#i need to reread the books and see if i still feel this way actually

[dragonseeds]

besides daemon as a gothic heroine trutherism the reason i want to see more of harrenhal on house of the dragon is because i always thought it would play a significant role in twow/ados. if king’s landing gets annihilated due to some combination of wildfire, dragon fire, and jon connington bell-related ptsd and winterfell is in the hands of the boltons—and there must always be a stark in winterfell, which aside from being propaganda actually has something simmering there—where on the continent do these storylines converge?

it’s chekov’s monstrously huge castle that no one family can hold, that can hold armies, right in the middle of the continent—a liminal space, a temporal vortex, haunted and cursed, hungry and waiting. it sits on the god’s eye, where the first men and the children of the forest made their pact, where dragons died, where gendry realized who arya was just as rhaegar realized who lyanna was. balerion made a pyre out of the highest tower and there are weirwoods built into the beams and rafters. it’s where jaime was claimed and sent away by an unworthy king and where he returned to save brienne in a moment of certainty and bravery that sucked him into the past and propelled him forward all at once. littlefinger holds it and holds sansa captive, but she has giants to slay and the vale has men. the timing of its completion with aegon’s conquest, how he burned it that first day, and that it’s where jaehaerys held the great council that set into motion the dying of the dragons—but daenerys is a character who symbolizes rebirth, redefinition, reclamation (of her body, of her name, of her legacy: if the throne her family built burns like a pyre, melts like harren’s tower, what better place to restart than a castle that was also burnt and survived? and if arya goes back there, will it seem like an old friend this time?) like we’ve got to go back. the dragons are back. we’ve got to go back. different roads lead to the same castle. am i losing my mind.

[ennabear]

i beg of you to write more mean abby.. i reread all of ur mean abby works religiously i swear i just love her too much ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა

ʕ≧ᴥ≦ʔ NONNIEEEEE STOP THIS JS TOO SWEET!!!! IM BLUSHING IM BLUSHING I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!! sorry this is a lil bit messy, i haven’t really had time to lock in on anything official I HOPE THATS OKAY!!!! here are some thoughts… 18+

i think mean!abby is one of those people who are discreetly rich. she’s not the type of person to go on big fancy vacations, or buy expensive sports cars, or to always have the newest technology. before she met you, she probably spent most of her money on books or expensive brands of tea imported from countries she’s never even heard of. after she met you, though? she’d swipe her card a million times a day to see you smile.

the best way i can describe her personality is like some old cranky grandpa, the scary guy on the block who never smiles but is very confrontational. if you’ve seen her around, you’d know that she’s always wearing a scowl, only leaves her penthouse apartment early to go to the gym, and has beef with most of her neighbors. but if you know know her? she’s a sweetie pie. she loves spontaneous sweet treats, slow dancing to 70’s music, old horror films (mean!abby letterboxd goes CRAZY i just know), and most shockingly, her cats.

and she LOVES those fuckers. it’s so perfect how she can have a companion who’s quiet and small and independent, and two of them? barely any responsibility. they have an automatic feeder, entertain each other, and only bug her about once a day for attention.

as for her job, i could see her having two possibilities. one being an extreme workaholic. maybe an office job or a surgeon or something?? (NOT a nurse because they’re supposed to be good at talking to people…) OR she only really works part time, some freelance job that doesn’t really have any rules. a photographer or a tattoo artist or some sort of small business that she can mostly manage on her own. money has never been an issue for her, coming from a family of doctors. her ass was spoiled rotten as a kid, and after her dad died she inherited all of that money.

she’s the biggest protector in the world. someone was talking shit about you? she’s breaking their nose right now actually. i think the biggest reason she’s “mean” is because she actually just has anxiety. the last time she felt a love this strong, it was for her dad. she can’t afford to lose you like she lost him, so she always has to make sure you’re safe and sound. it’s not like she’s trying to be controlling by texting you every half hour, she just worries that maybe she won’t be able to protect you for once, and it’ll be at the worst possible time.

ok lock in here are some nsfw thoughts :3

you know that trope that’s like “big mean stoic character is actually the subbiest bottomest little puppy in the whole world.” yeah…. if you don’t agree what are you still doing here.

it definitely took her a while to be this vulnerable, but jesus christ is it worth it!!! the way you get to watch her squirm and whimper underneath you, knowing that you’re the only one who can make her feel this way. to give your big protective guard dog girlfriend a night off, to take care of her in return for all that she does for you.

and she lovessss being tied up!!!! something about the intimacy of knowing you’re gonna give her a good time makes her submit to you almost instantly. she has to trust you on this, has sit back and relax and let her brain melt because she physically can’t do anything about it.

when she does dom i imagine she’s a pretty big brat tamer. c’mon, not everyone has the luxury of having a girlfriend like her. if you don’t act grateful she’ll whip you in to shape. literally. she’s not afraid of a good spanking.

also she’s strapped up 24/7 but this is canon in every universe… no matter what she’s doing or where she’s going or who she’s gonna meet, the strap stays ON!!! just in case she may need it….

but she’s the aftercare QUEEN. of course. apart from the basics like food, water, cuddles, etc. she has tonssss of knowledge on proper aftercare. you’d never have to worry about being hurt or getting a uti or feeling unloved because she’s read every forum to exist about aftercare!!! i just know this bitch runs a tumblr kink blog like it’s the military… 🤦

that’s all…. going to eep now……

[supernovafics]

series masterlist | last part — next part

pairing: modern!college!steve harrington x fem!reader, bestfriend!eddie munson x fem!reader

word count: 3.1k words

warnings: explicit language, overall a very sweet and wholesome chapter 🫶🏾 (before things go slightly 📉 in the next one)

summary: you spend valentine’s day (well, night) with steve

CHAPTER TEN | ❝𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖❞

Spring Semester 2016

“You should still come. I want you to.” How genuine Eddie’s words sounded almost made you want to say yes, but you didn’t. You couldn’t.  

“No, I’d rather not be a third wheel with you and Chrissy for a week,” You said, keeping your voice playful even though your words were a thousand percent serious. You shifted a bit on your bed, crossing your legs under yourself.  

“That’s not gonna happen,” He responded and that was when you looked up from the book you had in your hand and over to where Eddie was sitting at your small desk— you’d been stuck reading and rereading the same page since he showed up to your dorm room five minutes ago. 

You knew that the plans for spring break had changed long before Eddie even realized that they did. There was no way that you’d be spending the week with him in his hometown— he had Chrissy now. What did surprise you was that he still wanted you to come, which was a nice thought but a horrible idea. And you couldn’t tell him exactly why you felt that way. 

Yes, your feelings for him were buried, but that didn’t mean that you wanted to have a front-row seat to his and Chrissy’s relationship for a week— the PDA, the cute stuff, everything. You’d immediately end up as a third wheel, and you didn’t believe Eddie’s words of “that not happening.”

“It’s inevitable,” You told him, and before he could potentially protest your words, you shifted the subject just slightly. “And besides, my roommate is already gone, so I’ll get to have the room to myself this entire week and that will be nice.”

Eddie considered your words for a second.  “You sure?”

You nodded. “Very.”

He was quiet for another moment and you wondered if he was going to ask you again if you were sure or if he was going to say something else to try and convince you to come, but instead, he said, “Okay, but call any night you hate the quiet and just want to talk about nothing.” 

Hearing him say that made you smile. “Got it. Thanks.” 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Spring Semester 2018

For the first time probably ever, it was quiet in your apartment.

Everyone had gone to some romcom movie marathon thing at the close by movie theater; it started at seven and was going until midnight. You, of course, wanted to go too, but you instead told everyone that you had something planned with Steve for the night. Since it was Valentine’s Day, you figured that it would’ve probably seemed weird if you and him didn’t have “something planned.”

Your actual plans for the night were still uncertain to you. You contemplated staying in your room or heading to the library to study so that you could just get out of the apartment for the time being. 

You were still in the middle of deciding what to do when your phone started ringing on your desk. The only name you expected to see was Steve’s, and you were right.

“Hi.”

“Hey,” He started. “Are you home right now?”

“Yeah,” You answered as you sat at the foot of your bed. “Oh, shit, is this the part where you murder me?”

Steve laughed a bit. “If the answer was yes, I wouldn’t tell you that.” 

“Honestly, I wouldn’t mind a murdering right now. I’m really bored.” 

“Great, I’ll be there in ten minutes,” He responded and then added, “Not to murder you, by the way. I just need to give you something.” 

“And by something, you mean a knife to my heart. What a great Valentine’s day present.” 

Steve laughed again. “You’re being weirder than usual.” 

There was something about how amused he sounded that made you smile. “Thanks. See you in ten.”

He was knocking on your door fifteen minutes later, and you still hadn’t come to a decision about what you wanted to do for the rest of the night. 

“Hi, your elevator really sucks.” 

You almost laughed at that since you knew exactly how shitty the elevator in the building could be. “Yeah, you got lucky when you were here for game night.”

It was then that you noticed everything in his hands; the flowers and red gift bag that you could only assume had your favorite candy in it. 

