#i can't get over one books series i read where the main character is a ray of sunshine but his friends are neglectful

[phoebe-ofthe-cosmos]

instagram algorithm serving me so many reels lately of people reading sjm books and then complaining about the characters like "when you're trying to finish acosf but nesta keeps getting in the way" or "acotar5 is coming next 😁 but it's going to be about elain 😔" (side note NOT EVEN CONFIRMED!) why are you even reading the books if you hate the characters so much. do you guys know you don't have to read them?

[prompts-by-anjali]

the character who breaks away

a character who is originally with a group of main characters, but finally decides to leave them because they aren't nice people

[pieroulette]

Did I, A Side Character Became the Male Lead's Wife?!

2023 | 13+ | ONESHOT | YANG JUNGWON × READER | -> PART 2

SUMMARY you — a side character in a royal novel doing absolutely nothing but enjoy your rich ass yet boring life, only watching over the female lead and doing your job in protecting her, only for a pair of kittenish eyes to fall not upon the female lead but on you, unfortunately.

AUTHOR'S NOTE not me writing a whole ass oneshot at 5am bcs of that sweet ask from that one anon, imma name u serotonin dopamine anon lmao- and jungwon bae u r truly my muse.. also inspired by sum manhwas cuz I binge read 90+ chapters in less than a day 💀💀💀 plus happy 900+ followers for me <333 mom wake up I'm famous even tho I'll never let u know what my secret writing blog is about 😊😊

a side character, how cute?

well, you only came to know of this very horrible (not really) fact that you're nothing close to a main character's vibes cause look at you babe, where's the sparkling shiny starry dust on you as you walked through the red carpet at the ball?

and did they even spare a glance at you? unfortunately, nope. because the female lead, Liz; was your enemy, at least in how your character was written in the novel by the goddamn author which was you.

yes, that's right!

you, a hella introverted author dwelling in the deepest corner of her room doing nothing but spent an ungodly amount of hours creating the perfect and enchanting characters after crying for major character death of a fic a few years ago. wiping your dripping tears off your cheeks in a comical way as you pull open your laptop and risk your 20/20 vision for life, just so you can reverse the aching pain in your chest that you wore a thick ass glasses now.

Liz, the female lead. Swooning over her was your religion, throwing not one but a ten whole buckets explaining how perfect she was—or how tremendously kind she was, delicate and utterly sweet. patting yourself on the back for creating such a goddess of a character, so it's only wise for you to give her a fitting male lead, right? Okay we'll talk about that later since it's about you right now.

So how did you end up in your novel? Well, because of one fateful day of you doing absolutely nothing but taking a goddamn rest, and whoever the god in heaven that just randomly decided to throw you in the novel you wrote yourself—must be utterly insane. Perfect indeed!

it took you a humongous realisation to see yourself in a dark green puffy dress that represents jealousy, envy, and betrayal—which also represents the side character standing behind the female lead on the thick cover of your book. you've originally written her as that wicked best friend that uses her seductive way of speech to seduce men, and at last turning her back at the female lead by accusing her of a horrendous crime.

her fatal fate consists of her head being snapped by the guillotine, unfortunately. but for you, not really, cause you are so in for destroying wicked characters but jokes on you—you're now in the body of that character.

pfft, can't the gods put you in a character that lives near the sea, with your straw hat on and as you drank your lemon juice away from the public drama, angsty dialogues, cringe moments you yourself have created because you don't have atleast an ounce of social skills that's why you pour it all on your characters.

"oh my apologies, milady— pfft—" three ladies sticking with each other like a super glue, had thrown the glass of wine on the female lead's gown—earning a series of gasps from everyone who saw but you were sure won't pay an ounce of consideration towards her as you had written almost everyone in this novel as "the world against the weak, fragile character."

oh, right. the hyena laughters of those you describe in episode 3 of "the flashy ball"; the three evil sisters, because why not? they added the extra spices in your tongue to the point you couldn't wait for them to get slap by the female lead or possibly someone.

ah, the tremendous satisfaction.

and you were one of that person whose hands itching to smash their skull apart, you cringed enormously at them as they were the ones that brought total trouble wherever they went or whoever are unlucky enough to get in their way. unfortunately, you seal your female lead's fate with them as she need some little obstacles, doesn't she?

you as hell were not sure what you're supposed to do, whether to just let things happen as the story goes or you do the male lead's job in protecting the female lead cause you have no idea why is he taking such a long time to appear, when he should've made his grand entrance at the freaking introduction?

and you wrote it that way cause you got fed up with male leads making their first appearance at the ball, and somehow quickly gaining the female lead's heart like Cinderella cause dear lord where's the slow burn?

just say, you're a conservative grandma type of a mindset or that you are skeptical over love at first sight. yep, you're right. that's why you ain't gonna let your precious female lead get bullied in front of your very eyes. she's like your granddaughter right now, seriously.

a shriek echoed through the entire ball, gaining everyone's attention. "oh my god! my dress! you— lady Liz! who did you even brought with you?!"

oh right, you forgot it's your first time at the ball either. "my apologies, milady. it's just that i saw a bunch of hyenas roaming around.." you rubbed the back of your neck.

"hyenas?! guards—"

"chill, what's the commotion here?" a bright dashing blonde haired man in a red royal suit came around, with sets of stars dusting upon his form which you already realise to be part of the main characters but unfortunately you forgot. you ain't having that extra superhuman memory just because you are an author.

the bunch of hyenas before you reasoned with the prince, but you slowly realise that the prince was none other than Prince Jake. Inspired by that one puppy image idol from fourth generation of kpop, you were apparently slurping your noodles in the local restaurant when you watched him imitating a dog from the tv, causing you to choke on your noodles.

it's safe to say, he's hot enough that he had to be part of your main characters. aah, that signature dashing smile of his as he defended the female lead with his wisely chosen string of words which immediately melted everyone's heart at sight.

times like this you wish you were actually the female lead, but the logical side of you beg to differ; you are not emotionally capable of spewing cringy romantic words for that's only reserved for writing. So thank you, i'll pass.

Surely, Prince Jake ain't the male lead for your precious female lead but you just let them converse with each other despite her with her absolute kindness, urging you to talk with them too, atleast a word. it sort of felt for a moment like she was trying to match you with the prince.

like no please, you'd rather not to. hot guys are hot, but they're not worth the emotional investment past the fangirling section.

plus the prince doesn't seem interested you as he doesn't spare not even one look at you which obviously you couldn't care any less, you sneakily went out the ball after a series of mishaps—for example your heavy puffy ass gown with its sole purpose to only look pretty but the reality ain't that pretty to say the least, panting like a dog as you took each step towards the entrance all while cussing yourself for ignoring your logical part of brain that you shouldn't have been adding humongous useless words to describe the gown just to make it sound extremely pleasing to the readers.

now you're the one to bear the consequences of your own writing, the fuck.

"one! two!—" a long, long, depressing sigh echoes. "three! ah!—" consequently falling upon your face, what a perfect day indeed. you just wanted to go home, tuck yourself in your comforting blanket, eat your hot cup of ramen or indulge yourself in the sea of chocolate while daydreaming of your favourite idols and fictional characters.

not this awful disaster of you getting tangled in the courts' affairs.

"i suppose, you need help, milady?"

oh no, certainly not. don't call me milady, pretend i do not exist for i certainly do not have the social skills to pretend that i like you, or form a decent conversation especially with men.

"milady?"

you curled yourself, burying your head into the comfort of your gowns. wondering quite a bit of how odd you look in the middle of the hallway.

"milady?" his voice-like whisper came closer, obviously standing beside you right now. "are you okay?"

fuck it. "please, i beg of you to kindly leave me alone as my day has been utterly ruined and—" oh wait, he seems oddly familiar. those lush fluffy hair and kittenish orbs that only softens among those he were close enough.

prince jungwon.

oh! the male lead, oh my god! your jaw hang so low it fell on the ground, your eyes sparkled in dozens of star like universe as you took in his marvelous beauty that you had spent creating meticulously after studying all the '101 rules of how to create the perfect male lead that had the readers heart evaporating & a huge ass green forest that certainly would cause blazing flames'.

"oh my god! you look absolutely gorgeous, i've done it really well didn't i?! oh my god!"

"o-oh—! absolutely, you did well!" he immediately replied back, pressing his lips tight nervously.

wait what? what did he say? oh shit, oh well, covering your mouth instantly as you accidentally let it out before the prince, your precious male lead that you solely created for the female lead. "i—.."

the prince, your very precious character—obviously taken aback with a slight blush dusting of his adorable cheeks as he raise his fist up to his lips, coughing a couple of seconds. a personality trait you very well are familiar of cause that's how you wrote him when he fall in love with the female lead.

your eyes ogled out at that familiar sight, screaming at the back of your mind—wait, wait! you're not supposed to fall in love with me, you idiot! go back! go inside the ball, she's inside there!

"that's oddly brave of you, milady. i'd certainly go as far as to say that i've never seen such traits from a lady." kitten eyes softening at you, crouching down as he lend both of his hands for you. you raised your eyebrow confusingly at what is he trying to pull at but you realise he was intending to get you up.

"u-uhm? uh, sorry. i could get up on my own, actually." yeah, that's what you did. pushing yourself back up despite his protests because you ain't gonna let him fall any further for you, nah uh, not in this life, your mission is to get him and your female lead together inside the frames of birds holding flower wreaths as they went on to their happily ever after.

not with you!

"may i have the honour to know your name, though, milady?" why the fuck isn't he leaving, what is there so interesting in you that he is still standing here asking you such generic questions.

you shouldn't be having the characters attention on you as you obviously wrote it that way, and that even though your character in the novel had tried to get the prince's heart, despite resorting to foul actions, that he never truly had been attracted to her despite this characters' seductive aura.

for you squealed so loud at the scene you wrote, with jungwon putting her in her place. "you are not her, and you would never be her." along with the bunch of your readers hosting a flamboyant celebration under the comments, screaming over how loyal he was.

so what in the actual fuck is this?

"you don't need my name." you nonchalantly answered.

"my apologies?"

"you see, my best friend is in the ball—" you gestured your hands to the entrance of the ballroom, "and she needs your help more than i do."

"wait? why would she need my help?" his eyebrows knitted together in utter confusion as you pushed him through his back.

"of course, she do! don't ask anything!"

"wait!— my name is!" he forcefully turn to face you again, but you immediately covered his mouth with your hands—kabedonning him against the wall.

an excruciating silence occured between you two in the silent hallway, Jungwon freezing to his core when your other hand shoot beside his head.

"listen i don't need your name, dear sir." you emphasise each word, you certainly don't need to know his name nor his status as a prince, not wanting to risk any possible connection with him judging by how he acted before you just now.

"b-but!" his words were muffled into the void as you cupped his mouth tighter.

"shh, shh. stop talking and listen, will you?!"

jungwon nodded slowly, what an odd situation he was in right now, he thought. but somehow he likes it.

"so first step, is go inside the ballroom. second, look for the lady in pink gown, and third—"

"t-third?"

