense.

To soak in the sun together when we can, then build cover from the rain. Protecting our peace and each other's so we can use our breathtakingly short time to share stories by a fire.

There's a moment in Astolat's fic that made me cry when I was in high school. It won't have the same impact without the rest of the fic, so please read it first, but it's this:

[John] had one wild moment just standing there, and then he flung himself on the bed, scrabbling at Rodney's shoulders, hauling him up against his body to hold him tight tight tight, and Rodney shuddered awake and grabbed him back. John said, "Rodney, Jesus God, don't—don't—" and Rodney gasped, "John, John, John," and clung to him.

Rereading it today, it still made me emotional. The fic is just as beautiful as I remembered it. It's just as important to me as it was then.

And I genuinely believe it's fics like that that have had the greatest influence on my writing. That soul-deep emotion. A character thinking they've lost their person only to get them back. That excerpt is only two sentences, and I've remembered them for years. I must have read this fic when I was in my last year of high school, and I must have read it on my laptop in my bedroom, sitting on my bed with the pillows against my back. Back before I read that you should keep your bed for sleeping only. I read so many fics on my computer in bed. I don't remember where I was exactly, if it was there or elsewhere, but I do remember crying.

And I never forgot that scene. It left a comforting stitch in my mind with a precious memory underneath.

And how beautiful are we when we do this? That we found a way to tell untold numbers of people these sincere, heartfelt stories that not only stay with us for years afterward but also thread themselves into the core of who we are and maybe even change how we see the world and what we think life could be?

If we're alive for anything, I think it's to do that: to press our fingerprints together and leave a bit of golden light on someone who needs it.

[deliicacymercy]

Hey! Can you tell me more of Angela? In any universe or all! I adore her!

ily mousey- BUT YES! I can tell you about ALL the Angela's!

NOTE: Very long character descriptions below! I want to make sure to get all the info dumping out of the way!

Also, disclaimer: I have a section called "Now look at it, its got anxiety" and this is more for the touchy subjects that are only referenced. Nothing that would warrant a trigger warning but I want to make sure that its transparent about my intention with the character, relationship, or story.

Let's go chronologically and begin with TRANSFORMERS G1!

Angela Winters is a woman in her mid-20s, who just happens to be the daughter of a ex-Military General. She was childhood friends with Spike Witwicky, until her family had to move due to her fathers military job. She began transitioning when she was in high school which continued into her college years. When she grew up into an adult and went to nursing school and by the time she finished up schooling, this would be when the Autobots and Decepticons have come to Earth.

Her father's new organization that relied on allegiance to Megatron and the Decepticon cause, one of the deals that were made was a "political" marriage between his daughter and any Decepticon.

Literally Megatron could have picked anyone - even the grunts, but choose Starscream. Just to fuck with him. This was definitely one of the moments where he almost jetted off from the sheer audacity of it. But, from the brute force of Megatron, stayed put.

Angela and Starscream had brief meeting which- was really bad. Starscream immediately denounced her and Angela couldn't even say one word without being interrupted by more declarations on she is "inferior" to him.

When the actual wedding began, of course the Autobots came to the "rescue" which led to Angela reuniting with Spike. He was very surprised to see his childhood friend which may have ignited a brief romance. This was short lived as, strangely, Starscream retrieved Angela claiming her as his "property".

After this, the two were officially "married", Angela and Starscream were able to live their lives separately. Sometimes Angela does attempt to contact or meet with Starscream, but these efforts are futile. However, when Angela is rumored to be seeing someone else - he is immediately territorial. Horrible dynamic.

Inspiration: Because G1 is so campy, fun, and unhinged - I really wanted to do a typical Saturday morning cartoon plot where there is a wedding. And, honestly a Decepticon wedding sounds so hilarious that it had to be Starscream as the punching bag for the episode.

Now look at it, its got anxiety: This is relationship is not a healthy nor even, a romantic relationship. Starscream treats Angela horribly in this universe. To keep true to the G1 Starscream, he does not like humans and he is disgusted by them, and this arrangement would infuriate and humiliate him. The only time their relationship was amicable was in private moments where Angela would attempt some kind of friendship, but these moments were fleeting, as Starscream wouldn't give in fully. He hates how now they are forever intertwined, especially when he is taunted by Megatron, or Autobots about his "human girlfriend." Just another kick to his ego, which causes even more resentment when she's around. Angela does not have feelings for Starscream, as she also gets her self-worth kicked around from the mistreatment.