“You really didn’t have to do this,” You told him as you opened the door further so that he could come in. 

“Of course, I had to. I already told you that I like being a good fake boyfriend,” He joked, smiling at you.  

“In that case, thank you,” You said as he handed everything over to you; and you couldn’t help but take note of how nice the daisies were. “And I don’t really care about being a good fake girlfriend, but I actually did get you something too.”

You started heading toward your room and gestured for him to follow you.  

You placed the flowers and gift bag on your desk and then grabbed the small stuffed brown bear that was wearing a red bowtie and handed it over to Steve. 

“Wow, great minds,” He said, and before you could ask him what he meant, he continued. “Look in the bag.”

You nodded as you looked in the red gift bag, seeing the sour gummy worms, which you expected, and then also a stuffed bear. It was brown too but it was holding a red heart in its hands. You smiled at it and then at Steve as you pulled it out.“Thank you, but Bowie’s better.”

“Bowie?”

“The name of your bear,” You said, gesturing to what he was still holding in his hand. “Because of the bow tie. Bowie.” 

“Shouldn’t I be the one who gets to name it?” 

“No,” You said simply.

“Okay, then,” Steve nodded, an amused smile on his face. 

Things became quiet for a second, comfortably so, until he was speaking again. “I’m just realizing that it’s actually quiet here for once. Where’s everyone?” 

“They went to this romcom movie marathon thing at the movie theater,” You answered as you put the bear back in the bag and pulled out the gummy worms. “I told them that I had plans with you since it would’ve been weird if I didn’t.”

“Makes sense,” Steve nodded. “What are your actual plans for the night?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe watch a movie here or go to the library to do some work. Or maybe try to be a normal person and attempt to get a decent number of hours of sleep for once.”

“We should do something.”

Just for a second, you considered saying no to his suggestion because maybe he was just saying it to be nice and he didn’t really mean it. The equivalence of someone asking “How are you?” and always answering them with “Good,” even if that wasn’t true, because it was just easier and they probably didn’t even mean the question in the first place. 

But, you and Steve were passed that kind of thing. If he asked you how you were doing, you knew that you’d be honest with him, and you believed that that feeling was mutual. You also believed that he wouldn’t say something to you if he didn’t mean it. 

And that realization was what made you ultimately nod at his words. “Okay. What do you wanna do?”

He smiled then. “I already have an idea, but I think it should be a surprise.”

You gave him a look. “I can’t tell if I should be scared of that smile or not.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna murder you.”

“I think that’s exactly what a murderer would say,” You told him, but still changed into something that would be better for the cool mid-February weather and followed him out of your apartment and to the shitty elevators and then to his car.

The streets he drove down were familiar until they weren’t, and it became hard to tell where you two were going, but you kind of liked that; the not knowing. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“What makes this even more embarrassing right now is that I know that you’re trying to let me win.”

“I’m not,” Steve responded as he shot another basket and missed again. “I just haven’t played in a long time so I’m a little rusty.”

You shook your head. “You’re a bad liar.”

It was a twenty minute drive to the arcade that you and Steve ended up at. You had never heard of Mac’s, but Steve claimed that it was great, and after just the first half an hour of being there you could admit that he was right. You wondered how often he’d bring girls here; this place was a solid date idea, so you imagined that it had to be a “go-to.” But you didn’t ask that— you didn't ask why he wanted to bring you here or why it had been the first place that had come to his mind. Instead, you continued playing games with him, deciding not to wonder about anything else. 

Playing against each other in basketball was your suggestion even though you knew that you’d probably lose since only one of you was good at the actual game. But, there were eighteen seconds left and Steve was only up by two points in what was probably the lowest-scoring game of arcade basketball ever— ten points for you to his twelve. 

You gave him a playful smile. “You’re allowed to bruise my ego a bit since I demolished you twice in skee-ball.”

“You only won by a hundred points the first time and fifty points the second, so I wouldn’t necessarily call those the “greatest wins of all time.””

“Shut up, they were fantastic wins,” You responded as you watched the timers above your and his baskets go down to eight seconds. 

You shot again and missed and expected that to be it; you didn’t want to shoot more and just embarrass yourself further. But, when the timer hit five seconds, Steve almost too easily shot two of his balls into your basket, which made you two end the game tied. 

You looked at him. “I can’t believe you just gave me pity points.” 

“No, I just missed my basket really badly and accidentally made it in yours,” Steve said and you laughed as you shook your head and then grabbed the five tickets that came out of your machine and his for playing the game. 

You stuffed them into your jacket pocket along with all of the others that you and he had gotten over the past hour and then looked up at him. “Now, I’m starting to question my tiebreaker air hockey win.” 

Steve smiled at you. “No, that was real. You’re actually good at that.”

“I feel kind of offended that you said “actually good,” but thank you anyway, I guess,” You laughed again as you pulled the final two tokens out of the back pocket of your jeans. “Should we use these last ones on the rigged claw machine?”

Steve nodded. “Great idea.” 

You two had tried it earlier— it was actually the first thing that you and he did when you got to the arcade, as per Steve’s suggestion. When you went, you actually managed to grab something but it slipped out of the dumb claw at the last second, and the same thing happened to Steve. The odds now didn’t feel better at all, but you figured it was the easiest way to use the last tokens you two had.

“Are we trying for the stuffed green frog again?” Steve asked when you handed the tokens over to him and he put them in the machine, starting the sixty-second timer for the game. 

You shook your head, eyes on the random toys that were in the machine. “I think we should play it safe and do that red ball in the middle. It’ll probably be easier to get.” 

“Okay,” He said, and started moving the claw and then lowered it in what looked like the right spot, but the hand couldn't get a good grip on the ball so it immediately slipped out of its loose grasp.

You sighed. “So rigged. And a very sad way to end our arcade run. But, at least, we’ll be able to get something good with our tickets.”

Steve shook his head. “The only bad part about this place is that the prizes are kinda shitty.” 

“So we won’t be able to get something equivalent to the green frog?”

“Probably not,” He answered and you sighed overdramatically again. “And we should stay away from the candy too. I’m pretty sure it’s been sitting behind the counter since this place opened.” 

You two headed over to the lackluster “prize counter” and ended up with two palm tree keychains because that was somehow the only thing that your and Steve’s collective ninety-eight tickets could get. 

“You wanna go to the pizza place down the street?” He asked as you two stepped out of the arcade and onto the sidewalk. He gestured his head in the direction of the pizza place and you noticed the red and white checkered awning and glowing sign at the end of the block. “They’re pretty good.” 

“Okay,” You nodded, stuffing your hands in the pockets of your jacket when a gust of wind hit you both. “But, I’m buying since you got everything here.” 

“I can’t let that happen,” Steve responded, but you simply shook your head at him.

“Stop being so chivalrous and let me do something nice for you for once.”  

He laughed at how serious you sounded. “Okay, fine.”

You two kept walking, and then you were thinking of something and saying it before you could really consider your words. “It honestly sucks that you don’t want anything serious with anyone because you really would be a good boyfriend.” You weren’t sure why you were telling him that right then, but it was the truth. You looked over at him for a quick second. “Y’know, you never explained why you don’t do relationships.”

You remembered that during the night of the power outage, you were going to ask him pretty much that exact thing. When he mentioned his camp girlfriend and their three-week-long relationship, you wanted to know what happened to him wanting things like that— crushes, relationships, actual feelings for someone— but you felt like you couldn’t ask that then. However, for some reason, in this moment, bringing up that subject didn’t feel like it would be too much anymore— it no longer felt too deep or too real. It surprisingly felt normal. 

Maybe that said a lot about this friendship you two had developed— which still hadn’t been outwardly stated was an actual friendship, but it so obviously felt like one.  

“I don’t know,” You noticed him shrug. “I just don’t want to, I guess.”

“Did you get your heart broken and still haven’t fully recovered from it?”

Steve got quiet then instead of laughing at your joking question, which made you realize that you were actually right. 

“Wait, shit, really?” You stopped walking for a second and looked at him. He gave you a quick nod and you immediately felt terrible. “Fuck, I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t be. It was years ago at this point— it happened Senior year of high school— and it also doesn’t really matter,” Steve shrugged. “And I am over it, actually, I just don’t want something like that to happen again, so…” He shrugged for a third time, which didn’t do much to convince you that it “didn’t really matter.”

“I guess that makes sense, but that’s kinda sad, I think?” You two had started walking again and you took the briefest look over at him as you spoke. “Letting one person change the way you feel about love and relationships and stuff. That sucks.” 

“When you put it in simple terms like that it does sound sad, but I don’t know, I don’t really feel that way,” Steve said, and his words surprisingly sounded honest. “And I won’t be against it forever— you already know that my parents would kill me. But for right now, it’s just easier. A lot easier.” 

You found yourself agreeing with him. Your life would probably be a thousand times easier if you viewed things like he did. 

“Okay, yeah, I get that,” You ultimately nodded. You two made it to the pizza place and he opened the door for you and you smiled at him in thanks. “It still doesn’t change the fact that some lucky girl out there is sadly missing out on the Steve Harrington boyfriend experience, though.” 