"third is tell her your name! my best friend needs it more than i do!" you release him from your grasp as you went to swing open the huge double door, "now go!" waving a goodbye before kicking his body through the entrance, pulling the door back with your entire strength despite his protests.

oh of course, you finally let out a gag after suppressing it in front of him the entire time as you've never had a proper conversation with a male without stuttering, somewhat a sad tragedy for you, unfortunately. you felt quite guilty about your readers who swoon over the romances you wrote between your leads, weeping over how you're so good at it—not knowing you're a complete introvert with only a gigantic ass dictionary with you.

finally, the male lead and female lead's romances are about to start! you squealed with your hands clasping as you went on your way to the carriage, gesturing for the rider to embark on the way to your heavenly puffy manor with the widest big grin ever that it had him questioning you, "has any gentleman had caught your heart, milady? a couple of hours ago, you were often beyond distraught to attend the ball but insisted when you heard Lady Liz was going."

"oh, you silly." you giggled as you swayed your hand, "of course, that's one of the reasons. but there's another one.."

"may i ask what is it, then?"

you leaned in closer, urging him to get closer as you whispered. "i got the chance to become a Cupid!"

"a Cupid?" you squealed before the old man, hopping like a child for quite awhile before flying into the carriage much to his surprise, but only shook his head in amusement—appalled by how his mistress had changed so much.

"so?" you couldn't help yourself from pulling out the widest eccentric grin at the female lead, extremely curious and ecstatic over what romances had bloom between her and Jungwon.

Liz raises her eyebrow in confusion, "so?.. what do you mean, milady?"

you shrugged, falling back to your seat as you raise your eyebrow in a comical way, "that.." whispering ever so seductively, "prince."

"p-prince?

"yes!" the teacup rattles at your excitement oozing so much that you tapped the table a couple of times. "what happen? what's the tea~"

she lets out a soft giggle, a bit amused by your excitement. "i have no idea what you're trying to imply, milady."

"wait? what are you saying? didn't the prince went to you last night?"

Liz shook her head slowly, her expressions clearly stating that she absolutely don't know what and who you were talking about as a smile pulled up on her lips once again, taking a few sip from her teacup.

veins popped out from your neck as it dawned on you, your head snapped towards the castle on top of the mountain, you stupid of a prince! you cussed at him endlessly at the back of your mind, tightening your fist as your ears and nose fuming in anger. how dare he? he didn't listen to you at all? what in the actual fuck? would this somehow divert the original route? a dozen question arise into your mind one after another, causing you to let out an exaggerated sigh.

facepalming yourself as you imagined the imaginary heavenly light on top of you, weeping to yourself about how tremendously unlucky you are to have a hard headed male lead. it's impossible, you have never added a trait so irritating like this in his profile so how could this happen?

"milady?" the gentle voice of your precious female lead pulled you out of your inner desperation, you leaned in closer, whining so much over how unlucky you were and such, the rest only being in your mind as you pouted.

"ah, i remember now, the prince—"

"WHAT?—" you immediately seated yourself after giving her a potential heart attack, "my apologies, what did you actually.. remember?"

"i assume you were talking about the prince from yesterday? prince jake?"

"no not that bitch— oh certainly not him, ehem.." you took a couple of exaggerated coughs, avoiding her evident confusion. "isn't there a prince.. name jungwon with you that night?"

"oh my goodness! right! prince jungwon!" she shook her head in disbelief with her finger on her head.

right, how did you even forgot that the female lead in front of you had a "weak ass memory" in her profile description. tsk tsk, truly a forgetful author you are. you should be trying your best to remember the things you wrote before and revise it as best as you can, to avoid any possible problems in the future, atleast.

"right, how did i even forget, the prince asked me for your name, milady—"

"huh?" you look at her with confusion, as you were out of reality a couple of seconds ago. your orbs terribly widened as her words slowly sinking in to your brain. "HUH?"

ask your name?! why your name, why not hers?! what did the prince ate that night before stumbling onto your way that he had to ask for your name before the female lead—his own lover?!

laughing awkwardly, you raise your leg on top of another as you nervously swayed your hands repeatedly. "oh dear, oh dear. you might have heard it wrong, the prince?—" snorting outloud as you gestured to yourself, "asking for my name? what a funny news!"

"i didn't, milady. the prince came to me and asked me for your name, as he was immensely curious of who you are so i—"

"so what?—" you can't believe this, you really can't bring yourself to believe any words she was uttering. you should have been bestowed by the news that the prince had taken an interest in her, a hand in marriage, or anything, anything as long as you're out of the picture! "y-you didn't tell him my name, d-didn't you?"

"of course, i did!" exclaimed she did with the widest grin ever.

why are you so freaking happy over this?! clasping your head in your hands as you tragically fall on your knees causing the lady to gasp in shock, ushering to your side to get you up.

"milady?! what's wrong?"

"d-dear," you pouted as you look up to her, "you didn't tell him where my manor's at, r-right?"

she simply replied, "i did? the prince informed me that he's going to send a letter for you to be his partner to the ball."

an imaginary arrow struck back to your heart, forming a humongous hole that threatens to give you a panic attack. what? what in the actual fuck? did you accidentally did something to divert the original story you yourself created? but you didn't even do anything! you tried to do your best to keep the interaction with him as short as possible and he dared to take an interest in you?!

"milady, a letter from the royal palace had arrived for you."

"discard it. throw it. keep it away from my sight."

"milady?!" Liz and the head of the maid exclaimed in utter shock at your nonchalant answer.

"forget about it, forget about it." you clasped your forehead in utter disappointment, yet your brain were creating another plan b for this unexpected turn of events. what should you do? even more so, what would you do now that the prince had asked for you to be by his side to the ballroom?

this won't do, you won't let this happen—you had to look as unattractive and ugly as possible for him to cringe on and finally divert his attention back to the rightfully person who deserved it; the female lead.

your maids could only fall apart every single time you pluck out the enchanting gems they attached on your hair, ears and wrists. their efforts deemed futile as always as you had no mood for any sort of events, it was like a slap to their face as you initially weren't like this. you overheard them that they couldn't get used to how you were adamant in staying behind the spotlight as you often did your very best in dressing yourself up before, with the sole intention of gaining the favour of men and even more better, a prince.

of course, they are totally oblivious to your real identity. only a series of jaw gaping one after another with your change of character, at first—you had a dilemma over whether you should act like the character you created but you later scrap the idea as soon as the anxiety of being engulfed in the crowd suffocated your chest. opting to avoid as many as balls or public events as possible, but that obviously didn't work out that well since you heard of the female lead's arrival from the country side—just like you intended it to be.

and being the proud mother (writer) you are, of course why wouldn't you take one single look at her and see of how far she had came? but alas, one interaction leads to another one and so on—till finally, you became her best friend throughout her entire journey. waiting for the male lead's arrival, and watch their romances blooming and per se—but oh well, look at the situation you were in right now; total disaster.

you truly despise being in such an extravagant puffy gown and the numerous accessories hugging your skin, it's tremendously uncomfortable that you wanted to rip it off part in front of the prince standing before you right now, and right here.

asking for your hand to dance with that odd kittenish smile, that you swore you had never ever written in his personality profile; he should never have been this casual and chill over a person he had just met. he should've been cold as fuck, icy to touch, and a spiralling disaster if you dare to talk to him, so why?

plus how could he have taken an interest in you? you couldn't possibly have added a dose of the love at first sight trope, didn't you? you despised that trope to your very core.

"milady? may i?" he extended his hand before you, patiently waiting for your answer.

you had decided that you're going to reject him quick and efficient—just like the local fast food restaurant your mouth kept drooling over for, smashing a five star review for their inhuman speedy delivery.

"you see, prince jungwon. i have no desire to have a connection with you, a relationship, as a matter of fact."

he raised his eyebrow, seemingly unfazed by your bold words. "i'm curious milady, why so? have i done something that perhaps had annoyed you?"

cliché question, you loathe that. "what if i said you did?"

"then tell me, milady. i'll try my hardest to own up to you—" he took a steps forward, which causes you to immediately step back as well with a frown on your face. you can't, not in this life, to even give him a single chance to get close to you. nah uh.

"no need, and stay one meter apart, please." you pointed your index finger towards the floor and he hesitated, but complied immediately.

"i." you raise your index finger back to yourself and then at him, "don't like you. do you understand?"

"b-but?"

"stop questioning me, prince jungwon." you stayed firm in your spot, "i believe it's a common decency to step back when a lady had voiced out her opinion, a prince like you certainly would understand, am i right?"

Jungwon was clearly taken aback, the fact that you didn't give him a single chance to utter a word nor take a step closer was a hard punch to his face. It feels as if he was trying to reach for you, but you efficiently dodged it with ease. It kind of.. annoys him.

"base on how you didn't say anything anymore, i assumed we're done here! well then, goodbye prince jungwon." you turned your heels towards the entrance, not bothering to waste any time at this goddamn ball. "i hope this will be the very last." you scoffed inside your mind, eager for the story to return to it's original route, and that the prince would soon deem you useless and such—returning to the female lead's arms.

hm, now where's your precious female lead? she should've appeared right now and right here, strike the pot while it's hot!

"i'm afraid i can't back down that easily, milady." jungwon took a few steps forward, wrapping his hand round your wrist as he spun you around to face his eyes filled with blazing determination. one that you specifically added on top of his profile so that your readers would kept it in mind.

your breath hitched down your throat as you remembered there's only two reasons he could have this; one that reminds you when he was at war, shouting at the top of his voice to encourage his soldiers as they push through the enemies, and another reason of it appearing is when he have to get what he wanted, or else all hell will break loose, chaos will ensue.

right, you're truly an idiot. staying a few years in this novel without any memories, and only for it to surface back when you stumble upon the library—dozens of books flickering a series of eccentric images in your mind. It had cause you to lose all memories of important details, only emerging everytime you are presented with a situation you couldn't comprehend. such as when you forgot that the female lead had memory problems and such.

"i'll only present this choices to you, milady. since you tremendously intrigued me over how well spoken you were and fascinating indeed—" bitch, you don't even know how you had the sudden ability to confront him but you were just sure as hell that you don't want to ruin your own novel. no fucking way.

you can't let him have the upper hand on you.

"let me go." irritated to your core, you tried untangle Jungwon's tight grasp on your wrist but he won't budge even an inch which only had you fuming in anger. "i said let me go, bitch!"

the crowd emits a series of gasps and murmurs as you spun around—twisting the prince's arms which had him yelping in pain, and ultimately pinning him onto the ground. with rage consuming you that nothing was going in your way, you slammed your hands on the both side of his head. clenching your jaw and gritting your teeth as you emphasised each word. "you are one a dumb hell of a bitch, when i said i do not want to see you anymore. i mean it. so—"

"so what?" his smug look resurfaces, one that emerges whenever he was being challenged. yes, do that! he should despise you, not take an interest in you! he should loathe you so much that he can't even gaze at you for a second. excitement surged through your veins as you open your mouth, preparing for the last blow.

"so, get lost. just because you're a prince doesn't mean every girl would fall for you, idiot."

an even more louder gasp emits from the crowd as they clearly heard what you said, their jaw gaping and some covering their mouths with their hands as their mind are now bombarded with random questions over how exceedingly brave you are to insult the royal prince, and of what fate will you met now that you've done such an atrocious act.

a low giggle sent shivers down your spine, and goosebumps to riled over your neck as you realise the prince under you had the widest smirk on his face. you frowned deeply, he shouldn't be smirking! he should be fuming in anger and throwing you out of the palace at this moment. so why?!...