Next is TRANSFORMERS ARMADA!

Angela, a teenage girl who simply has too much power. She thinks she's better than everyone and is above the rules and consequences.

Her relationship with Starscream is not romantic but it is toxic friendship.

NOTE: She's still in development as I'm watching the show currently.

Inspiration: Honestly, I was thinking- there isn't enough women in Armada besides Alexis- who is also involved with Starscream....but she's fucking 11. LOL So, I have made a Armada!Angela where she is this bratty teen who is a direct parallel to what Starscream could be. I thought storytelling wise, it would be interesting to explore a verse where the roles were switched since he becomes a hero while she will follow in line with his original incarnation.

Now look at it, its got anxiety: Unfortunately she deals with a lot of personal issues, whether that is with her identity and with her inferiority complex. The direction I am taking her story looks like it might be tragic.

Next, TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED!

Angela Winters, the ex-reigning Miss Michigan pageant winner. She is in her mid 20s and has been modeling professionally for a few years. Her dream was to be Miss Michigan and be crowned, which she achieved, albeit briefly.

Her past is hefty and mature in themes so I will have to go into it in a more "content warning" way. However, I can say that she has been able to achieve this high end life style of pageants and going to University due to having more wealthy, and older boyfriends paying for her. She would skip out on them once she was able to stand on her own two feet, especially once she won the state title.

Her prize was a cash prize that would set her up for success and a lovely new place all to herself! Her independence and happiness has come all at once!

During the first week of her reign, she was wrapped up in a sticky situation with Headmaster, as he tried to steal her away to be his girlfriend. However, during this altercation, Starscream had come seeking revenge on Masterson for stealing his body. Headmaster made his escape so Star grabbed Angela as leverage to lure him out.

During her imprisonment with Starscream, she had successfully manipulated his clones and his underlings, specifically Bruticus, to give her greater accommodations. She even convinced Starscream after a week to have her be an "international" security risk- so instead of seeking revenge from a dork, why not trade her for something you really need?

Angela played her cards right and Starscream was able to trade her off to the Autobots and the American Military. She was relieved to be back home and not destroyed by some Decepticon, and was ready to resume her life of luxury.

However, due to her imprisonment, she had to relinquish her crown due to not "fulfilling her reign." This caused her great distress as she had to return her prize money and title, and due to her age, she could not compete for the title again the next year. She was at the bottom of her life - her family abandoned her a long time ago and she abandoned all her friends when she began modeling. Angela was ridiculed in the news and she was outed by her former lovers. She became a hot topic and She had no one to lean on for this dark moment in her life.

This led to her wishing for nothing more than revenge, and mostly an outlet for her anger and resent- so she went back to Starscream swearing loyalty to him in exchange for a chance for her to have Earth for herself when he becomes Leader of the Decepticons. She had proven to be a valuable asset but she would become indispensable after she offers herself to Cybertron as Earth's Official Liaison.

Sari Sumdac had presumably had the role of Liaison, but she did not want the intense responsibility involved. So, Angela recalls her downtrodden circumstances and was able to be granted the position as full-time Earth Liaison after Megatron's defeat. This allowed for Angela to weaponize their incompetence when it comes to humans and give Starscream more advantages in seizing Cybertron with his own armada.

Sari and Angela became close, almost in a way where Sari thought of Angela as a role model.

During this liaison job, she would have many romantic interactions with other Cybertronians. This, somehow, would upset Starscream as now their partnership was getting more complicated.

There is a lot to their relationship and I will need to elaborate more on them later~

Inspiration: The original Angela, as in, it all began with her! I literally wanted an adult human woman in the show since there was zero. That's pretty much it, she was suppose to be a generic, very kind young woman who modeled - then after 4 years, she got worse. Now we are here!

Now look at it, its got anxiety: Her story is more "mature" than the other Angela's in terms of sexual liberation as well as agency.

TRANSFORMERS PRIME

Agent Angela Winters, a woman in her late 30s, and former assistant of Silas. She was a double agent, working for National Security.

Once MECH was disassembled and Silas was officially out of commission, Angela decided to take matters into her own hands. Due to her affiliation with the National Government and her awareness of the Autobots and Decepticons, she was able to create a contract that would include the small politics that revolved around Starscream - who she deemed as a easy target to neutralize the overall Decepticon AND Autobot threat.