“Eddie’s missing out too,” He said and then playfully smiled at you. “Even though I know you’ll never get me curtains, you’re still a good fake girlfriend.”

You laughed as you both stepped into place behind the other people in line. “Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you. I finally think that this whole fake dating thing will actually end up working.”

“You didn’t think it was gonna work before?”

“I mean, before I thought maybe it could, but now I feel more sure about it,” You answered, and it kind of surprised you how okay it felt saying those words and admitting that to Steve. 

There was still the smallest part of you that felt like maybe you were wrong about this— like you’d been with other things regarding you and Eddie a bunch of times before. However, it was also easier to shut that side of your mind down and go with the side of you that both wanted this to happen and felt like it genuinely could. 

And you knew that all of this had to do with Steve. You didn’t think you’d feel this certain about things if it wasn’t for him. He was that someone to tell you that the situation wasn’t helpless and you weren’t overthinking things, and you believed him.

“You’re right,” You told him when you two were sitting in one of the booths, but you were referring to the slice of pizza in your hand. “This is really good.” 

“Told you,” Steve said and then smiled. “And if we ever come back here, I’m buying.” 

You playfully rolled your eyes at him. “I guess I’ll allow that.”

“Good,” He responded, and then it was quiet for a moment until it seemed as if he realized something. “Oh, and it’s Hartford, by the way.”

“What?”

“The name of the bear I got for you,” Steve explained. “Since you named the one you got for me, I get to name the one I got you.” 

“Okay. Hartford,” You nodded and gave him a small smile. “I like that.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

next part!

taglist (lmk if you want to be added or taken off<333); @eddiernunson , @loulouloueh , @the-aster , @blckburd , @totally-bogus-timelady , @yujyujj , @irhdifartzamfyaa , @mochminnie , @munsonssweets , @blckbrrybasket , @xprloki , @definitionwanderlust , @dwcode , @sun-fiower-seed , @keerysfolklore , @damon-loves-pie , @lodeddiperrodrick , @bisexual-and-intellectual , @munsonburn3r , @negomi123 , @khena , @facexthexsunshine

[perfectmanisperfect]

oh man there is absolutely no way i can get out all my thoughts on this show. it was so good. the casting is actually everything. walker is percy jackson no questions here every moment he was on screen that’s my percy. the first time i saw annabeth .. chills she’s perfect. grover is perfect. clarisse is amazing. they casted them so well and i am so happy to see this i cannot wait for more. it may not be an exact copy of the book but it’s so close and hits every beat. i don’t need an exact copy i needed age accurate casting and a show that had the same heart as the books which we now have. you can literally see every emotion percy should have in walkers face like he is so percy jackson im literally just blown away by his performance already. and sally jackson oh my god she’s perfect.

it’s funny it’s heartfelt it’s percy jackson and the 9 year old me who first read the books and the 13 year old who wrote terrible embarrassing fanfiction and made pinterest boards with fanart and stayed up all night rereading and 23 year old who has loved these characters for so long. it’s for all of them. i’m so excited and so so happy i’m tearing up writing this like percy jackson has been with me for so long and i still reread it and i just feel like it captured reading the books the first time and now im getting emotional. it’s so good thank you world and rick riordan for giving us this.

[ellielatinagf]

Lacrosse Ellie Part 4

summary: I’ll let you find out on your own😉

Warnings: fluffffff, cursing, readers same old delusions. Lmk if I’ve missed anything

“So after all that YOU NEVER KISSED???” Dina exclaims. You sat on your bed with your phone in one hand help up to your ear and your other hand holding your remote clicking through channels that you weren’t interested in.

“No. And we were sooooooo close” you replied in a pout.

“Wait okay so you met up with her for a study date and ended spending the time flirting and ALMOST kissing right?” Dina asked

“Yeahhhh” you groaned. You were upset you didn’t kiss her. Those pink lips that had been lingering in your mind for weeks. You wanted to kiss them.

“Then I mean…don’t you still need help with math?” Dina asked. You smirked. This girl was a genius. You suddenly forgave her for her huge cockblock episode the other day.

“I’ll call you back” you said and hung up the phone.

You went on Instagram and went to Ellie’s chats.

“Heyy” You typed. You but the top of your finger out of excitement. Does this girl know how flustered she makes you. Does she know how much she makes you blush at the guilty pleasure you have of imagining your kids together one day? You imagined yourself and Ellie cuddling in bed and embracing each other while your two kids who looked like a perfect mix of you and Ellie were playing with their toys. Yup, you’d imagined it all.

*seen just now*

Oh god

*typing…*

“Hey pretty”

OH MY GOD

You swiped out of happiness and reread that message a thousand times it feels like. You took a screenshot of the message and smiled.

“Hey sooo um last time we met I didn’t really get to study any math sooo I was wondering😭😭” you typed. You hesitated to hit send. Maybe it would seem to desperate? You ignored it and hit send anyways.

“Oh yeah I forgot. I’m free right now if you wanna come over?” Ellie replied.

You two were basically married right? That’s what she’s asking, your hand in marriage? No way she just invited you to her house. You stared at the wall. You can see it now. How does Karina sound as a baby name?

“Like Right now?” You asked

“Mhm” she replied. You don’t know why but that small text made you imagine her humming that and it gave you butterflies.

“Okay then I’ll be over” you replied. Ellie sent you the address and you made your way over. The walk to say the least was gruesome. You wondered what Ellie’s house would be like. What are her parents like? It’s kind of obvious the girl is gay. Or maybe you wanted her so much you made yourself think everything she does is gay. Point is, you were going to see Ellie’s house. Maybe even her room. Who knew that the girl you have a fat crush on is inviting you to her house. You can see yourself laying on a beach during your honeymoon with ellie already.

You ring the doorbell to a nice comfy looking house. A big man, maybe 6ft, opens the door. He looked kind of old but not too much. Maybe in his late 40s?

“Hi um…is Ellie here?” You asked. Your voice was small. This man looked intimidating. Like he’d cut your throat like an apple. Instead the man smiled.

“Oh yeah she’s upstairs. First door on your right. My names Joel by the way, nice to meet you” the man said holding his hand for you to shake. You felt your shoulders relax when you realized he wouldn’t lead you into the woods to kill you.

“I’m y/n, nice to me you too mr…Williams?” You asked. This man didn’t look anything like Ellie at all honestly. He had black hair, which actually started to gray out. And he didn’t have freckles or his face complexion wasn’t similar to Ellie’s.

“Haha, miller. I’m Joel Miller. You can call me Joel though.” He smiled. You nodded and made your way to Ellie’s room.

You knocked on the door softly

“Come in” you heard a voice say. You slowly opened the door. When you walked in the room you noticed the edgy teen boy aesthetic that took place inside.

The walls were covered in 80s bands posters and comic book or video game posters as well. One section of the wall even had been decorated with an array of collectible comic book cards. You removed them when Ellie talked about them last time you met up. “Savage starlight”. Another thing you saw was the guitar that had a moth design on the neck and an electric guitar.

“Sorry my rooms a little messy, I meant to clean it up but I..got distracted” Ellie said which made you avert your eyes to her. You blushed at how she wore that nice loose fitting sweater and how her tan colored khakis has paint splotches. And as always you smiled at those crusty raggedy converse she seemed to never be without.

“It’s cool” You Said sitting on the edge of Ellie’s bed. You placed your backpack down and Ellie moved from the desk to sit next to you. You could’ve sworn your heart stopped for a second.

“So what about math do you need help with?” Ellie asked looking straight into your eyes. The end of her lip curves upwards a bit like she was really really trying to hold back a smile.

“Pre calc” you sighed.

“Hmm” Ellie hummed peering over your shoulder to look at your notes. Your body felt like it was buzzing and you felt like you were sweating waterfalls.

After a couple hours of studying with Ellie you started to understood the material. Truth be told you really only needed a little bit of explaining but Ellie was such a distraction that everything she said went in one ear and out the other as you only focused on her voice and face. If there were a pop quiz about Ellie you’d get a hundred plus extra credit.

“So who’s your teacher anyway?” Ellie asked laying down next to you and holding herself up by her elbows.

“Mr.Anderson” You replied “I know his daughter though, Abby, she’s nice”

“He’s an interesting dude” Ellie responds “think he should’ve been some sorta vet though” she chuckled .

“Are you doing anything tomorrow?” Ellie asked. You thought around in your head if you had any plans.

“Probably just gonna watch bad girls club and pretend I’m on Britain’s next great baker” you joked

“You watch that shit?” Ellie chuckled.

“What’s wrong with it?!” You laughed.

“It’s just so…weird” Ellie laughed.

“I’m not gonna listen to someone who watches cartoons” you smirked.

“Hey! That was low” Ellie smiled “Savage starlight is awsome” you giggled and stared in Ellie’s eyes. Those green orbs were like magnets to you, you couldn’t see away from them no matter how hard you tried.

“Anyways, I was gonna ask if you wanted to come to my game tomorrow” Ellie asked. “Ya know if you like… if you really liked the last one” she added. “A-and you can invite Dina too if you want”. You probably would’ve gone even if Dina wasn’t going.