"oh milady, how truly fascinating you are." you let out a loud yelp when he grabbed both of your wrists, pulling you closer to his face—a dangerous close proximity against his fluttering eyelashes and lips that your breath caught up in your throat which causes your cheeks to heated up in embarrassment of what kind of position you two were in right now. "i like you, you would certainly be a perfect fit to be by my side."

"what?!" you exclaimed, jaws dropping and eyes about to pop out at his very words. "i don't want to be by your side—"

"a lady like you, i'm afraid to say, intrigues me very much..." Jungwon shots a kittenish wink right through your heart. "be my wife, milady. i'll show you how good I can be for you."

「 © talesofyuan on tumblr 2023 」 all rights reserved. do not copy or post without permission.

[yumeka-sxf]

My thoughts on Spy x Family: EYES ONLY Guidebook (English ver) - part 1

I finished reading through my copy of the English version of the SxF manga guidebook "EYES ONLY." There's tons of fantastic information about the series, but I wanted to share my thoughts/commentary on parts that were the most interesting to me. Since there's so much content to cover, I'll be dividing it into a few different posts. Also, rather than go in the order of the book's sections, I decided to group the content based on topic. This first post will cover Endo's comments about the characters individually, as well as information about Garden.

Endo's Q&As and comments about the characters

Loid:

I like that Endo provides a reason for why Loid wears a WISE logo pin as it's something more than one fan of the series has questioned! And I totally agree with Lin about his "lack of distinctive features." Compared to so many other anime characters, especially shonen main characters, Loid's design is so plain, particularly in his hair and clothes. At least in his spy outfit he has a gun to make him a little flashier, but when he's in his casual clothes, he literally just looks like "some guy," haha. But that also makes sense for his character.

I love how Endo gave specific numbers for comparing Loid and Yor's strength (Yor: 10, Loid: 6-7)

Anya:

I did notice what Endo is talking about how Anya's design changed over time. But that can be said for all the characters really, and it's definitely not uncommon for manga-ka's styles to evolve as they get a better feel for their characters and world.

He mentions the classical language thing that was also brought up in chapter 42. Definitely makes me think that will somehow tie into her backstory.

Speaking of Anya's backstory, there was this little excerpt about the researchers at the lab. So one thing we can say for sure about her past is that she was not treated well there at all (which has been hinted at in the series).

Endo also discussed the origin of Anya's pink hair (namely, there really isn't any origin, lol).

Yor:

Interesting that he spent the most time designing Yor, and also about the origin of her stilettoes. And his apology to the cosplayers for that bonus feature about Yor's hair, haha.

I had to chuckle when he said they can't measure her strength because she keeps breaking the instruments! Also the fact that she hasn't learned how to make a single successful meal since the stew…Endo is such a savage sometimes, lol. But keep in mind that this book was originally published over a year ago, and obviously we know from recent chapters that her cooking is improving. I also like that he mentions that she has left witnesses to her work, like in Extra Mission 2. I wonder if that will be a bigger plot point somewhere down the line.

Like Anya having pink hair, Endo expresses some regret about making Yor an assassin (but his laugh makes it clear he's not terribly hung up about it!)

Bond:

I know some people are bothered by the fact that Yor is Bond's least favorite. But I think Bond's (initial) dislike for her originated from the chapter where he assumes he would have died from her cooking. Also the fact that Anya put the idea in his head that she would "murder" him if he did something she didn't like, like shun her food (which is obviously heavily exaggerated). But again, this book was published over a year ago, and the most recent chapter revealed that he definitely doesn't dislike her even if she's not his favorite. It's perfectly normal for pets to have family members they prefer over others for whatever reason.

Franky:

I love that Franky does charity work. I hope we'll see that in a future chapter.

Fiona:

It's interesting that he ranks Fiona's combat ability so low, especially when you consider what she did to Wheeler in the recent arc. But to me, that wasn't so much a display of combat prowess as it was totally raw, uninhibited willpower.

Yuri:

I love his blunt answer about whether Yuri has other interests besides Yor. Also intriguing that he mentions Nightfall when discussing Yuri's combat ability…maybe those two will meet eventually?

Information about Garden

Since Garden is still such a mysterious entity in the SxF universe, I tried to gather everything about them that the book mentions.

It's interesting that Yor sees Shopkeeper as her mentor since he taught her survival skills in her youth. The book also raises the question about how Yor found Garden in the first place…maybe something Endo will expand on in the future?

So the information Franky gives us about Garden is exaggerated? Gah, that just makes them even more mysterious!

The above was a cool bit of trivia...so it seems like the secret police might know more about Garden than WISE. Perhaps Yuri will find out about Yor's real identity before Twilight?

Continue to Part 2 ->

[knight-of-the-graces]

Hey, um… with the whole “Bluejay!Jason” concept… has anybody ever considered it as an Inkheart reference instead of just a play off his name?

Follow me here, and sorry in advance, this turned into a ramble.

In the second book of the Inkheart trilogy, Inkspell, one of the main protagonists adopts a Robin Hood-esque approach to defeating the tyrant king, and adopts the name of ‘The Bluejay’ from famous folk legends and songs written by a beloved poet and often sung by travelling minstrels. He’s -Inkspell spoilers ahead, though this book is unironically older than I am- known for toppling said tyrant’s throne through the binding of a magic book (a recurring theme throughout the series, if you’ve never read it, which you should). He’s a champion among the Motley Folk, who were that world’s equivalent to a travelling circus and also regularly aid him in his quest to topple the Adderhead (the tyrant king mentioned above), and sought to help the poor and downtrodden. The Bluejay is aided and abetted by his family and friends, which include a shapeshifting wife, a daughter with the ability to make anything she reads come true, a fire-dancer who can speak to the flames, and a knife-throwing 'circus' prince with a black bear companion. (They're not called the Motley Folk for no reason, people!)

Now, consider for a moment: Little Jason Todd, in the local library, absolutely devouring the Inkheart series. It's everything a little kid could dream of in a fantasy book! And there's three of these fat books, what more could you possibly want? And he has an excuse to sit in a warm, safe building for a few hours.

Now imagine, Inkspell becomes his comfort book. Of course it does- every kid had one, and I can't imagine an orphan who grew up alone on the streets of Gotham picking anything other than a story about a strange man helping the opressed and downtrodden in a land he grows to call his own with the help of his family- and The Bluejay is an excellent father to his daughter, too, of course Jason pictured himself as part of that family, as whisked away into that world.

And of course, the rest of the series is wonderful too -Inkheart is where it all began, after all, and Inkdeath is the final triumph over evil!-, but Inkspell is a story about becoming. About learning to be more than you were born as- after all, if Mo the simple bookbinder could become the hero The Bluejay, what could Jason the street orphan become?

Maybe, instead of discovering this book in a library, he found it in the trash. And maybe he wondered, as he read it, why anyone would ever want to throw away the tale of Mo the Blujay, of Meggie the Silvertongue, of Resa the brave swift, of Dustfinger the loyal Fire-Dancer? (And maybe the last one took a while to get there, but he did get there! Eventually! And maybe Jason can understand why it took Dustfinger so long to truly come to trust someone again, because trust is a terribly dangerous thing to give to someone, because you can never really know what they'll do with it.) Maybe he read it through without knowing anything about Capricorn or The Shadow or why they feared the man named Basta, because they hadn't thrown away the first book, only the second. Maybe he wept for the death of Dustfinger, at the very end, because he didn't know that Death wouldn't keep him, because they hadn't thrown away the third book.

Maybe Inkspell found its place among his most treasured possessions. Maybe, when he met Batman and Bruce Wayne in one night and his life changed forever, Inkspell came with him, with its familiar story and characters and world and sorrows.

Maybe one of the first things Bruce did, upon seeing Jason reading that same battered old paperback, was to order Inkheart and Inkdeath and leave them in his room. Maybe that was when Jason started to realize that he wasn't going to leave forever.

(Maybe Jason and Dick would play Motley Folk together, because Dick was in the circus and could most certainly throw knives, even if it gave Bruce a heart attack every time he saw it.)

And maybe, after he could no longer have Robin, he remembered that old paperback book, that old story and that old world, and he thought of a new name for himself.

Bluejay, he thought, as he picked up the book that had been his constant companion for so many years. I'll be The Bluejay.

(I don't really know what this is. I saw some Bluejay!Jason art the other day and just started thinking of the Inkheart trilogy and the fact that Jason would absolutely have read it and probably loved it. And then it spiralled.)

[olderthannetfic]

Update on the Bridgerton stuff: the online fandom is so homophobic and horrible, and the mods of stuff like the main subreddit refuse to do anything about it (but will remove comments by people upset about the homophobia for "generalizing") that LGBTQ+ fans have had to make their own spaces. There's a whole separate subreddit that bans homophobia called r/bridgertonlgbt, and of course the ones from the main one keep trying to get it banned with false reports by accusing them of "heterophobia" and "doxxing" (re: complaining about their homophobic comments in their own spaces). Assholes who are mad about them making a straight romance from the books lesbian in the show are also doing petitions and flooding like every Instagram post including one by the original author about how she was initially skeptical about such a big change from her books but she's had lots of talks with the showrunners and she trusts them, and has always supported greater diversity in the series. People keep misusing that stupid fucking George R.R. Martin quote (about how creators these days don't do anything original but just warp other people's existing works) when he himself has condemned "the show must be exactly like the books" fan attitudes, especially the racist tantrums around House of the Dragon casting a couple years ago. And on a post by the author HERSELF where she explains why she gave the go-ahead, supports these changes, and condemns homophobia in the fandom! How is she "warping" her own work???

I've heard about this all secondhand from my friend and it just makes me so glad I don't go on Insta or Reddit and instead keep my fandom activities to Tumblr or AO3. Where for all the drama over other things, at least this kind of rancid homophobia you get in spaces where everyone is cis and straight feels entitled to only ever consume straight and cis romance stories (they'll claim they "are okay with gay characters but new ones!" but their example is always like a side character who has an unhappy ending, can you really not get why queer fans are not satisfied with that?) at least that's not so much a thing here. Instead I'll be happily writing Francesca/Michaela and Benedict/male characters slash and ignoring and blocking the haters. And remembering that that show has way more fans than use social media and everyone involved is continuing to refuse to listen to the loud idiots online. Like everyone I talk to about it who isn't super online, most of whom are straight women, think the change is really cool and can't wait to see what they do with it. Some of them have read the books, but most have not.

But god, it just seems like toxicity from top to bottom over there. I really wish a lot of the straight women fans would just admit they don't like a lesbian romance because there's no one for them to find hot. And maybe consider why it's not a big fucking ask to "find something relatable" in gay romances, like gay people have had to do with straight ones for all time. Why must we continue doing that but you're entitled to whatever you want all the time? It's just so weird to see these attitudes still and in fandom in 2024!

--

These attitudes never went away.

On the fanfic side of things, the slashers just happen to have built the currently-popular platform, so the haters have to deal.