Starscream became high profile to Angela as she believed that if she was able to establish a trusted-beneficiary relationship with the mech, then once she assisted with the Fall of Megatron, ending Starscream's reign would be easy. Thus neutralizing the threat before it becomes an national and international issue.

Due to her affiliation with Silas, she had to prove her worth and trustworthiness to Starscream and later on to Megatron. She declared her motives as being cowardice - she claims to believe the Autobots are weak, and humans are naturally weak to Cybertronians, thus Angela wants to be on the winning side without enslavement, regardless of what happens to the rest of humanity.

This would be a lie as Angela is the one fighting for humanity.

Due to her cold and calculated nature, Angela had been impressive. Starscream would have Angela become a sort of intellectual confidant - and unfortunately for her, an emotional one later.

Angela does not feel anything for Starscream, but he develops an attraction toward her that is misplaced in how he wants to impress her.

If Knock Out were to call this behavior out, Angela is quick to dismiss it as a misunderstanding, even though she is well aware of Starscream's feelings toward her. She simply thinks it would do nothing but impede her goals and cause unnecessary road blocks.

There would be a brief moment where Angela believed Starscream was "cute" - during the introspection into what Starscream really wants - in the midst of him being hailed as the Leader of the Decepticons, there was Angela acting no different than she is already. His fantasy was that she remains the same as she is now, someone that he wants to impress, even as a Leader.

She would not reside on the Nemesis as she had a covert location she stayed in outside of town.

Inspiration: The 2nd incarnation of Angela made, and the idea of her came when I realized that Prime is a show that takes itself very serious with its themes, so I wanted to reflect that in a new Angela. She has become stone cold compared to her counterparts.

Now look at it, its got anxiety: Not much content warning about her past the fact that Angela is a former interrogator for "High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group" (HIG) which is a FBI, CIA, and DoD agency specializing in Terrorist Interrogations.

TRANSFORMERS CYBERVERSE

Angela is a teenage girl who has had a fascination with these new Cybertronians she's seen on Earth, and this interest becomes something she desperately wishes to have a part in.

One day, a offline Starscream practically crashes near her and luckily she had collected a piece of the All Spark earlier and was able to revive him.

Starscream discovered that he can not transform to fly back to his Decepticon base, thus ensued a 3 hour complaining session which - honestly, did not annoy Angela as he trauma dumped, and she believed she was making a friend.

She develops a crush on the Decepticon as they have these Earth mini adventures, that allow for Angela to discover things about herself and her crush.

NOTE: This story is more or less just a original story but I'm using Cyberverse!Starscream.

Inspiration: Teenage Starscream gets a teenage Angela. Also I was listening to the Little Mermaid soundtrack and thought djsfaljk A tiny Angela would love to be "a part of their world"-

Now look at it, its got anxiety: This universe focuses more on Angela's transition cause she unfortunately is going through the motions of being misunderstood and alone through it. I just want to focus on the innocent nature of their relationship, so I'm keeping the story focused on it as more of a "Angela's crush" story. Also, just going to say now, this is not a ideal relationship nor is it healthy - they are not endgame, just a experience that Angela needs to have to discover that no matter how much she wants and craves companionship, doesn't mean she needs to settle for someone who treats her terribly.

TRANSFORMERS EARTHSPARK

Angela is a older woman in her mid 40s, she is serving life in Federal Prison due to her involvement in the War with an association with the Decepticon's.

During the war, she was a hired soldier and was apart of a human division with the Decepticons to handle the Autobots human counterparts. She was an Ace on the battlefield so her involvement caused many human causalities, even an Autobot causality that Angela caused singlehandedly, making her a notable threat.

Her role prior was a bounty hunter with her brother, and international weapons smugglers.

Angela and the rest of the human Decepticon division were also apart of the coup planned by Starscream to usurp Megatron after the war was won.

She is now known in modern forum as the "Woman Who Loved A Decepticon" due to the nature of her and Starscream's relationship being made public in court documents during their trials. She regards these comics and pop culture references to her as "reductive" due to the nature of painting her involvement in the war as a "love blindness" than something more complex to keep the war as something simple to comprehend instead of multifaceted.

This relationship that was developed between her and Starscream had formed over a mutual attraction before the War ended. This was noted in court documents as beginning around the time that Angela proved she can take down an Autobot on her own.

Angela was noted as hostile and dangerous during her hearings that at one point she escaped and was armed with a hostage before she was apprehended by an Autobot.

She was separated from Starscream for 10+ years, the last conversation they had was before the War officially ended as both were hopeful. At that point, it was assumed the two were in a relationship.