“I guess I could stop by. Even if it’s not as entertaining as crazy Judi throwing hands with voodoo dolls” you joked and Ellie snickered and looked down at the edge of the bed.

“Im glad you chose me over Bad Girls Club” Ellie smiled.

“Don’t get used to it, it’s a one time thing” you giggled.

You got up and started to say your goodbyes to Ellie. She offered to walk you home but you declined because you couldn’t wait any longer to tell Dina how your “not-so-date-date”went. Ellie walked you out smiled.

“Thank you helping me, I probably would’ve failed the test without you” you thank.

“No problem. Although next time you shit on Savage starlight I might start charging you” Ellie said leaning on the doorframe. Little does she know you’d pay any amount to see her.

“I guess I could start expanding my tutors then” you snarky said smiling.

“None of them will be as good as me” she said confidently.

No they will not

You rolled your eyes and giggled. “Bye Ellie” you smiled looking over your shoulder and waving.

“Bye pretty” Ellie smiled and watched you leave. You stared in front of you and thanked god Ellie couldn’t see your blushing face.

As you walled you smiled at yourself. When can she finally kneel down and propose already? You didn’t know what was more cuter. The girl herself or the fact that she had a weighted 3 foot dinosaur plushie sitting on her bed. You picked up your phone to cal the one and only best friend.

“Dina, we’re on our 5th child right now” you said.

“Your so delusional”

Im so sorry this came out wayyyyy longer than expected. My first couple drafts got DELETED and some stuff happened at home but I thought this was cute❤️ the next part will actually have a tiny bit of angst and stuff but I promise I’ll give a good ending loves. Thank you soooo much for your patience and support!! Free Palestine 🇵🇸

Taglists: @vqxen @bready101 @lilylynne11 @lively-blues @Yurixxiii @vampyangel @gato-chino @a-little-bit-of-everybody @abbysbraids

[glitchtricks94]

Here is your food, eat up

Tengen begging for your touch as he blindly grinds against your thigh, his face buried in your shoulder, he can’t release without your touch and he’s begging, the mighty sound pillar, god of festivals begging for you to do something about his painful need

<333

YOU HAVE JUST SPARKED AN UNHOLY THIRST IDEA OH MY GOD I COULD KISS YOU!!! MWUAH MWUAH MWUAH!!!!!💜💜💜💜 NSFW ahead~

"My love, please-" Tengen breathed as he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you to where your back and his chest were flush against each other. You could feel his cock throbbing against your ass, begging to be touched. "Please, please, please-" He chanted, starting to rut against you. You looked over your shoulder from the bookshelf you had previously been inspecting to look at him, a glare etching its way onto your features. Already he was trying to get off, grinding against you like a bitch in heat. You shimmied out of his embrace with a scoff. "No, I'm still busy. You're a good boy, aren't you?" You asked, Tengen letting out a whimper at your cold words. "You have permission to fix that by yourself." "But-" "No buts." You huffed, stalking off to your shared bedroom. Tengen was trailing right after you, giving you puppy eyes; he could only get relief from you, after all. Even Suma, Makio and Hinatsuru struggled to dominate him enough to get him to break, but you managed to do it so effortlessly. The others weren't even home, they were on a mission at the moment, he could only turn to you. He peered into the bedroom, seeing you curled up and rereading an old favorite of yours, your eyes sliding over the pages as a serene expression took over your features. You looked so beautiful, if only you'd help him. Tengen stepped into the room, shedding his top layers and undoing his usual ponytail before sliding under the covers and snuggling close against you. Annoyance bubbled in your chest as you absent mindedly ground his hips against you. Such a bratty man! Can't he leave you be, you were tired and simply wanted to read! An idea formed in your head for a decent punishment and you would still get to indulge in your novel. Slipping your leg between his, you made sure to shove your thigh against the bulge in Tengen's pants, making him let out a shocked gasp, which faded into a soft moan as he began to grind himself on the back of your thigh, you pretending you didn't here the series of whimpers and quiet moans in your ear as he dug his face into your shoulder. "My sweet, please..." Tengen groaned softly, pressing himself further against you, desperate tears rimming those pretty magenta eyes of his. "Please t-touch me, please, I-I'm pleading, please-" "I'm already touching you, brat. Actually, correction, you're the one touching me." You replied, flipping to the next page of your book, ignoring Tengen's whine. "B-but it's not enough, my beloved, please more, l-let me have more, I need it..." "Fine, but, since you can't seem to control yourself..." You growled, looking at him over your shoulder, eyes sharp and cruel. "You'll simply have to keep using just my thigh until you cum in your pants." "W-what?! But I-" "That's your punishment for being a brat. Now hurry up and cum for me if you want me to actually start touching you the way you want." "Y-yes, master..." Tengen whined, submitting to your will perfectly, a symphony of moans and whines filled the room, the pressure on your thigh increasing as your lover tried to chase his high as you instructed. You had to say, you were more than pleased by this outcome as he began begging as he grew close before you felt a nice wet patch on your skin. "P-please, more, m-more, only you c-can make me cum the way I-I need to, p-please make me cum, please-"

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

reading updates: august 2024

the good news is that I did a lot of reading this month, the bad news is that honestly? I think that my birthday month has had the biggest percentage of literary letdowns, duds, and outright bullshit than any other month of this year so far.

but at least there's plenty to talk about, so let's get going!

Unlearning Shame: How We Can Reject Self-Blame Culture and Reclaim Our Power (Devon Price, 2024) - uh oh gamers, we're starting on a doozy! I've enjoyed both of Price's previous books very much, but with Unlearning Shame I couldn't help but feel like I couldn't quite shake the feeling that I wasn't getting what I had signed on for. the issue, I think, could be corrected by an adjustment to the title, which seems to be promising a very broad tackling of the concept of shame and is therefore making some pretty big promises. in reality, the book is much more narrowly focused than that, interested primarily in the shame that arises in the activism-minded when they feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of awful things in the world and their perceived inability to do anything about it. fairly early on Price introduces an apparently relatable anecdote about himself and a friend having mutual breakdowns in a grocery store because they were both so paralyzed by the conundrum of trying to buy the most ethical groceries possible, and I realized this book was maybe not really for me or my particular experiences with shame. I think this book will be really helpful for a lot of people for sure, would love to pass it on to a lot of my freshmen, but overall it did not live up to the expectations I brought to the party.

A Separate Peace (John Knowles, 1959) - so I wanted to reread this because someone on here sent me an ask about, I don't know, my favorite required high school reading or whatever, and I said it was A Separate Peace but then I realized it's been over a decade since I read the book and I had to go see if it still actually held up. and god, does it EVER. this is such a brutal and heartbreaking novel, beginning in the last carefree summer that best friends and roommates Gene and Finny will experience before their final year at their boys' private school and their seemingly inevitable draft into WW2. although Gene is seethingly jealous of Finny's seemingly effortless charisma, popularity, confidence, and athletic prowess, the two boys are also inseparable - until a tragic injury changes the course of Finny's life forever. this book is a mess of unspoken pain, from the looming end of innocence on a global scale to the intimate ache of loving your best friend so, so much and having no healthy way to express it because you're a repressed little rich boy in the 1940s.

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea (Rita Chang-Eppig, 2023) - Chang-Eppig's debut novel follows the career of Chinese pirate Shek Yeung, also known as Zheng Yi Sao, immediately following the death of her husband, fearsome pirate Sheng Yi. you've probably seen a post or two about her floating around on this very hellsite, calling her a pirate queen and accompanied by this image:

Chang-Eppig isn't interested in portraying Shek Yeung as any kind of heroine or feminist icon; over and over again it's acknowledged that she's simply a woman who has survived massive hardships and will do whatever she needs to do to survive. manipulation? spying? extortion? torture? murder? you name it, she's done it, and she does not feel remorse. while the novel wasn't a knockout for me either in terms of plot or prose, it's nice to see an entry into the trend of "retelling" stories from history and mythology centered on women that isn't determined to justify every step a maligned woman ever made. Shek Yeung is what she is, and her story makes for a gritty, bloody adventure.

Victim (Andrew Boryga, 2024) - this book is pure sleazeball fun; if you've ever wondered what I consider a romp, this is it. Victim follows our manipulative king Javi Perez as he builds a writing career for himself by turning in one essay after another about racial discrimination that he never really experienced, inventing stories of hardship caused by racism and poverty from his college application essay to his school newspaper to the story that finally brings the whole lie crashing down when he stretches the truth too far. the novel is written like Javi's apology in the wake of getting #canceled, and while I do sometimes feel that this premise makes some of the writing seem a bit implausible (why would you admit that!!!) it's a fun setup for a scandal that would have been a bloodbath on the twitter of old. come get your mess!!!