[darkbluekies]

i wanna start writing so bad but idk where to start do u have any tips??

Okay, so this is more of a general in depth guide for a little of everything, if you don't find anything useful in this please let me know and I will try again <3 This is more for lenghty novels (which are my main writing thing) than tumblr posts, but i think that some things here could be used for tumblr too so i'm just spewing every kind of advice i have

Before writing

If you don't have an existing idea, watching movies, series and even music videos can help bring out ideas. Watch some that you like and maybe write down some moments you liked. You can always take inspiration from existing things as long as you make it your own and not copy them.

Everyone says "read more" to develop your vocabulary and I didn't really believe it, but i notice how I feel more confident in my writing after reading someone elses work. It helps you with seeing scenes from other perspective thanks to how someone else would describe a scene. I also created a document where i write down phrases and words that I'd like to remember and use for myself when I can't come up with my own words. It can look like this!

I have always had an easy time for creating stories with a red thread,. But if you need a little help planning out your story, where things should go and when to add what, models like 'Save the cat' could be beneficial. My advice, though, is to not follow it blindly because it can result in a mass procuced feeling since it can become predictable! But I feel that it can be good to have the story somewhat planned out from the start. You don't need to know everything, but just having an overlook where you want to take it is a good thing.

When it comes to characters, try to make them have different characteristics and don't be afriad to give them traits that makes them bad. There are multiple things I don't agree with when it comes to my characters views, actions or reactions, but it makes them human and that's the best thing you can do for your characters, to make them human, real, believable.

Pinterest boards are fun and easy to keep track of the vibe of your story. It helps you save pictures of characters, their clothes, their houses, everything. I have one for every of my books, here are some ideas!

Writing

My biggest advice (that i honestly should take too) is that your first version of something NEVER has to be good. Hell, you don't even have to like it, just get it done so that you have something to go off of when you remake it! You should have fun when you write. Sounds cheesy, but it's very true. If you feel that the story is draining you more than exciting you, leave it. You might come back to it in the future, but for now it's better to leave it and start over!

I have heard a tip that I haven't tried, but when I think about it, it makes sense. Someone suggested to take a book and copy it, word for word, into a document for yourself. That way, you learn to write sentences and build a story. Haven't tried it, but maybe worth giving it a shot? :)

Synonyms are your best friend!! Don't repeat yourself too much. And, instead of saying for example "she walks very slowly, not wanting to reach the meeting" you could say "she forced her legs to move despite the heavy feeling in her chest", because it makes the reader's brain puzzle together what the character is thinking!

I'll round it off before I start to spiral lol. I hope that this was somewhat helpful. I'm rarely asked about these kinds of things so when I am it all flows out without structure! :,)<3

[itmeansiris]

The Solar System Legacy Challenge: Getting to Know the Neighbors Gen 1 pt.55

The day before Zohrehs birthday Mercury and family head down the street to meet for lunch with Kiersten and her family. When they arrive they knock and a gruff voice calls out from inside

???: It's open.

In the distance they can hear a softer voice respond, Kiersten.

Kiersten: Did you even check who it was?

Kiersten opens the door and lets them in

Kiersten: Mercury! Kason! I'm so glad you guys made it. Rufus these are the neighbors who own the gorgeous blue house near the towns center. I told you they came by yesterday to say hello while you and the boys were out.

Rufus was in the middle of a flash card lesson with his youngest son. He cuts the lesson short, kissed the small red headed boy and stood to greet them.

Rufus: Good to meet you. Rufus, I see you've meet my beautiful wife. This handsome guy is Malachi and our oldest son Tucker is around here somewhere.

Kason steps forward to introduce his own family.

Kason: Rufus, nice to meet you. Kiersten it's nice to see you again. I’m Kason, this is my wife Mercury and our triplets Venus, Ishtar and Aphrodite and our youngest Zohreh.

Rufus: Well lets not stand in the doorway come in please.

As soon as everyones inside, the oldest boy Tucker comes down whining loudly to his parents.

Tucker: Mooooommm you said dad would help me with my creative writing paper. I actually have to attend school tomorrow if you forgot.

Tucker plops down at the kitchen table.

Rufus: We have company buddy.

Tucker looks around noticing there are other people in the room.

Tucker: Um...sorry. Hi, I'm Tucker.

He politely introduces himself.

M: It's very nice to meet you Tucker. If you don't mind me asking what is your creative writing story about?

Tucker smiles and animated launches into an explanation of the world he'd created and the characters and creatures that inhabited the land.

Tucker: I want the main character to become a werewolf but I've never written about werewolves. Which is where my dad came in. He loves the supernatural, but he hasn't had much time since the move.

M smiled and sat down across from him.

M: Well I just happen to know a little something about writing werewolves. Would you mind if I helped out?

Rufus and Kiersten looked at each other surprised.

Kiersten: Thank you so much, but we couldn't ask you for that. We invited you over for lunch and to hopefully make friends-

Rufus: Yeah, not put you to work.

Kason laughed, seeing Rufus and Kiersten finish each other sentences made him like them more. They reminded him of himself and Mercury. It was easy to see they had a close family dynamic and a healthy relationship.

Kason: One thing you'll learn about M, writing is never work for her. She's a pretty amazing author herself.

Kiersten stops in her tracks as realization dawns on her. She walks over to the bookshelf and pulls out a familiar book.

Kiersten: I knew she looked familiar. She wrote "Journals of a Werewolf".

Rufus takes a closer look at the photo on the back of the book.

Rufus: Well what do you know, that is you. I admit I'm a little ashamed now, I've read that series at least a dozen times. Can't believe I didn't recognize you.

M laughs and reassures them.

M: Please it's better that way. But it's nice to know you enjoyed the series. Thank you

Tucker: Sooo, can she help me?

Kiersten hesitates still

Kiersten: We really couldn't ask you to do that.

M: It's not a problem. Please I'd like to help.

Rufus: Kier she says its okay. Besides who better to help him than the werewolf master herself. Thank you Mercury. Come one Kason we can head out back. Falls taking its time and I just got a new grill I'd like to give a go before the season gets too cold. We'll take the little ones we have a swing and space for them to play.

Kason and Rufus around up the toddlers leaving Mercury to help Tucker with his story.

After about an hour Tucker and Kiersten join the others in the yard.

Kason: Where's Mercury?

Kiersten: She went down the street to change. I thought she was dressed a little warm for the weather.

M returns 10 short minutes later and everyone is already gathered outside.

Rufus: You're just in time. Your husband was just impressing us with his culinary talents and finished up what looks like an excellent set of Chimis.

During their meal Kason and M ask the Walter’s what brought them to Brindelton Bay. Rufus explained how he'd been promoted from his position as Constructor of Computers in Chestnut Ridge.

Rufus: The office out there is still small and well they aren't all tech savvy. So the only way to really get the promotion was to move my family to San Myshuno or the Brindelton Bay office. My choice was a clear one.

Kason: It will be nice to see a friendly face in the office.

Rufus smiled, the comment meant to instill a sense of friendship but Kason knew it had another meaning, but that was an issue for another time.

As the evening draws to an end M extends a invitation to Kiersten.

M: Tomorrow and the day after we’re having birthday parties for the triplets and Zohreh. You guys should all come by.

Kiersten pulls M into a hug

Kiersten: We would love to, and thank you for today.

M hugs her back. When she pulls away Kiersten wiped tears from her eyes.

M: For what? We were guest in your home we should be thanking you.

Kiersten: You and your family have made us feel so welcomed already. We've hardly seen any of the neighbors sense we've been here. The last town we lived in was so lively, and warm. The people were like family. We've been here for almost a week and your family is the first and only to come over and even introduce themselves.

M: The neighborhood is fairly quite. More dog owners than families with kids, living so close to the clinic and dog park. Don't worry it was the same when Kason and I first moved here. We can go by the cafe or the towns national park sometime.

M: And if we don't find any nice people don't worry, you and I are going to be good friends.

Kiersten giggles and wipes the last of the tears from her eyes,

M: It'll be nice to have a friend close to home.

Kiersten sighs

Kiersten: It'll be good to have a friend. I'm so excited for tomorrow.

Kason arounds up the kids as M finishes her goodbyes. Before they leave Tucker runs out and hugs M tightly

Tucker: Thank you so much Mrs.Gratz! Could you come over again and help me with more of my stories please?!

M: I told you it's okay to call me Mercury, and I would love to help you with your stories in exchange you and your family have to come over to our house tomorrow for Zohreh's birthday. What do you say?

Tucker: I get to come to your house?! Mom we can go right?

Kiersten: Of course

She mouths thank you to M again with a fresh batch of tears in her eyes.

M: Then i’ll see you guys tomorrow. Thank you for lunch. Have a goodnight.

*Journals of a werewolf” is the book that got M her 4th celebrity star. It was a best-seller and she won a star- accolade award. It’s the book most sims are likely to have read. She wrote 2 squeal’s.

[reyreadersblog]

My unpopular TIG opinions.

Since y'all are expressing opinions out here..who am i to leave out? Now have in mind that these are MY opinions, some of these are unpopular some of these are NOT, some of these are even underrated facts but let's just ignore that..

(Please don't hate me)

1. I DON'T CARE ABOUT EVE, and i don't want her to be with Grayson..bcs APPERANTLY and very unfortunatly there are people out there who ship Gray and Eve..crazy..i know, i really don't care about her, i already made a whole post about why i don't like her at all, she's a manipulator, she's a liar, she's a backstabber. She traumatised poor Gray and threatened Ave. I respect your opinion if you like her and i truly understand where some of you are coming from, but i just can't manage to like her, don't hate her i just dislike her. Even if she gets a redemption arc..i can't seem to understand how i'll like her character after what she has done, but if i will..."forgotten but never forgiven"

2.underrated characters, there are so many of them in this books, for example Zara Hawthorne. I love her honestly, i could never hate, i understand she may have done some wrong things...but i love her nontherless♡♡ and same goes for Alisa Ortega.

(Honorable mention) also come on, give my man Oren some appreciation he deserves, you think following teenager around is easy? Even if it's his job and he gets paid, it's still tiring..😔

3. Uhh..i am scared to say this...i prefer Nash and Alisa to Nash and Libby...WAIT, WAIT, WAIT...DON'T KILL ME YET..LET ME EXPLAIN FIRST🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻, i saw @hawthornesbiggestfan 's post, and that encouriged me to say this, read that post bcs that explains exacly how i feel. I love Nash and Libby, they're super cute, i can't wait for their wedding and think they are going to have a very happy family...but..i'm still at the restaurant😔, EVEN THO we never got to know Nash and Alisa's story, smtg about those two had me invested in them from the beggining, like imagne Alisa growing up and Nash slowly developing a tiny crush on them..young love..passion..childhood lovers...love confession..ughh, also the fact that Gray, Xan and Jamie already saw her as their family, like an older sister. Such a shame we never got to see their story. Again, i'm not saying i dislike Nash and Libby tho if it had been love triangle between Nash, Libby and Aliso...i would choose Nash and Alisa...