Angela would spend the next 10+ years in Federal Prison, where she would try to escape but be put in solitary confinement for two months at a time, causing irreputable damage to her mentally.

She was allowed to see a psychiatrist and be evaluated, which she did not see until 8 years had passed and she realized that she will rot in prison. The war was over...truly over. There's no rebellion or anyone coming to get her to finish off where they left it. It's over. And this is her life.

She confided to the psychiatrist her fears, doubts, and dreams. Her mental state was called into question as she was developing symptoms that would get worse over time.

When G.H.O.S.T started to work with Mandroid, Angela was brought in to their prison facility where they kept other Decepticons. Her mental state has diminished significantly and she was able to be used for the nefarious plans for G.H.O.S.T.

She was technically reunited with Starscream but she was...different. Very different. She was dangerous before but this is...

G.H.O.S.T used Angela individually to apprehend Dorothy, but Angela was subdued just from the shock of how many kids she had. Something that Angela confided in her Psychiatrist that she desperately wanted. Her mind started to become infuriated at Megatron and she set her intentions to take him offline herself. With this mental battle taking place, Angela was able to be subdued by Dot.

Dorothy made secret arrangements that instead of taking Angela back to prison or G.H.O.S.T. that she would be taken to a hospital to help with her mental detoriation.

Inspiration: I loved the fact that the show began AFTER the war, so I wanted to create a character that was directly affected by the results. Also to go more indepth with the effects of Megatron's betrayal.

Now look at it, its got anxiety: This is a character whos information will need to be content and trigger warned about beforehand because she does go into topics of mental disorders and effects of long-term solitary confinement on the human psyche.

WOOOOO! HERE'S ALL THE INFORMATIONS ON MY ANGELA'S!! Except IDW, but that's because I need to read WAAAY MORE to get that one right, but thank you all who read these in the mean time!! QWQ

If you have any questions or want interactions, just send me an ask or DM me!!

[tatakaeeren]

first off i also just wanna say the fact that you continually ask me questions on stuffs means a lot to me adfadfadfasd it soothes me to know my extrovert rambling personality doesn't cause too much annoyance to you asdfasd <333333

BUT ALSO ALSO I WATCHED THIRD EPISODE BC I'VE BEEN PUTTING OFF BC PAIN AND WELL YAH PAIN *cries into pillow*

NOW SHOUJO RECS WOOP WOOP (i will give u the links of where i read them too ^^)

Sesame salt and pudding- https://bato.to/series/81088/sesame-salt-and-pudding

so basically a 20 year old and a 40 year old drunkenly marry each other. I PERSONALLY love age gap stories and the 40 year guy is just *screams into pillow bc of hotness* but also the way they handle situations and everything is amazing the female lead is strong and confident in herself and not just a wet napkin

Loving Yamada at Lv999- https://bato.to/series/98627/loving-yamada-at-lv999-official

SO GOOD. idk if you've read it or seen the anime but i LOVE KUUDERES AND YAMADA IS THAT SO ARGH i love. older female lead (i think they're like two years apart but people were upset that she was like 21 and he was like 19 so i have to say that even tho it isn't creepy or anything BUT YAH)

wotakoi: love is hard for an otaku- https://wotaku-manga.com/

SO GOOD PART TWO. this is like grown adult romance i would say since they're all coworkers and like it's definitely the "i am dating my best friend" (literally) trope which i absolutely love and it's refreshing if you need a break for like high school romance yk?

My reason to die- it's a webtoon but you don't have to pay for it whoop whoop

PAIN. it's still ongoing updates every tuesday and it's SO GOOD BUT OH MY GOD THE PAIN IT CAUSES *screams in a corn field* bc like the male lead just loves her so so much and the way the author portrays like the little acts of affection through simple touches and whatnot is FUCKING AMAZING.

Here you are- https://bato.to/series/70482/here-u-are

I SHOULD SAY IT'S BL and i know that's not everyone's fancy but i personally think that like even if you someone isn't a fan of the genre to give it a try. There's no like nsfw outright, hints to it but it's not done in like a fetish way. I've cried my eyes out to this one because the characters all just feel so real. the author did an amazing job just making the characters come alive and so even if someone is like ew bl PLEASE give it a chance.