Bad Girls (Camila Sosa Villada, trans. Kit Maude, 2022) - this is my first time reading Sosa Villada's work but OH BOY, do I need to seek out more. this is a skinty little novel following a dramatized account of the travesti (or transgender) women who live and sell sex in Córdoba, Argentina. the women build an unsteady but beautiful and magic-infused family under the protection of the ancient Auntie Encarna. the protagonist (who is named Camila Sosa Villada, no relation I'm sure) watches as her unconventional family grows, changes, and frays over time, struggling to find ways to stay afloat in a world that see them as disposable. Sosa Villada's turns of phrase are brilliant and searing, and she weaves fantastical elements so nimbly into her narrative that it's utterly believable to see women becoming animals and courting headless men in the streets of a modern city. strongly recommend for fans of Kai Cheng Thom's Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars.

Talkin' Up to the White Woman: Indigenous Women and Feminism (Aileen Morteon-Robinson, 2000) - this book serves as a scathing literature review indicting Australia's white women anthropologists and feminist scholars for the ways in which they've dehumanized and discredited Aboriginal women, stripping them of the right to be authorities of their own experiences and barring them from a white-centered feminist movement. Moreton-Robinson's account is excellent, contrasting the wok of white women academics with the accounts of Aboriginal women to reveal exactly how massive the disparities in understanding are. as a USAmerican previously aware of Australia's colonial history but unfamiliar with the specifics, it was jarring to discover exactly how similar the mechanism of colonial violence are between my country and Australia, with countless genocidal parallels to be drawn. one particular highlight of the book comes via my purchase of a 20th anniversary edition, which includes a new post-script by Moreton-Robinson in which she dissects and responds to various criticisms of the book at its time of release, taking several critics to task for the belittling tone they used to describe her work and the tools white feminists use to absolve themselves of blame in the face of critique from women of color. fascinating and thorough articulation of Moreton-Robinson's point, and deservedly blistering. I love when academics call each other out by name.

The End of Love: Racism, Sexism, and the Death of Romance (Sabrina Strings, 2024) - so the thing about this book is that there are really good PARTS. Strings is still an excellent historical writer, and I found a lot to appreciate in, for instance, the segments on the history of Black American pimp culture and the analysis of Playboy and Helen Gurley Brown's Sex and the Single Girl. the more personal segments, where Strings contorts herself to fit her own failed relationships into the narrative she's building, are decidedly less consistent in their quality, with some feeling like they would have been better off staying between Strings and her therapist. there's a long and convoluted digression about Sex and the City, and a strange anecdote towards the end in which String recounts a phone call with a friend's college-aged son who, String believes, was masturbating during the call. a yucky experience, to be certain, but I'm not sure it justifies Strings filing a police report against the youth and his mother, who she accuses of having groomed her on the son's behalf. she also casually drops in the same chapter that she considers herself pansexual because she's attracted to trans men in addition to cis men? idk man!!! this book was so uneven that I found myself genuinely questioning whether Strings' first book, Fearing the Black Body, is actually as excellent as I remember it being. I'm pretty sure it is, but god it sucks to get shaken so hard that you have to wonder!

The Diary of a Teenage Girl: An Account in Words and Pictures (Phoebe Gloeckner, 2002) - another book that I had to read for class, years ago! I read Diary of a Teenage Girl in one of my gender and women's studies classes in my undergrad, for a class with a title along the lines of Girlhood Stories in Fiction and Film. Gloeckner's novel (though heavily informed by her own life, she insists that it's a work of fiction) sees its young protagonist, Minnie, navigating a great deal of sex, alcohol, drugs in 1970s San Francisco. I started thinking about the book because I was listening to a trio of episodes of You're Wrong About in which Carmen Maria Machado guests to talk about the pervasive sham that is Go Ask Alice (great series, check it out) and I started thinking about Diary, which is so much less preachy and didactic and is, you know, actually drawn from a real teenage girl's diary, unlike Go Ask Alice, and lacking Alice's preachy didacticism. as a diary based on a real diary this book is largely lacking in any particular plot (the most consistent through line is Minnie's ongoing and tumultuous sexual relationship with her mother's 35 year old boyfriend), but if that's not a turn off then you'll find yourself rooting for Minnie to find her way all the way to the uncertain but ultimately optimistic conclusion.

One and Done (Frederick Smith, 2024) - okay, so. this is a romance novel that I picked up because I saw a review talking about how it's an incredibly realistic depiction of working at a university. now that's obviously an insane thing to look for in a romance novel, but I like romances, ESPECIALLY gay romances, and I work at a university, so I figured sure, I'll bite. spoiler alert: it's not great. I posted some examples of the prose here, and even if the two protagonists talked like actual human beings it wouldn't make up for the stale-ass plot or devastating lack of chemistry they have going for them. more like One and Glad to Be Done With This Book That Isn't Very Good, am I right, ladies?

Seduced (Virginia Henley, 1994) - guys, I'm gonna be so fucking real with you. this is the most batshit novel I've ever read, period, let alone the most batshit romance novel. this book was the winner of a poll I ran on patreon last month in which my wicked patreonites got to nominate romance novels of their choosing for my next reading project and voted amongst themselves to crown a winner, and against all odds and my own light attempts to sway the voters, Seduced won it all. this book has everything: a historical setting, a bold young lady disguising herself as her own brother, wildly unchecked orientalism, a murderous cousin, high society scandal, and some of the most torturous sex scenes I've ever encountered in my life. truly this write-up cannot do justice to what I have experienced; I've already promised by patreonites that I'll have to do a little youtube live in order to fully express the extent of my dissatisfaction.

and that was the month of August, babey!!!

[fandoms--fluff]

Road Trip

Flufftober, October 1st.

Vampire female Salvatore reader x Hope Mikaelson

Summary: Lizzie and Josie set you and Hope up on a road trip, knowing the wherewitch (unactivated vampire side) has had a massive crush on you since she was nine.

Reader goes to the school only to look out for the twins and to throw insults at Alaric, otherwise, you wouldn't be there. You don't actually do any work...or go to any classes either or teach any classes since you got turned at 21. You're also there to look out for Hope, as per request from Klaus before he died. Considering you and Stefan are the only ones in Mystic Falls he actually liked and secretly cared about.

Warnings: swearing,

a/n: Even though it's basically irrelevant to this fic, Stefan is alive and no one took any cure. And Damon never gave his car to the twins - this one kinda is, idk. And the other side was never destroyed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope stares at you as you're reading Peter Pan, across the library. "Subtle" Lizzie says from behind her.

"Did you know, she's reread that book three times already this year" Hope says, aware of how stalkerish she sounds. "So the girl likes Peter Pan, she probably met the author in the fifties when it came out." Lizzie shrugs, smirking at her frenemie

"It came out in 1911 actually, and there's nothing saying I can't read a book more than once" You look up from the book and over to them.

Hope immediately blushes, knowing you were listening to their conversation. She pulls Lizzie out of the library with her quickly. "You knew she could hear us, didn't you?" Hope whisper yelled to the siphoner.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. It's so obvious you like her!" Lizzie explains, whisper yelling back. She walks up to her and Josie's room, leaving Hope standing there embarrassed.

Lizzie walks into her and Josie's room. "That's it, I can't take it anymore. We need to get Hope to admit her feelings to y/n before my head explodes!" Lizzie exclaims. "Finally, let's do this" Josie stands up from her desk. She walks over to Lizzie's bed, where they start planning.

"Lizzie, why did I have to pack a bag?" Hope asks her, duffle bag slung over her shoulder. "You'll see" Lizzie smiles as she leads Hope over to Damon's car, that which is here without his knowledge, thanks to you.

Josie walks towards them, also with a bag slung over her shoulder. "Are we going on a trip or something?" Hope asks, confused.

"Well, we aren't," Josie tells her and points to herself and her twin. She drops the bag on top of the trunk.

"Where exactly did you need us to go again?" You ask eyebrow raised. You have the keys to the Camaro in your hand.

"Oh, right, here" Lizzie hands you a map with a location circled in black marker.

Hope's eyes widen slightly, figuring out that she and you are going to be on a road trip. Together. Alone. She wants to kill Lizzie and Josie right now, she groans in her head. She already knows somehow she's going to make an utter fool of herself. Why did she get out of bed this morning, why? she thinks before zoning back into the conversation taking place.

"A campsite? In Atlanta?" You ask with an eyebrow raised. "Yep, mhm" Lizzie nods her head.

"You know, if I could tell when you were lying when you were a child, I still can, right?" You cross your arms.

Lizzie and Josie share a surprised look before quickly leaving. "Love you, auntie y/n" Josie says before slipping into the school with her sister. You roll your eyes playfully at her way of trying to be cute so you don't hunt them down and lecture them later.

"..We don't have to go if you don't feel like it" Hope hesitates before speaking. "No, it's fine. Besides, you and I both need some time away from this damn place. I can tell. Plus I don't know how much longer I can take having to see Ric's face every day." You unlock the car, and open the trunk, placing the bag Josie packed for you in it. Hope softly chuckles at the last part you said as she also places her bag in the car.

"Okay, Atlanta here we come," You say once you're both inside the car and you start the ignition.

The radio plays as Hope looks out the window, watching as everything seems to fly by as you're driving. It's been around three hours since you guys left. Hope's calmed down a bit, knowing all she has to do is make it through the next 2-3 days at most and then her secret is still all safe.