3.Avery is freaking underrated, yk what's sad? SHE IS THE MAIN CHARACTER, and she doesn't get enough hype (i've made a post about this too) meanwhile people are swooning over Hawthorne brothers, and yes i am one of them but i love Avery to death, i even saw someone comparing Avery and the brothers saying "oh she's so boring..Hawthorns are way better than her..blah..blah..blah" technically they were saying fuck poor people, i know for a fact NONE of the brother would last an hour from where she came from (iykyk), she's a girlboss, and a main character for a reason.

4. As much as i love Averyjameson, i have to say their story is pretty much over, We'll probably get some cute moments from them in tgg or in games untold, but they ARE NOT a main couple anymore.

5.TGG IS A NEW SERIES, please understand that it's new book series with new characters (at least most of them) stop attacking JLB, it's her books, it's her choice.

6.Lyra Kane's haters don't make sense to me, especially those one who mock, and laugh at her lovers saying "you don't even know her, i'm gonna laugh at y'all when she turns out to be Eve 2.0" uhm...sir..miss..shut it. I respect your opinion if you're a Lyra netural bcs it's true we don't know many things about her and i totally understand if you can't love her yet, but don't hate, we know we're delusional most of the times, but that's what headcanons is for, for fun, alight, let people have fun.

7. Will all due respect i have...Averygrayson shippers are...dumb..yikes..sorry, but it's the truth, i'm tired of talking about this, it's been 4 books, Avery is happy with Jamie, they're perfect for each other, their relationship status is great and Gray is most definetly getting a new love interest..but of you still ship and have faith in them..do so..who am i to stop you? Just don't be disappointed when it won't be ture.

8.i may be judging too early but Savannah and Gigi being in the game..doesn't sit right, tbh honest it'a NEPOTISM at it's finest, i love both of them so much..but..nah. again, idk for sure..it may be some trick, it's JLB after all.

9.there are too many repetitive charcter traits..Jameson and Rohan, Grayson and Savannah, Gigi and Xander, Eve and Emily, every single dad, exept for Isaiah.

10.Speaking of Isaiah, he is extremly underrated, i mean he is the best dad in the series and somehow people talk about Sheffield Grayson more than him.

Sheesh...don't kill me in the comments please, i'm too young to die🙏🏻😔

(I'll probably do a part 2...

[acourtofthought]

Whats your ship? gwynriel/elucien 🥰

When was the moment you shipped them?

What are your top 3 reasons why you ship them?

What is one thing you'd love to see in their book?

Elucien!! I definitely think Gwynriel is endgame and I think they'll be well suited however I'm not smitten by their pairing the way I am Elain and Lucien.

The first time I read the series I had zero problems with them being mated. I saw the Hybern scene and was left thinking, "that's a fun turn of events!" When I got to the novella I thought, "oh, I wonder if Sarah's going to have her with Az instead?" but after the Az bonus in SF I no longer believed E/riel would be a thing.

Truthfully, I didn't care that much about who Elain ended up with at that point because I was there for Feysands story and I was fine with whatever story Sarah wanted to tell for the side characters. It wasn't until I entered the fandom and started looking back over the books to engage in discussions (and that I realized there was a huge discussion over who Elain would end up with) that I really started shipping Elucien. They've since knocked Feysand out of first place for my favorite SJM pairing.

My top 3 reasons?

1) Because Sarah has beautifully set them up to be the most compatible pairing of all her series. Even standing on their own they share strong similarities and I can only imagine how much fun it will be to read about them when they're finally together. They both take care in their appearances and appreciate nice clothes, they are both happiest in nature (from the authors own mouth), they share a similar sense of humor, neither is the type to lash out and use their words to hurt others. Their pairing feels like a warm sunshine soaked day, loving and kind and gentle things reigning supreme for an author who typically writes her pairings as tough, edgy, morally gray warriors who don't let their guards down easily. Feysand and Rowealin were the pairings that did whatever needed to be done to save the world where Elucien feels like the pairing who reminds you of the good in the world that you're trying to save in the first place.

2) I love the aesthetic which kind of goes along with some of what I said above. I love that they are her chance to write two characters who truly embrace that Bridgerton / P & P way of life. Sarah loves P & P and while I know she likes to incorporate the love of Elizabeth and Darcy into all her pairings, Elucien is the couple who would actually embody a similar lifestyle.

3) I think Elain and Lucien are written as struggling to find true connection within the current main cast of characters. They get along with many, offering wise advice and show how they're both capable of "seeing" the others for who they are but that same cast of main characters don't seem to "see" Elain and Lucien with that same clarity. I believe that they, more than anyone else we've seen, will be capable of bringing one another's true depth to light because I think they'll see each other in a way nobody has really has. There's a reason there are so many bad takes regarding Elain and Lucien and who they are and I think that stems from readers falling into the trap of thinking Feyre and Nesta's opinions of them are the actual truth (instead of realizing that Feyre and Nesta at times struggle to "see" certain people for who they are outside of their own personal history with them - they struggle with objectivity). I think Elain and Lucien will be beautiful together because from their POVs we'll finally see them shine in the way Sarah has always wanted them to but needed their book to finally reveal that to us.

One thing I'd like to see from their book? I can't book because there are so many things! Elain as High Lady of Spring performing Calanmai with Lucien. Or Lucien and Elain as High King and Queen (with Lucien being given Gwydion by Nesta because of his possible Starborn ancestry), overseeing the peace of their lands. Elain being the one to free Vassa's curse with "light / healing" powers. Lucien being a f-ing beast with his full powers, humbling Az once he realizes that no, he would not in fact easily defeat Lucien, Elain curing the pegasus foal illness, restoring the dying lands in the different areas of Prythian, the sisters finally seeing Elain for who she is so the three of them can finally share in a healthy relationship, seeing Lucien reuinited with his mother, making amends with Eris.....and on and on and on.

[txttletale]

What's worm? I can't exactly google it bcs of the name but I'm intrigued

worm (2011-2013) is a web novel about superheroes by a canadian author who goes by wildbow. it was published serially over the course of two years and in that time managed to get well over a million words long. i think it's very good for a couple reasons:

it takes an approach to 'deconstructing the superhero genre' that i don't think i've ever actually seen--instead of something like the boys or watchmen it doesn't extrapolate forwards from 'what would superheroes be like if they were real', but instead extrapolates backwards from 'what real-life conditions would have to exist to lead to superheroes acting like they do in comics'. the world of worm is believable, well-drawn, and interesting to inhabit

it has incredible character writing. this might not be one of the first things most people associate with it but wildbow has an amazing capacity for giving characters, even side characters that appear for half a chapter, extremely intriguing personal and internal conflicts. sometimes wildbow will write a chapter from the perspective of a side character you never see again and it will leave you wishing they had their own novel series. also despite a lot of problems wildbow has with Some Demographics, most of these well-developed characters are the female ones, who get to dominate the emotional landscape and the plot in a way that's refreshing to see tbh

the protagonist is great. a lot of attention is paid by some fans to the fact that she's a smart problem-solver, and that is true--her power is 'controlling bugs' in a world where other people can fly and shoot lasers, so she has to get smart with it. but i like her mostly because she's an extremely traumatised freak making horrible decisions and justifying them to herself post-hoc constantly. it's fun and interesting to be in her head

worm gets away from a lot of the more reactionary undertones that the superhero genre often fails to escape by making powers an in-universe result of (and, on a narrative level, a pretty clear metaphor) trauma. they are essentially coping mechanisms exaggerated to the point of superpower--because of this it neatly avoids two genre pitfalls because 1. there is no 'some people are better and stronger from birth' angle and 2. it mostly takes a social view of crime--supervillains in worm aren't cartoonish forces of evil (mostly), they are people who are marginalized and desperate.

the powers are cool. this is lower down on my personal list of reasons i like worm than many people's but it's undeniable true. each character has a strictly defined powerset with certain inbuilt limitations that both work to say volumes about their personality but also make fight scenes fun and interesting to read because wildbow puts a lot of thought into how they interact

this is not intentional and worm is at times downright homophobic but i would be lying if i said this didn't play a part in how i and most people i know think about worm: a queer reading of the main character is very easy to make, and the intense and at times tempestuous relationship she has to the girls around her is damn compelling. don't go into it expecting 'representation' or anything, wildbow has insisted at length that the main character is straight. but fr shes gay af

now all this said: there's a lot of nasty stuff that happens in worm. there is a lot of body horror and a lot of insect horror. there are so many instances of bugs being forced into human orifices in this book i could have filled out this list with that instead. so if that turns you off give this one a miss. child abuse and violence against children in general is also something that comes up semi-regularly.

and to expand on something i said in the post that i assumed prompted this question--when these topics come up, worm does a very very poor job of handling race and a better but still not great job with gender and sexuality. the world outside north america is sketched with a looseness and a lack of research that borders on caricature (i can think of like five organizations/characters that were very clearly named through google translate). the pacing takes a huge hit after a certain event in the back half of the story, and it can be a little exhausting to read because it is both thematically and literally about constant crisis and escalation.

still, if none of that is a dealbreaker for you, i'd recommend it 100%. i'm definitely glad i've read it. it's a powerful story about trauma and authority and control that does reward the outrageous time commitment it demands. there's also a fanmade audiobook if that sweetens the deal for you. i haven't listened to it but i've heard that it's pretty decent for a volunteer effort.

[ihatebrainstorm]

I blame you for my new hyperfixation on DC. I now know all of the Robin's (Grayson and Tim are my favs) and am obsessing over Superboy (Kon-El). Now I have to read not only the Transformers comics, but also find out where to even start with what I want from DC. (No, but seriously, love your au and can't wait for more.)

MUAHAHAHAHAAHAHA WELCOME TO MY HELL (i don’t know why im laughing im suffering the same fate ;v;) but hey we can all be on the same sinking ship together! (Can I steer the life raft?)

Thank you tho! I still have. so many things to draw for this au, except I’m super budged for time atm so they’re on my backburner in the meantime… Grayson and Timbo as fav robin choices tho is so real (love them all, Damian and Grayson are my favs but TNBA Timbo takes the cake)

Comic + more info about getting into the TF comics and DC vvv

With the comics, I will say that I’m pretty sure the TF ones are generally easier to get into? The 3 main storylines most commonly read are IDW1, IDW2, or Skybound/ the Energon Universe, which all have their own reading guides. IDW1 can be pretty damn long tho so I don’t blame you if you want to skip and only read the MTMTE or Wreckers runs :P

For DC it’s uh… ok so they retcon stuff constantly, reset timelines, have multiverse shenanigans, and so many different runs happening all at once?? You can try and follow big separate eras/timelines like Rebirth, The New 52, etc? But yeah honestly it’d be easier to find specific runs that have your favourite characters/characterizations of those characters, and read those instead ;v; (I think Tim and Kon are pretty centric in the Young Justice comics? Never read it, so could be wrong- Grayson and Kon are very centric in the YJ animated show tho!) Or alternatively, there are non-mainline DC canon comics that are their own little contained stories/universes! They may only be one book or are shorter runs, so they’re much easier to get into.