Love for Sale- https://mangabuddy.com/love-for-sale

yes this is another BL. Let me explain. there are nsfw scenes and whatnot but like, the CHARACTERS THE CHARACTERS. another one where I've cried to. The "top" for lack of a better description is somewhat aromantic, but not like oh I'm toxic man way but like in a. that's just the way he is because he can't figure out what love even is, so he uses his money to show people love because that's the only thing that makes sense to him. I am not giving an apt description but seriously, it's amazing as well, like you really get invested in the characters and i just love it.

THATS ALL FOR NOW SORRY IF YOU'VE READ SOME OF THESE BUT HOPEFULLY NOT ALL

-lavender anonieee

Hi how are you doing today?? i'm glad you feel that way! I ask you a bunch of questions because I am genuinely interested in your answers! you have different and fun opinions + I can learn more about new anime or manga and I get to know you more 😉

Oh come here let me hug you because after the third ep, we all needed a hug, a warm blanket and mentally staying at the beach with them.. let's forget the other half of the ep happened 😭

Thank you for the recommendations and the link!!! I didn't know two of them (Sesame salt and pudding and love for sale) so I definitely added them to my list!! thank you for including the summary, they really picked my interest thanks to that! 💖

[chrissmou]

February Reads 2024

Hi! Everyone, that was a fun month with lots of romance and a young adult book. As you can see, I read only 7 books this month but I liked all of them in different ways. As always I will have the links in Goodreads for you to check out if you want:

Accidentally His (Designated Debutantes #3) (Sabrina Jeffries): I liked the series overall, especially this one. This one concerns the youngest sister Verity and her romance with Colonel Walford who just returned from the Napolean Wars in the Peninsula. We learn in the beginning that the truth is that he is a spy for the British and he has already been in the sister's events because of his work. It is hilarious and the bluntness of the protagonists makes it even better. I recommend it for everyone who likes regency romance as it has all the elements of a good one.

The Poisoned Prince (Once Upon a Prince #6) (Kristin J. Dawson): This retelling was good enough and I liked it. The Huntsman and the Princess/ Servant plot in this Snow White retelling was good, and the Snow and Max was a cute friends-to-lovers relationship with a perfect magical twist to tie it all together. So far, the books in this series have been amazing and I recommend them.

The Breakup Tour (Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka): That book surprised me at every turn as I didn’t expect it to be so good. I thought it would be a standard exes-to-lovers romance with a popstar plotline and songs in the mix. But it was so much more for me because it gave the emotions of the two main characters in such a way that made it unique. I loved the music part and would like to know the playlist that inspired this one because it can’t be only Taylor Swift but also the old standards that Max played in the retirement home he manages. The main characters were amazing Riley was witty and thoughtful in a way that made me both sorry and mad at her but also happy and I wanted her to believe in herself and the magic that her lyrics made and Max was emotional, sympathetic, and loyal in his believes that I wanted so much this book to have the happy ending it deserved. I recommend it to every Taylor Swift and music fan too. If you believe music is a memory like me, this book is for you.

The Takeover (Cara Tanamachi): This was a fun read and it was the first book I read from that author. Let me tell you something, ever since I remember I wanted to learn about Asian countries and their cultures, especially China and Japan. Even if this one is mostly about two Asian- American it has many things that help you learn about different cultures. It has many things about food, especially Ramen, and a really funny scene about it between the two protagonists, Nami and Jae. It was a good enemies-to-lovers romance who always competed in high school and later in their jobs. I loved the side characters like the employers in Toggle or their families. It was adorable.

The Silver Prince (Once Upon a Prince #7) (Lynsey Hall): I only know Barbie’s version of this fairy tale but love it, so I barely knew where I was going. I love this version even more of the two Princesses and their friends in a curse with everyone who tried to rescue them. I loved the characters of both Andres, Isadora, and Livia but also those of Amma, the historian, Gus, the gardener, and Dominic, the shoemaker. It has mystery because of the curse but also romance music and folklore between the two countries of the protagonists. I would recommend it to everyone because it is a book that if you like, you would read in one sitting like me.

The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2) (Rick Riordan): As many of you already know, I love Greek mythology and I have many versions over the years. This version of Jason and the Golden Fleece was good and a modern version of it has many differences but is also an adventure story for teens and young adults. It didn’t have much of Grover in it as it was also a saving mission for him except for Percy’s dream sequences which were both terrifying and funny. It had the same humor as the first one but also more battle sequences, as it was in the sea, and especially the Bermuda Triangle was in the sea. We also learned more about Percy’s prophecy and his connection with Cronos. It was a good and fun to read.