However, it doesn't help that you look absolutely beautiful as your eyes concentrate on the road and your fingers sometimes lightly tap along to the song playing. She's been trying her hardest to not just flat-out stare at you for the past two hours. You're wearing a black fitted v-neck top, dark wash jeans, and a leather jacket. And she can't stop thinking about how good the outfit looks on you.

By hour four, you pull over into a gas station. You're not stupid, you know exactly why the twins set you and Hope on a road trip. You've known for a while about how the youngest Mikaelson has a crush on you. Now you could always just confront her and all that, but you're not going to make it that easy. You're seeing how long it'll take until she finally spills it out to you.

You've been smirking on the inside most of the drive, noticing the not-so-hidden looks and eyeing Hope's been doing.

"Why don't you go pick out a couple snacks while I fill up the tank" You smile. You pull your wallet out of your pocket and hand her a twenty dollar bill. "Y-yeah, okay" she grasps onto the bill and walks into the small store.

Once you pay for the gas with your card, Hope is back in the car, a bag of snacks in her lap. She stopped in the bathroom there, making sure her face wasn't bright red from blushing. The good thing is her cheeks were only slightly flushed, so wasn't as bad as she thought she looked.

You guys munch on the snacks for the next leg. Hope soon realized that having something in her mouth to constantly chew on is settling her nerves a bit. Thank god she got a pack of gum at the counter before paying.

"You look glum...Wanna know a secret that your father and my brother would most definitely kill me for if they find out I told you about it?" You look over to her at a stop light. Why are there so many stoplights here? You guys are the only ones on the road for petes sake.

"Really? Yeah" Hope looks up at you, her eyes widened. Before you spoke, she was staring at her shoes with an expressionless face.

"Well, Chicago, 1920's, Nik and Stefan were close. Too close it seemed to me, so I did some investigating one night. Let's just say when I broke into Stef's apartment because he wouldn't give me a key, my precious eyes were traumatized. There I saw, my baby brother and my good friend, Nik, naked on his bed in the middle of a hook-up sesh" You tell her, you smile seeing the disgust on her face.

"You just told your friend- enemie's? daughter about him and your brother having sex! Why?!" She exclaims, a disgusted look on her face.

"Because you said yes you wanted to know something" You smirked, happy to see her no longer glum. "I thought you meant something like, I don't know, an embarrassing story where they were drunk and had a stupid conversation, not a- wait, were they like...together?" Hope broke off from her sentence.

"Ah, now I was hoping you'd ask that, this will tell you all you need. Probably in a more censored way," you reach into the backseat and pull out a worn-out leatherbound journal. "My baby bro's journal, doesn't know I have it, so keep it on the hush and don't tell anyone." You wink at her. "I nicked it from him when Klaus came to town to sacrifice Elena. Such a dork, even when he was humanity-less, he still freakin wrote in a diary" You playfully roll her eyes and her the old diary.

"Do I even want to know how much blackmail you have against basically everyone?" She asks you, opening the diary. "Oh, sweetie, you don't even want to know who and how much" you chuckle.

Hope immediately feels butterflies in her stomach when you call her 'sweetie'. It slowly falters off though, "Wait, do you have anything on me?" She asks, alarm on her face.

"Hmm, good question" You pretend to think for a second before pulling off a very damon-impersonating smirk.

"I'll make sure not to get on your bad side then" Hope says. "Good idea, your uncle didn't do a very good job with that. Oh what am I saying, he still doesn't. If you're ever pissed at him and something to hold over his head, I've got you."

"You know uncle Kol?"

"Yep, we crossed paths in 1872 and just stuck together since then, even when Nik decided to dagger him for a century," you tell her. "And when he died...twice" you both chuckle at the way you held off on the dying part.

"He's never mentioned he knows you," Hope tells you, not remembering her uncle ever bringing your name up.

"Has he ever mentioned a 'she-devil' or 'crazy scary woman'?" You raise an eyebrow. "Yeah, a bunch" she tilts her head. "Then he has, wow, so rude of him to never actually say my name and just those disgusting ones," You tell her in a joking tone.

"That makes so much sense," Hope says, earning her a flick to her thigh from you.

"Uh-huh, I bet it does" You smirk at her gasp. "We'll be there in forty-five minutes, so you might want to read that or I can give you a very detailed version instead," You tell her, turning without signaling because you guys are the only ones on the road. still.

"No thanks...I thought we had another two hours left?" She started reading until your info fully sunk into her mind.

"I mean we should, but I have no mind for speed limits, and we'll get there before dark. That means no bears or coyotes to sneak up on us in the dark." "What?!" she looks alarmed again.

"Just kidding, there's no bears or coyotes within 10 miles of the campsite unless it changed in the past year" you reassure her. "Oh, okay, thank god" she lets out a relieved breath, continuing on the page she was on.

Hope looks up from the page she's on as you park the car in a clearing beside a massive pine tree. "There are things in here that a daughter should never know about her father and ex-lover? best friend? friends with benefits? I don't know, but it's gross" She puts the diary on the backseat where you grabbed it from earlier.

"I'm surprised you made it that far, honestly" You chuckle, getting out of the car.

Hope follows you to the trunk and pulls out her bag. "So where exactly are we going in here?" She asks as you sling your bag over your shoulder.

"A site that was abandoned twenty years ago and no one has visited besides me. I never thought there were any bad reasons to tell my wonderful nieces, but they for some reason want us here, so I'll just go along with it" You answer her question.

Hope's stomach fills with butterflies again, knowing that she and you are going to be the only ones here. She watches where she's going, not wanting to trip and then you probably going to ask her if she's alright and then she'll most definitely say the stupidest answer, and then you'll probably figure out her huge crush on you. How is it that her mind can rant like this whenever she's around you, is her question.

Hope's eyes widen when she looks at the place you guys stop at. It's a beautiful clearing with no trees littering the circle and the clear sky shining down. There's a river a couple hundred meters forward and it just seems so peaceful.

"This looks amazing" She finally says. You chuckle at her ogled state, "Yeah it does, there's a barrier around us that'll only allow people I want in here. So there are no enemies and now only five others know about it, you, Josie, Lizzie, Kol, and Katherine" You explain, and motion for her to place her duffle bag down on the log, beside your bag.

"That's so cool," she says, looking around again. "How long are we staying here again?" she asks.

"Maybe like two or three days before heading back if that's alright with you," you say while pulling a tent to assemble out of your bag. "That sounds good" Hope smiles, walking back over to you.

"I hope you don't mind sleeping in the same tent, it's the only one I have that's not broken, thanks to my brothers, but it's fairly big" You lead her to around the middle of the site and start taking all the pieces out of it's bag.

"N-no, I don't mind" on the inside, she's screaming. This is literally too good to be true. She going to be sleeping in the same tent with you, for three nights at least. She's literally jumping up and down on the inside, she's so happy. No way her overthinking is going to stop her from feeling joy, not at this moment at least.

You smirk to yourself, knowing exactly what's going on in Hope's head, maybe she'll realize that it's okay to tell you about her crush during this time before Josie and Lizzie plan another surprise trip or plan for you two.

You build the tent, giving Hope instructions for some parts considering this is her first time building one. It's up and ready not even fifteen minutes later, all the pegs hammered into the ground and all the zippers working.

"And we're done before sunset, good job us" You give her a high five. You guys bring your things into the tent and set up the two sleeping bags that were in your bags because Josie packed them both in your bag. Probably so Hope wouldn't get too suspicious before leaving.

It's been two days, you guys are leaving tomorrow. And Hope can't even count the number of times she just wanted to go up to you and kiss you. But her self-consciousness stops her before she gets up to do it. every. single. time.

Not this time though. They can go fuck off while I go make a stupid decision, but it'll hopefully be worth it, Hope fights with herself. She stands up as best she can in the tent and walks over to where you're sketching.

You look up at her, but before you can utter a word, Hope goes on her knees and presses her lips to yours. She pulls away, eyes widened.

Hope cannot believe she just let herself do that. How stupid can she be?!

"I- uh, s-sorry. I have no idea what I was thinking" She goes to stand up, but you pull her back to you and bring her into a soft yet passionate kiss.

"You knew exaclty what you were doing. And I'm glad you did. It may have taken you a while, but you did and I'm proud of you, and I might just also have a huge crush on you too" You tell her everything going on in her scrambling mind.

"You do?" She asks, shocked. "One hundred percent" you smirk.

It takes her a second to realize, "Wait, you knew I had a crush on you this entire time and just let me almost make a fool of myself countless times over the years?"

"Pretty much, yeah" You nod with a faux thinking face.

"I guess it's worth it though" She mumbles, looking up at you this time. "Yeah, I strongly agree. Why don't you try being my girlfriend to find out for yourself though" You set your sketchpad and pencil down and place a hand on her thigh.

"Really? Yes!" she smiles, lighting up her face.

You bring her into another kiss, and it ends with you both doing absolutely nothing for the rest of the day besides cuddling and you telling her embarrassing and some disgusting (she thinks at least) stories about her family and yours and some of the mystic falls gang.