[Non-main timeline DC Batman-centric comic runs I highly recommend: Batman: White Knight -> Murphyverse, The Boy Wonder (2024), Gotham Adventures -> DC Animated Universe tie-in (DCAU), Batman Adventures v2 -> DCAU tie-in, L’il Gotham]

Tbh I kinda grew up with the animated shows, movies, and games more? (Did a thing where I tried to watch every single Batman animated show lmao.. didn’t succeed) Most are their own separate timelines tho (minus the DCAU and DCAMU) so they’re pretty easy to follow!

[A couple I highly recommend: Batman the Animated Series & The New Batman Adventures (BTAS/TNBA, starting point to the entire DCAU), Young Justice!!!!, Teen Titans, the mainline Arkhamverse games, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (JL/JLU, DCAU timeline), the Under the Red Hood Movie, Justice League Action (JLA), Batman the Brave and Bold, and uh… a couple of the DC Animated Movies Universe (DCAMU) movies were pretty good imo? (Also heard the new Superman show is really good? Haven’t seen it just yet tho :’)]

[dopscratch]

i kid you not when i say i looked up these two at 4 am hoping for some crumbs but jere you are writing a whole fanfic ( thank you so much🤩).

I personally haven't read the httyd books only the series and movies. If you don't mind could u give a mini summary as u plan to write after book 8? If not i hope you have a wonderful day/ night!

(If uave tons of other questions but don't want to spam so ill just leave this here)

AUDHJSHDHD thank you so much for sending an ask i literally have none ever HAHA

im glad you enjoy the concept :)

the books are very different fron the movies in a large number of ways! in the books, vikings stat out with dragons, and hiccup's main problem is training his own, which he can't do by the normal strategy of yelling- a) because he's not the best yeller and b) because his little green hunting dragon, toothless, is as disobedient as it gets (and smaller than everyone else's to boot!)

in the books, vikings typically have hunting dragon(s) which are smaller and usually dog-sized, as well as a riding dragon, which is larger and obviously ridable. hiccup's riding dragon is a scraggly feathery dragon called the Windwalker who was rescued from slavery :)

one of the biggest differences as well, is that dragons can speak. most are just as intelligent as humans, some even more so, and they're generally cruel by nature. their culture encourages them to act selfishly and it's worked out pretty well for them, hence why most vikings train theirs by fear or exerting power. hiccup, who is nerdy enough to have sat out where the wild dragons are and literally learned their language has been attempting to train HIS by speaking to them, which has some mixed results. windwalker is actually quite mellow and loyal, since hiccup's probably the first person to show him kindness. toothless is just a little brat with a stammer, but he does have softness in his heart deep deep down.

characterization-wise, everyone's a lot different as well.

hiccup, as stated before is a nerd who'll rattle off dragon facts in dangerous situations while fishlegs is more of the sarcastic romantic, basically think of it like the movies swapped their personalities. he also has bright red Heroic Hair that stands straight up and they robbed that from him in the movies and i will never forgive them. hes also an excellent swordfighter and its just about the only traditionally viking thing he's good at :). also, his mother is never kidnapped by dragons- but she IS gone often, out questing. her name is valhallarama and she is an absolute beast of a woman they definitley nerfed her when they turned her to valka

fishlegs is a skinny little loser (affectionate) who's allergic to dragons, has a plethora of other medical conditions too, and is acrually an orphan and was raised by a long-eared caretaker dragon. he's also hiccup's best and only friend at the start of the series. he's arguably worse at being a viking as hiccup is and they both bond over how they wish society would allow them to not be brainless fighters. his dragon is a lazy common-or-garden-or-basic-brown named horrorcow, she's both a pacifist and a vegetarian. when he was catching his dragon, he actually wanted to grab a nadder, which is long and serpentine because nadder is a pun on adder and i have no idea why the movies didn't see that

snotlout is hiccup's cousin and hates him more than anything in the world, and not in a ha-ha funny way either. he legitamately wishes hiccup were dead or never born because he hates to see this "runt" next in line for chief instead of him. he is constantly literally trying to make hiccup's life miserable or literally murder him and once again this is not played for laughs. his dragon's a mean monstrous nightmare- a hunting dragon only the chief and descendanrs of should have- named fireworm, and she is very full of herself. hookfang is actually one of stoick's monstrous nightmares!

another main character is camicazi, who appears in book 3 onward and she was so powerful they had to split her into three characters in the movies (she's sorta like if you took the thorston twins and astrid and mashed them all together, then added another sprinkle of chaos). she's a short little kid from another tribe of all-female warriors called the bog-burgalars and an excellent escape artist. she has a mood dragon- a serpentine, color-changing dragon named stormfly who can actually speak the human language too. she's not very helpful though since shes a pathological liar.

the main villain is named alvin the treacherous and he's a ridicuoulsly resiliant guy who reaaaally wants hiccup dead for a multitide of reasons we don't need to get into now since hw won't really appear in my work haha

i think ive gotten a lot of basics down, but obviously there's a ton more! in regards to knowledge for my crossover though thats essentially some of the main points you need to know. by the 8th book, hiccup has been on a multitide of adventures (and has nearly died or gotten eaten on all of them) but the world hasn't changed irreparably yet :). i plan on writing it in a way that can accomodate people with no knowledge of httyd, since most of it will be from the touden party's pov exploring the world! you'll be getting plenty of detailed descriptions of some of the dragon species as laios's nerdiness will help show

i would absolutely reccomend checking out the books, though! you can usually find them at your local library, and there's also the entire series of audiobooks on youtube! there's a very dedicated group of people on here who love the httyd books including me who would love to help you get into them as well, if that's what you'd like!

i'll round this off with a few of my renditions of some of the characters i've drawn :)

i hope this was helpful, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask me! i love getting asks but never do lol

[thequietesthing]

Bridgerton S3 Part 2 REVIEW!!!

Gentle readers, 'tis the time again...

SPOILERS AHEAD - books and tv show

Read at your own risk

Polin: I loved them before and I loved them still. the sex scene, really great and well done. I did not really enjoy the moment when he finds out she is LW, I think in the books is much more powerful and there is the scene in the carriage when they go home which I was expecting and they didn't deliver. other than that since that moment they fill a bit dull, idk it seemed like they had the same conversation over and over again except the last time they finally managed to resolve it (?), but I felt they always used the same argumentations so why it's resolved at the end but not before? probably when I rewatch it, it won't seem that way, but this was my first impression. anywho, they have lovely scenes together, all of their dance scenes I have loved, particularly the last dance with the butterflies. also I appreciated the fast forward at the end to show us where they are and what is going on with LW (a topic I will discuss later)

Violet: she was cute, I did not understand the refrain that she had in sharing the joy of the Frannie/John relationship with them because they did not depict her standard of love that she experienced with Edmund (?) like it was kinda of bullshit and it didn't really make sense in my opinion, and I'm glad that it is Francesca that at the end speaks to the queen to defend her relationship. her relationship with Lady Danbury's brother is interesting, but I hope that they do not divert the attention too much from the main couples in the next seasons.

Eloise: I loved her the most in this second part!!! she is great, she didn't hesitate in coming to Pen's defence when it was needed and I'm glad she reacquired some of her spirit that it was a bit waning in the first part. Also her relationship with Pen and Colin is adorable. I also really loved her moments with Benedict, especially the one at the party when he tells her that Love is not finite. which is true, and also I think relevant for Eloise's future journey with Sir Philip and his children.

Cressida: this poor girl. like you can't tell me you don't feel bad for the woman. great reasons but very poor execution. however they did a very good job in making me care about her, however making it all go downhill once she said those things toward the bridgertons (which it was more her mother, but anyway). one thing I didn't like in the execution of the character was how they quickly dismissed her relationship with Eloise. Like Eloise tells her she is a bad person (she is not completely wrong) and then that is it. I would have expected some more closure to be honest.

Francesca: she is my baby, she is adorable, I love her. I really liked how her character was portrayed by Hannah Dodd. I love her relationship with John (which is a king of sarcasm btw), they are very very well suited. now the point that created some controversy apparently, is the choice to genderbend Michael into Michaela Stirling. Personally, I thought of it this way: this is an adaptation, there are a lot of other things that are not the same in the books, and approving those but getting angry over this specific one feels ridiculous; either you don't like anything or you make peace with the changes. said so, I adore the character of Michael Stirling, I think he is the best male character in the book series followed by Gareth, and I'm truly sorry not to be able to see him on screen and see the love-at-first-sight dynamic with Frannie. However, if I miss him, he's in the books. So I'm very curious to see what they will do with Michaela and Francesca's story and in which way it will go.

Kanthony: they get shipped off to India, and honestly good for them. They came, they slayed and they left. as they should.

Benedict: he will be the next season lead, I'm now 99% sure (as I predicted *very gloating face :)))*. when he was saying goodbye to Eloise he said that Violet will organise a masquerade ball (!!!!!) so Sophie is coming my peeps and I'm soooooo happy. finally my baby will have the love story he deserves.

NOW, the issue with which I was very interested was what they were going to do with LW. Turns out this was a kind of transitional season. We now know who LW is, as the entire ton does and it seems that they will keep the "narrating voice" let's say but it will be Penelope. Personally, I do not completely agree with the choice: I understand they wanted to keep her for several reasons, including the fact that LW is a very relevant part of how the show is marketed and it would go against one of the messages of the season and the show in general but I don't think that it makes sense with the characters. like, it can't be a gossip column anymore because you know who's writing it. like imagine writing gossip about people but they know you are writing it, Penelope would end up excluded by society. so I don't completely understand this choice. but who am I to judge, maybe it will make sense in the future who knows?

Anyway, the second part of S3 gets 4/5⭐️

and in total the season stands at 4/5⭐️ for me.

I honestly can't wait until Benedict's season, but I hope they can manage to do it in less than two years, otherwise when it's Gregory's turn we'll be fifty, including Gregory.

Alright, I'm done.

[jetwhenitsmidnight]

This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinska

Release date: 24 September 2024

Genre: young adult romance fantasy

If you like:

Cozy/whimsical fantasy, Ghibli vibes

Slavik folklore

Disaster bisexuals

Poly romance

Enemies to lovers

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

Cursed to haunt the river running through the magical spa town where she drowned, Gisela is a water nymph who dreams of returning to the living world and the family she left behind. All it takes to regain her humanity is a kiss from a mortal...but everyone sees her as a monster.

And then there’s Kazik, the brooding, interfering, spirit-hunting grandson of a local witch. He's determined to rid the world of unholy creatures like Gisela. After Kazik botches Gisela’s exorcism, she strikes up a deal. She won’t tell the other spirits that he’s losing his magic, if he agrees to play matchmaker and helps her get a kiss. But Gisela’s plan goes awry when Kazik also falls for the devilishly handsome young man that she sets her heart on—someone who could be linked to Gisela’s troubled past.

Content warnings

Death, violence, injury, a little blood

Mentions of past murder, suicide, rape (not explicit)

Biphobia, implied homophobia

Parental abandonment

Parentification

Suicidal thoughts

Religious bigotry

Review

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!💖💖💖

This book is so swoon-y and romantic and whimsical and fun, like I can't remember the last time I had so much fun while reading. My very serious stoic reputation is in tatters from grinning at my phone like a goof.

(In public what's more! The embarrassment!)

The setting is straight up so wondrous and whimsical, it reminds me a lot of Ghibli movies. Not just because it's a spa town like Spirited Away, but because of the way the spirits and magical creatures are secretly living amongst the humans + the connection to nature.

The main focus is on the relationship between Gisela and Kazik. I loved how the dynamic between them grew over the course of the book, like, their enemies era is so fun to read, but the way they gradually grew closer to each other is so 🤌. The banter between them was so much fun to read, like this book could just be Gisela and Kazik talking and I would eat it up.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't talk about their relationship with Aleksey. I feel like Aleksey actually had more chemistry with Kazik than with Gisela, mainly because of, uh, major spoiler reasons, but also they just happened to spend more one-on-one time together. When all three of them are together though, their chemistry is pure FIRE 🔥🔥🔥.

Outside of the romance, each of the MCs have their own motivations and character arcs going on, all of which I found very compelling. I will not elaborate for spoiler reasons, but Gisela's is my favourite.

There is quite a lot going on in this book though. I found myself wondering how on earth the author was going to wrap everything up satisfactorily, because there was no way everything was getting resolved perfectly. Turns out I was right, because THIS IS THE FIRST BOOK OF A SERIES.

I am more than fine with getting more of this world and its characters, but I wish I had known that this was the start of a series so that I could have adjusted my expectations accordingly, because I went into this book fully believing it was a standalone.

Anyway, I adore this book so much, and I am very much looking forward to the sequel <3

[starrywooyo]

treasure: three

synopsis: when y/n gets whooshed into an alternate universe, an adventure: one with pirates and monsters and much, much more

pairing: ot8! pirate ateez x fem! reader (wooyoung focus)

genre: pirate au!!

!!warnings(per chapter)!! - [bellow cut!] killing, wounds, blood ect..

notes: this chapter kinda has a wooyoung focus towards the end! hongjoong's character is still quite rude towards the mc.

word count: 4.7k

series masterlist

main masterlist

previous | next chapter

"y/n. it's okay, really! its only for a few days. we do have a spare cabin, but it's filled with some of yeosang's extra books and maps so he'll clear it out and then you can sleep there for the time being. so really. it's okay just sleep here." wooyoung says, pushing you in the room and then he says goodnight closing the door behind him. 

pushing down on the door handle you realise he's locked the door as well. in other words, he's not really giving you a choice. is he? 

slipping under the covers you let your tiredness and thoughts consume you.

maybe. just maybe it won't be as bad here...

Your eyes flutter open to the room being dark, you reach to the bedside table for your phone but... there's nothing there? sitting up you rub the sleep from your eyes and look around the dimly lit room and the unfamiliar interior. 

ah that's right. you're not in your world anymore... you're in a world of pirates, probable danger too. on a ship where the captain despises you. 

you sigh and slide your legs from under the covers. your feet touching the cool of the wooden floorboards sends a shock through your body. you're most definitely awake now.

it's then you realise you slept in your new clothes, or you should say the clothes wooyoung lent you. it's not like they're dirty but still you can't just rummage through the man's closet for clean clothes everyday just like you do in your world. no. pirates probably don't even change their clothes that often anyway. so, you'll just stay in the same clothes. out of the corner of your eye you spy something. there on the chair in the corner of his room. you walk towards the item. It's a pair of… boots? beside the boots is a piece of crumpled paper. you unfold it and read it: 

" It just so happens that these boots are too small for anyone here on the ship, no one's worn them..

if your feet are better or feeling less sore. you should wear them. I know the floorboards get quite cold on the ship and they're pretty dirty.

you should wear these even if your cuts hurt. it'll prevent them gettin infected or something. and if you're reading this then it means 

you're awake. you should join us on deck and like the captain said: ^if you wanna stay you gotta pull your weight^

i also hope you at least slept well~ " 

so, the boots are for you. sitting back on the bed you unlace the brown boots and slip them over your feet. it stings a little. but you know the pain will fade after a while, you lace the boots up loosely and after making the bed you make your way up to the main deck. there you find Seonghwa.

“Ah y/n! there you are, I hope you slept well?”  He asked to which you nodded your head letting out a small yes.

“Now let me see... given the state of your feet and wounds and the fact they haven't healed and to top it off most of the crew are against women being on board... I suppose your job for today can be to help Yeosang clear out that spare cabin with all his extra things in there and then you can help make dinner later, nothing too much for now. Does that sound okay?” He again asked  

“Yes, that's fine. where...?” You began 

seonghwa smiled, “you can find yeosang through those doors and then it's the last door on the left side,” he said pointing to the door behind you.

you thank him and make your way through them and walk to the end door stopping before it, you knock and hear a voice call "come in" 

opening the door, you find yeosang but he's not alone. The captain was here too... 

the captain turned, his eyes seemingly scanning your figure and lingering slightly at the boots on your feet then back to your face before turning back to yeosang.

“We can finish this later yeosang” he says and makes his way around you and out the door not before letting out a 'tsk' as he passes by you.

what was that about now... 

“sorry I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation” you told yeosang to which he shakes his head.

“No, no. it's fine, we were basically finished anyway. now, let's get moving that stuff.” he said, clapping his hands together. 

...

so, you followed yeosang back through the doors and onto the main deck and back down the steps to the cabin rooms and he stopped at one just a little passed what you know to be wooyoung's room.

“This is the room here that'll be yours for now so just remember that it's the one at the end of this hall to the right.” he said, opening the door. 

you nod to him and finally looking into the room your eyes widen. 

this room was an absolute mess. it was a state! like an earthquake happened. you look to yeosang and he rubs the back of his neck.

“Seems we've got our work cut out for us?” he laughs nervously as he enters the room with you following close behind.

There were scrolls and maps everywhere. one even pinned to the desk with a dagger stuck in it and weighted down with other trinkets, you couldn't even see the bed from everything that was piled up on top of it. and there were numerous stacks of books, and dust. a lot. a lot of dust. 

you both decided to start by taking all the scrolls to yeosang's study first being they were only paper and the lightest. you went to the map on the desk to roll it up only to let out a small laugh at all the drawing of beasts on the map from your "real-world perceptions'' that they were only put to scare sailors to which yeosang explained to you that the drawing on the maps is of very, very much real sea beasts. which you weren't going to lie did scare you a bit.  

a few hours most definitely went by of carrying scrolls from one room to another till there was only a small number of books left. letting inpatients get the better of you, you picked up a larger stack of books wanting to finish the strenuous task quicker. and by larger stack meaning you couldn't see over it. yeosang told you to take a couple off as he came back into the room for another stack stating it was dangerous, but his warning went through one ear and out the other. 

you ever so slowly made your way up the steps to the main deck and trying to look around you saw that seonghwa was no longer at the wheel, but the captain was. and he definitely had his eyes on you as soon as he saw you. with his burning gaze on you. you felt nervous and to top it off being unable to see over the books you failed to notice that the deck was wet, so down you went. books spilling everywhere. and oh boy did it hurt. Soon Wooyoung was by your side asking if you were okay and if you were hurt badly from the fall to which you said you were fine and that it was just a shock. and you start to pick up the books with wooyoung helping you. though thinking about the fall. you could've sworn you saw the captain's body slightly jerk as you fell...

Was he going to help you? pffft no. of course not y/n don't be silly he hates you. and just to prove that thought, there he was leaning over the railing from where the wheel was, shaking his head at you with a smug smirk on his face.

“Well. just proves my point woman don't belong on ships” he says 

you ignore his words and continue to pick up the books with wooyoung. then you remember something.

“Oh... wooyoung? thank you by the way for helping me pick these up. and for the boots” you say to him. 

he hums his brows slightly furrowing

“What?”

“The boots? thank you for letting me use them” you say smiling. 

“The boots... oh yeah! the boots, it's really no problem. I couldn't just let you walk around here bare footed and get sick” he said whilst you were still picking up the books. what you failed to notice while doing so was his confused eyes drifting elsewhere before he answered you.

 with all the books picked up, you with a small pile and wooyoung with a small pile and yeosang soon joining you and giving you a lecture about how he told you that would happen. you had now officially cleared out and cleaned the spare room. 

 now though it was time to help seonghwa and jongho make some dinner. walking into the kitchen they were already both there. you were making a type of meat stew, and you were given the job of cutting the vegetables to go in the stew .

no one spoke a word as you all did your jobs to make the stew, today was clearly not your day as you cut your finger whilst cutting the veggies by getting startled by a cat. The cut wasn't deep so you had no need to go to san.  

...

dishing out the now cooked stew into bowls, the three of you took them to the table where everyone was sitting and placed a bowl In Front of them and then took your own seat, which again was beside wooyoung. nothing seems to slip by him so he noticed the cut on your finger straight away asking what happened and that then caught Sans attention and he asked if he needed to take a look at it to which you declined just trying to eat your stew but wooyoung's pestering about how it happened seemed to even bug jongho so he blurted out how you got the cut. though the story of how you cut yourself being startled by a cat was found to be funny by someone. and that someone was the captain. Who did end up joining you all for dinner this time?

he laughed out loud sitting at the top of the table

“Ah, oh wow, that's amazing, getting scared of the cat. nice one” he said his laughter coming to a stop and a smile being left on his face. and you stared at it, he was showing emotions other than anger and glares in your presence, once he noticed your stare however the smile was gone as soon as it appeared. he cleared his throat, picking up his now empty bowl

“ahem excuse me- I'll take my bowl to the kitchen. goodnight” and then he was gone. 

and it was then quiet as everyone finished the last few drops of their stew.  

you sat still staring at where the captain had just previously sat, your cheeks slightly heating up.

his laugh... his smile... It was so... pretty. 

maybe.. just maybe. This was a start, at least for now. 

After everyone had finished eating their stew and this time you finally managed to convince seonghwa to let you do the dishes this round after not being able to last time., whilst scrubbing the remanence of the stew from the bowls, you couldn't help but remember back to the captain and how he laughed and his smile, though he was laughing at you and at your pain from being cut, he really did have a pretty smile. 

with all the bowls now scrubbed. you dried them and stacked them where you got them when you dished out the stew. then made your way from the kitchen to your new room where you drifted to sleep again.

...

you'd now been on the illusion for about a week now, you could definitely say you'd grown closer to some of the crewmembers, though some not so much. The captain still hates your guts. it seems like every little flaw and mistake you do he makes little snarky comments about and always pulls the "that's why women don't belong on ships" idea, wooyoung on the other hand can tell his comments get to you and tries to make you feel better by saying it just takes him time to open up to people, you don't know what to believe though. 

yeosang's been trying. key word here. trying to teach you how to read maps but it seems to not be going well so you just spend time with him in his study sometimes after you've done your work and read some of his books not that if you were to be able to read the maps you'd be much help. you're not even a crew member plus the captain hates you, so there's no point for you to, he'd never sit in your company and talk to you as you map out the journey he plans.  

...

here you were though sitting in your room reading a book you've stolen from Yeosang, he said that it wouldn't be too long before you'd reach land, and you'd get there at some point today. the thought made you sad that meant you were off the ship and they'd leave. it made you think that you really have no clue where to start about getting back home to your family. your younger siblings and older brother... 

you're pulled from your thoughts by the ship suddenly jerking along with a loud noise. you're slightly flung into the table you were sitting at. finding your balance again you walk to the door of your room and open it to see wooyoung coming out of his room in a rush. you call his name, and he turns to you, his eyes slightly widening.  