There's no doubt that Klaus is watching from the other side and sighing as his daughter falls for you even more. At least he doesn't despise you, and you never tried to kill him. You better not corrupt his sweet daughter too fast, he thinks, knowing it's bound to happen, just hopefully not all at once.

[madockisser]

Why do you wanna kiss Madoc?

not sure if ppl are actually weirded out by my user or not, which most certainly is not my intention, but i feel the need to rant abt my thoughts on madoc! i also don’t wanna deter anyone bc of my user 😭! btw i totally understand if u hate him w all your guts like truly i get it but don’t hate on me for not! my user is mostly a joke! (also i LOVE cardan and jude sm more than madoc obviously just the “madockisser” user is funnier and so few ppl talk abt madoc so i feel the need to 😭)

madoc raised 3 children that weren’t his, was willing to risk quite literally everything to become king so his poor mortal daughters will be treated like princesses in a world where they’re treated like garbage. madoc has his faults(like trying to make poor oakey pokey king), but a lot of them can be chalked up to his redcap nature, being bloodthirsty and power hungry and just not understanding jude and her morals since their morals and life experiences are just SO different

him and jude have the same goal, except madoc and his nature, his morals, make the execution of that goal and the endpoint a bit different. jude is trying to save oak from being king so he won’t have to grow up bloodthirsty and drenched in blood like she did, while madoc is trying to make oak king, which he thinks is obviously the best thing he can do for him since madoc is so power hungry.

in their own eyes, they each think what they have planned for oak is best, and obviously to madoc making his son king after slaughtering nearly the rest of the greenbriar bloodline which solidifies his succession to the throne is a great boon, and in his eyes, jude isn’t trying to keep him from doing that to protect oak, (since he doesn’t understand that jude grew up so miserably) he sees jude trying to take/keep oaks throne from him.

jude says in her inner monologue at some point that she’s sure that madoc would relinquish the throne to oak when he’s of age, since he’s a man of honor or wtv, and madoc obv thinks this is just the best course for oak. why wouldn’t madoc want his children powerful and bloodthirsty? he wants them to be like him, and more than that, he doesn’t want them to slave away for a greenbriar like madoc did to eldred and balekin and dain(which he reveals in the stolen heir duo)

another thing is his morals when it comes to dain. he was livid in a way oriana had never seen when he heard about what dain did to oak and liriope. which makes perfect sense for him because he has honor enough to not slaughter a woman for being pregnant and by extent taking the life of the child inside just to remain in power and in favor.

dain did something that madoc inherently disagreed w. so madocs decision was obviously to betray him and run him through after replanning. it’s just in his nature. he replans, betrays, and resorts to murder when it matters lol. he does the same (sorta) w balekin by using him as a ploy to get oaks throne. balekin who has human slaves treated terribly, while madoc had a human wife and human children. i’m shocked balekin didn’t see madocs betrayal coming.

and even tho jude did something he inherently disagreed w/ and didn’t try to understand (which frustrates me sm) he gives her so many chances to come back to his side, he gives her advice, he gives her chances, betraying his nature for his daughter until qon, when he finally resorts to murder. fucking devastating.

on a lighter note, i do think it’s funny tho that despite it all he was still a better father than eldred and dain, and better guardian than balekin. though i will say that i do NOT excuse so many of madocs actions (bc he causes my poor baby jude so much pain), and when i’m actively rereading esp during qon i do in fact hate that mf, …i just think he’s dilf-y.

unrelated but he’s like the lead of a monster romance. holly black actually has another green sweetheart-chemist murdery bf, in her book valiant, but he’s too niche like nobody knows abt him which is so sad bc he’s sooooo cute and sweet. “ravuskisser” would be my user

i love reading his and jude’s dynamic, i love reading abt him and eva and him and oriana. i love in tpt when he FINALLY says something abt eva, finally understanding why she left him, and him owning up to his mistakes, but then saying , “but if it were not for my mistakes, i would not have the family i have today.” 😭😭😭😭😭

ALSO, the exile. it was so necessary. madoc living amongst humans helps him realize so much about eva, jude and taryn. “since humans have a shorter lifespan, they would risk much for happiness.” he says (not word for word) in tpt when speaking of eva, but ofc it also applies to jude and taryn.

anyway i guess moral of the story i like madoc bc daddy issues ig and also his complexity, holly black is a genius at writing morally grey faeries w diff mindsets! also how jude describes him to be a “tall man” the second he’s on the page like damn i get it eva and ori! anyway even holly black supports madoc kissers like me so don’t judge me!

[forfucksakesniall]

“Hearts on Hold” - a draft

a sequel to Car's Outside after part 4

𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

Pairing: Lewis Hamilton x Driver!Reader

Word Count: 1,692

A/N: This might be the only part for now. Not sure if I would continue it but I will be doing drabbles about it

The day you left was tough. It was a step towards your personal growth and independence. Yet, deep down, you wanted to be by his side throughout the entire winter break. Your mind was filled with conflicting thoughts.

Why did we leave? 

Because we need to rely on ourselves and not depend on others too much. 

So, does that mean our emotions stem from past issues?

No, not necessarily... maybe. I'm not really sure but that is why we're doing this.

You constantly debate whether you made the right decision or not. However, all doubts disappear when he sends you a text message. Each day, his words bring comfort and kindness. You don't respond much because thoughts of him make your mind race.

You don't intentionally ignore him, but there's a certain pleasure in having alone time, where you can fully immerse yourself in the moment. You've grown typical of being alone, and it feels like home. Some may see it as a lonely existence, but they can't grasp the experience of being solely on yourself.

You found yourself in the Czech Republic, a land rich in history and culture. It's a place that fosters personal growth and development. With its stunning architecture, like the iconic Prague Castle, and its vibrant arts scene. You felt like a princess, wandering through the city in search of love or simply a new adventure. 

As you sat at a charming café, savoring your evening coffee and engrossed in a book, it provided a familiar and comforting feeling.

Suddenly, your phone buzzed, breaking the tranquil atmosphere. You glanced down to see one of many of Lewis' daily text messages.

A day ago, 5:06 PM:

Lew

Good morning! You better manage to squeeze in some workouts today, haha. They already miss you - my niece and nephew. I miss you too, but you already knew that...

Yesterday, 5:44 PM:

Lew

Hey, just checking in to see if you're doing alright. Text me when you can. I miss you. I'll see you soon.

Today, 5:04 PM:

Lew

Still missing you, and Roscoe was looking for you.

Today, 5:10 PM:

Lew

Coachella was absolutely wild! Wish you were here. They kept asking if you were coming. I told them you were off doing something way more exciting. Maybe you'll join me next year, haha.

He persisted in texting you, as he could see that you had received and read his messages. Gosh, he deserves someone better, you thought, prompting you to finally respond.

You

Hey Lewis, sorry for not replying earlier. I'm actually doing really well. Sometimes, I do get a little lost, but that's what makes the adventure exciting, right? I won't tell my current location, haha. I hope I don't run into you here, following me around. I'll see you when I return to Monaco.

You reread the messages you sent, caught up in overthinking the entire situation. Just as you finish, he responds.

Lew

I'll see you back at home.

That familiar, tingling, warm feeling rushes back. You suddenly blush, feeling slightly embarrassed by your public display of emotions.

"Ughhh," you mutter to yourself.

Feeling compelled, you text him once again.

You

I miss you too

You quickly type and send it before locking your phone and slamming it onto the table. Frustrated with yourself, you feel like a silly schoolgirl texting her crush.

Lost in your embarrassment, you're suddenly interrupted as someone taps your shoulder. Your heart starts pounding, echoing in your ears.

You slowly turn around and find yourself face-to-face with none other than Mick Schumacher.

"Mick! W-what brings you here?" you stammer, taken aback by his sudden appearance. You were seated outside a café, with only a wooden fence separating you from the bustling street. Somehow, he still noticed you sitting there while riding his bike.

"Oh, umm... I was giving my friends a tour around Europe, and then I saw you sitting here... I should ask what you're up to," he explains a hint of curiosity in his voice.

You giggle, finding him endearingly cute. You and Mick are friends, or at least colleagues working for the same team. You often have chats and occasionally hang out after training, but you wouldn't say you're incredibly close.

"Yeah, well, it's a long story. In short, I'm on a little adventure for myself, taking a break from everything and just trying to relax. It's really nice to see a familiar face," you reply, feeling a sense of comfort.

"I know, right? Who would have thought?" he responds, sharing your amusement.

"Right?" you giggle in response.

"I should get going. It's great to see you again. I'll catch you at the factory then?" he suggests.

"Yeah, definitely!" you affirm with a smile.

He waves goodbye and starts pedaling away, leaving you with a mix of excitement and warmth in your heart.

✧*̥˚ Timeskip *̥˚✧

Weeks had passed, and it felt like an eternity. Finally, you arrived in Monaco, your home. You had managed to keep a low profile at the airport, although a few people still recognized you. The gossip pages had already spread the word about your return. You had considered texting Lewis, but it seemed unnecessary now that the Instagram gossip pages had made the announcement.