“y/n!! get back in your room and stay in there!!” he tells you as he ushers you back into the room. “Stay in here, and don't come out. it's not safe. lock the door and don't open it for anyone” he tells you as he makes his way back out the room.

“Wait! what do you mean not safe” you call to him again

 

he sighs out in frustration “please just do as I say” and with that he shut the door behind him and was running to who knows where. 

the ship jerked again and this time you fell to the floor, you decided to be nosy and peak out your window. sticking your head out you see there's another ship and it's firing its cannons at this ship whilst some of the opposing crew swing across onto this ship. wooyoung was right you are most definitely not safe. you didn't even have anything to protect yourself should someone come through the door. so, you snuck out and made your way down the steps of the ship, down to where wooyoung took you to mingi to get your chains off on your first day. and you took a cutlass. you did fencing back home, how different could it be should you need to use the sword. 

thinking about it, you decided to be nosey and have a look on the top deck at what was going on. big mistake as soon as you got to the stairs leading to the main deck. a person was walking down them, and they were clearly not from this crew he noticed you right away. he pulled his gun on you

oh...

you hadn't thought about guns but alas they were pirates after all, you closed your eyes and awaited the pain.

BANG!

you felt something hot spurt on your face, it wasn't you who got shot no, it was the guy who dropped down dead. you looked to the top of the stairs to who dealt the shot and there was the captain standing at the top gun pointed in your direction, smoke slightly coming from the muzzle.

“Get back to your room” he said in his usual cold voice and then he disappeared from the top of the stairs to what you assume, continue fighting. you however go against his order and go onto the main deck. 

Everyone is fighting, some lay on the floor of the deck still, no longer moving. 

looking, you see the captain at the starboard side fighting a guy with his cutlass and then he pierces the guy with his sword, removing his sword he shakes it to get the blood off and his gaze again falls on you. He looks pissed. He stalks toward you and grabs your arm tight.

“The hell did I tell you!? get back down there and stay in your room, you're gonna get yourself killed!” he yells at you, his grip tightening as he goes to drag you back down the stairs. 

no. you've had enough of his attitude, captain or not. you yank your arm from his grip moving back quite a bit and yell straight back.

“No! I wanna help! and that's what I'll do!”  you tell him gripping your cutlass tighter. 

he looks at you with his eye, the other covered with his eyepatch like you're a crazy person and maybe you were. who knows

“Not happening.” he says again pointing his cutlass at you “you are going back down those stairs, and you will stay down there. hell, you don't know how to fight.” he says   

you internally laugh. shows what he knows. you see his eyes slightly widen and you turn around only to block another sword with your cutlass. you hear the captain let out a curse as he again is occupied with his own opponent. 

you have a back and forth of blocking the swings from the pirate in front of you as he too mocks you for being a girl. 

“Wooyoung, Jongho!” you hear the captain shout 

“we're a bit busy at the moment” they both shout back.

“I know that, when you get a minute just get her the heck away from here. she's gonna get herself killed” he yells back.

from what you can hear, you heard wooyoung slightly laugh. 

“I think she can take care of herself captain!” he yells back

the captain looks at you after getting rid of his own opponent. and slightly laughs 'well I'll be damned; the girl can fight' he says to himself.

finally coming to your senses, you realise the pirate you were fighting was no longer In Front of you. oh. oh. you just killed someone.

you look about again and see someone about to strike their sword at the captain who was again occupied with someone, he's popular with these other pirates. and without even thinking you thrust your sword in the man's side and pull the bloody cutlass out as the man falls to the ground. the captain turns to see what happened and sees you and then the man lying on the floor.

you just killed two people...  your thoughts were going wild, and your hands started to shake. you drop your cutlass and back up to the wall your breathing getting shorter, vision getting blurry except for the man Infront of you. 

he kneels In Front of you placing his bloody hands on your face.

“Hey, hey. It's okay just breathe. breathe with me, okay?”' a man says trying to get your breathing regulated all whilst keeping his eye on the enemies. He ends up pulling his gun from its holster. BANG!

your hands fly to your ears and your eyes squeeze tight shut. you're pulled into a chest “you're okay. it's okay” softly whispered in your ear. 

“Seonghwa!! come take her away to her room” the captain yelled. and you're soon being softly pulled to your feet and your head placed into a chest again. 

“it's okay y/n, I got you. let's get you to your room, hmm?” it was seonghwa and you nodded your head against his chest. 

...

you now back in the safety of your room, seonghwa long gone to help fight again. you sit on the bed, staring at the wall and let your thoughts again consume you. 

you killed two people, took their lives. innocent or not. What if they had a family? Why did these people have a grudge towards the illusion crew? What if I stupidly died trying to fight these people? what if the captain didn't shoot that person-

you don't know how long you thought these thoughts floated about in your mind, but you are pulled from those thoughts from a soft knock on the door.

wooyoung...

 he comes in your room and slowly knees in front of you, he looks sad. his eyebrows slightly furrowed as he looks at you and lips slightly pouted. he places his hands in your hands and looks up at your face.

“you okay?..” he asks softly

no. I'm not okay...

you slightly nod your head at his question, avoiding looking in his eyes.

he asks again. not believing your answer.

“Are you okay?” 

this time you don't answer but your lips slightly quiver, and your eyes fill with tears that soon pour out. you shake your head no to his question this time.

“n-no, i'm not o-okay” you try to say. he's quick to react and suddenly he's sitting beside you on your bed. he brings your head to his chest and gently strokes the back of your head or rubs your back as he lets you cry out your tears, softly shushing you and whispering that "its okay" and to just let it out.

“shh shh, it's okay. you're okay. I got you y/n. just let all your tears out” he says gently rocking you both side to side

you unconsciously tighten your arms that are wrapped around him, trying to seek as much comfort from him as you can. 

you don't know how long you were both like this for but eventually your tears stopped and you we're just sniffling from crying.

Wooyoung slightly pulls away from you and wipes the remainder of your tears from your bloody face with his thumbs. He sadly yet softly smiles at you.

“feel a bit better now?” he asks softly.  you nod dabbing the wetness from your nose.

“you wanna talk about it?” he asked quietly

you again shake your head looking to the floor.

“n-no..” you let out quietly. 

“c-can I clean your wound?” he asks.

it's your turn for your eyebrows to furrow. you look at him confused.

He gently grabs your arm and shows you the gash on your upper arm. you hadn't even realised you got injured....

 “I noticed your arm bleeding when I saw Seonghwa bringing you back here... I asked San how to do it. so, can I?” he asked, still in a soft voice. 

you look at him. 

“'I don't know... wouldn't it be better for San to look at it..” you told him, still a bit quiet. you knew the cut didn't need stitches due to having got them before back home, but you still thought it would be better for a doctor to look. 

wooyoung pouts at your answer he looks like a child to you, it reminds you of your younger siblings sometimes even your older brother... 

“Come on! I even asked him how, I'm not gonna mess it up!” he whines to you.

you weren't gonna lie he was kinda cute, so you ended up giving in much to his satisfaction, he walked over to the table where he'd placed the items san gave him on his way in and sat back beside you on the bed. It was then he started to nervously laugh. 

“I uh ahaha you're gonna need to take this side of your... shirt off..” he explained.

oh

“I won't look, don't worry! i'll turn around” he told you getting up from his sitting position, his back now facing you as he stands in the corner of the room. 

you sit still for a few moments and then with shaky hands start to unbutton the shirt you had on. your arm slightly stung as you removed it from the sleeve of the shirt off the other arm. you decided to put the shirt on backwards so you were able to cover your chest with your shirt and still have your left arm free so wooyoung could clean and bind it. 

“o-okay you can come over now..” you told him and awkwardly he did. sitting back beside you you saw him slightly bite his lower lip as he took the damp cloth to clean the blood away from the cut.

his eyes looked so focused; you couldn't help but notice some of his features. the way his blonde hair falls slightly over his eyes and despite being a pirate how soft it looks, to the shape of his face, the way a light blush flushes his cheeks and even noticing the little mole that adorns his face under his left eye. you sharply breathe in as his eyes meet yours. his tongue slightly popping out to wet his dry lips.

“i'm gonna put this on now, it's probably gonna sting... a lot” he said as he pours the antiseptic on the cloth then dabbing it on your gash 

he was right, it hurt like a bitch. you hiss from the pain, and you see from his eyes that he feels sorry for giving you pain.

he continues to dab the antiseptic soaked cloth into your wound. you see his hands slightly shaking. He then picks up the roll of white bandages and proceeds to wrap it around your now clean cut and then ties a knot in it, a bit too tight making you hiss slightly.

“sorry.. I didn't mean to hurt you…” he says softly 

"It's okay” you say just as softly back. 

 and he stands from his seat to put the medicine back on the table along with the blood-soaked cloths. you don't know how you missed it when you've been looking at him the whole time he's been in here, but you notice that he's got bandages too... only his are more blood soaked than your fresh one.

you grab his arm.

“You were hurt too?” you asked.

he smiles at you and slightly pats your head, sitting back beside you.

“aye. I'm okay though, i just needed some stitches that's it” he says

your eyes slightly widen. 

He was injured so badly he needed some stitches!!?

he laughs at your expression.

“San took good care of me so don't worry, okay? I don't need you to worry about me. just leave me to be the one worrying about you alright?” he tells you.

you bite your lip and look at him.

“Did it hurt?” you ask

he laughs and looks up then back at you.

“really? I shoulda been the one asking you that. but no...it didn't hurt, I'm used to injuries like this'' he explained. 

you both sit in a bit of silence for a moment 

“y/n I-” wooyoung began though he didn't get to finish his sentence by the door being knocked and opened, and there stood the fiery red head that hates your guts.

the captain. 

he just stood. looking at you both. 

wooyoung sighs and you notice he pokes the inside of his cheek with his tongue, and he stands.

“I'll go now” he says coldly, and he takes the medicine and cloths away and out the door leaving you with the captain.

What just happened...?

it's quiet and you don't bother to look at the captain.

“I've got a few things to say” the captain begins. he doesn't wait for your answer and walks further into your room, pulling up the chair to sit Infront of you.

you still don't look up at him, your eyes now looking at his boots. 

he clasps his hands together and leans forward in his seat.

“Can you look at me when I speak to you?” he states coldly.

not wanting to piss him off further, you raise your gaze to meet his eye. 

he slightly looks around your room and then back at you, nodding

“so, you can fight. you know how to use a sword. So I'll cut to the chase. I was talking to my crew and given your situation with your family, and the fact I lost some of my crew today, I'm still against the idea of having a woman on board but my crew seems to like you. so, I'd like you to join us. and Second, I wanna thank you for saving my life. I could've been heavily injured or dead if it wasn't for you. don't get me wrong though, just cause I'm thanking you and asking ye to join my crew doesn't mean i like you nor trust you.” he stands making his way to the door, opening it and just before he leaves, he turns to you again.

“you've got till we dock to give me your answer, what'll you do? join the illusion or you can get off my ship the next time we dock” he says still cold before leaving out the door to let you ponder your decision. 

what will you do...?