Now, you were in your cozy apartment, a place you called home. It felt warm and comforting, and it was all yours.

During your soul-searching journey, you had disabled all the apps that connected you to the outside world - Instagram, Twitter, emails, and more. Now, you decided to open them again, and your phone buzzed incessantly with notifications. Choosing to mute it, you placed it under your pillow.

"Some people sure missed me," you tell to yourself, looking around the house to find your laptop. It was exactly where you had left it, in the living room.

You opened your emails on the laptop instead and saw several team-related messages about an upcoming meeting. You stared at them for a while, realizing it was time to return to work and face reality.

A tinge of sadness and nervousness crept over you, but you pushed any negative thoughts aside. You didn't want to dwell on the idea that they might not want you or anything pessimistic. It was time to move forward.

A knock interrupts your thoughts, causing a small jolt of surprise.

"Why do people keep scaring me?" you mutter to yourself.

The knocking persists, growing slightly louder.

"I'm coming!" you call out.

Excitement builds within you as you jog to the door, eagerly unlocking and swinging it open without hesitation.

"Hey,"

"Hey..." you respond, your tone revealing a lack of enthusiasm.

"Well, that sounds like you weren't happy to see me," the coach remarks.

"Because I wasn't," you reply, adding a touch of sarcasm to your voice.

He was your performance coach, and truthfully, you were never thrilled to see him. His presence meant returning to rigorous training. You had been working together for a year now, and while there was still a connection, you had been avoiding it since last year due to past issues. 

However, you had undergone a transformation and were now a different person.

"Are you ready to get back out there?" the coach asks.

You gaze at him, newfound determination shining in your eyes.

"Hell yeah," you declare, a wide grin spreading across your face.

Throughout the day, you engaged in scheduling and planning, a common practice among Formula 1 drivers and their performance coaches. You both discussed training sessions, physical workouts, and practice sessions to optimize performance on and off the track. 

Despite feeling exhausted from the earlier flight, the overwhelming flood of missed notifications, and the planning for upcoming races, your determination remained steady.

As the evening grew late, the coach suggested that both of you grab a meal together. You ventured out and decided to go to "La Marée," a renowned eatery in Monaco. 

Stepping out of the car, a swarm of people immediately surrounded you. Cameras flashed, videos recorded, and requests for autographs came from all directions. It was the familiar scene you had missed—the support and admiration from the fans, which warmed your heart. With a wave of gratitude, you bid them farewell and entered the restaurant.

And there he was once more, Mick Schumacher, but this time accompanied by Toto and Susie Wolff. You greeted them warmly and approached closer.

"You've got to stop following me, man. It's becoming quite obvious," you playfully remarked to Mick.

"I could say the same to you!" Mick replied with a grin.

"Well, well, it seems like you two have been keeping tabs on each other," Toto chimed in, joining the conversation.

"Yeah, it certainly seems that way," you said, winking at Mick as he reciprocated. "So, are you guys heading out or...?" you inquired, curious about their plans.

"Yeah, we were just discussing... contracts," Mick added.

Contracts? Already? Why haven't they mentioned anything to me... you wondered, feeling a bit surprised.

Toto's hand gently squeezed your shoulder. "If you checked your emails once in a while, you would have known about yours already," he reassured you.

A sigh of relief escaped you. Thank goodness for that, you thought, realizing you had left your phone under your pillow and hadn't retrieved it before leaving with your coach.

"I had such a great vacation that it completely slipped my mind," you laughed awkwardly.

"We'll be expecting to see you at the factory, alright? We need everyone there," Toto emphasized the importance of your presence.

Then it hit you—Lewis. Where was he? You still haven't texted him.

After conversing for a while, you and your coach went to eat.

You enjoyed a pleasant dinner together before finally parting after arriving at your apartment.

Waving him goodbye, you made your way upstairs to your apartment. As you opened the door, you noticed that the living room was illuminated. Have you forgotten to turn off the lights? Perhaps your coach had left them on.

As you approached to switch off the lights, you froze. There, laying on your couch, was someone unexpected.

It was Lewis.

Lewis Hamilton had fallen asleep, patiently waiting for your return home.

[jayenator565]

My Tanthamore Comfort Fics

We were talking about comfort fics in the Tanthamore discord and I realized I have too many for a normal sized reply, so here's a tumblr post instead. In no particular order i've reread these fics...maybe too many times.

I'm just gonna list em by author cause that's easier. Keep in mind we may have different definitions of the word comfort.

@commanderbuffy

650 ft2 - Ok so like envision these girls have been best friends for forever and they've been secretly pining for ages, no sense of personal space, they can read eachother like books AND they were roommates!

The Tanthamore Affair - This fic has everything, one bed, fake dating, celeb au, the fic that changed the meaning of a certain emoji and all the tropes you could want really

@badlance

We've got to find other ways to make it together - this one line says all you need to know

"It is the greatest irony of Jade Claymore’s life to be a certified genius who is nevertheless in love with an idiot."

@spybrarian

More Than Just Survival - as far as 5+1 fics go this one has me in a CHOKEHOLD

I scream at your chest for as long as I must

one night at the start of the end of the world

@ilovemyships (i think you need an AO3 account to read these gems)

you won't believe it (they think we're lovers)

don't wanna pressure (but friends don't kiss friends)

@acre-of-wheat - Acre's way with words should be studied

Network Connectivity Issues - I have never related to a character more than I relate to this Jade

The Dark

The Bite

@jlmichigan

Out of the Cuirass - one of the first tanthamore fics I ever read actually and I still come back to it every so often

@stbot

lay down your armor (come lie bare with me) - saintbot has a catalogue lemme tell ya but this one for tanthamore is just so heartwarming

@overkill-max

Escaping Fate - the Kit runs away fic that everyone needs

Dil3mma (idk their tumblr right now sorry)

A Sword And A Shield (And Everything In Between)

Deja-Brew - the loveliest coffee shop one shot

Jad3dEt3rnal (idk if they have a tumblr either)

This Daydream is Dangerous - cuddly vampire Jade, need I say more?

ana_chronistic (idk if they have a tumblr either x3)

Oops. I proposed. - fake dating x 100, fake proposal it's like fake dating to the next level and I love the growth of communication and pacing in this.

@barmaid-anon

do what you feel now

you want a good girl that does bad things (to you)

fulfill (an obligation) or keep (an arrangement)

we simply don't have time to unpack why these are comfort fics, we're just going to accept it and keep going.

@thecsquirrel

Sword and Shield - I love this look at what post S1 life could have been like for the gang, revisiting Nockmaar, seeing Galladoorn, getting into the evil Elora storyline with Graydon, spending more time with the Nelwyn and in the Wildwood it's just everything

@wigster07

What a pleasant surprise - a fic of one of my other comfort fics, I know it's like fic-ception in the best way possible. If you liked Tanthamore Affair I have an inkling this will be right up your alley

@isabrella @jade-claymore @allthefakepeople @resurrecho

those rumors they have big teeth - BAND AU need I say more? I don't need to but i'm going to, this fic has everything Kit and Jade in a band, Kit's leather pants, gay-ifying songs, MAMA MIA, totally gay best friends who have basically been dating for years but won't admit to it, Jade gets to be a bit problematic as a treat, inner band fighting, what more can you want?

@swashbucklery

meet you where the spirit meets the bones (tanthamore 90s werewolf au) - its a SERIES of these repressed gay DORKS and they're werewolves, there's such a charming way to how this author writes them I legit can't even with these two gays

@onlyshestandsthere

these walls come tumbling down - look, we don't have time to unpack why there's so many were-related supernatural esque fics on my comfort list and I know this is only 2 chapters in but I can already feel the comfort in all the hurt ok I dont even have to wait I already know i'm gonna be rereading this like monthly

I'm gonna have to stop there even though I know i'm still missing some! If someone asked me what my favorites are we'd be here all day XD

[xdinaryvamp]

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ 🩷 ` ricky “three point shot”!!

where you love to watch basketball games, even if you know nothing about the game, and a player loves to watch you, even if he doesn't even know your name.

genre : fluff, gn reader. 

pairings : basketball player!ricky × spectator!reader.

when you needed to distract yourself a bit, you always went for a walk in a park that wasn't too far from your house.

sometimes you walked while listening to music on your headphones, completely losing yourself in the landscape. other times you stopped in the shade to read a book, or to review some topic for the next exam. and sometimes, instead, you sat in the stands of the small basketball court in the center of the park, watching the people playing.

you had never been particularly good at basketball, nor did you know the rules well, but it was a sport that, for some reason, you had always enjoyed watching. and you weren't the only one doing it either: there was always a small crowd of people watching the games, even if they were mostly young kids.

a "serious" game had never been played on that court, and in your city there wasn't even a real basketball team, but some boys and girls often met to play games, momentarily becoming the celebrities of the park. one of these, in particular, had already noticed you sitting in those stands for a while. match after match he met your gaze, but you promptly forgot about it, concentrated as you were on trying to understand which team was winning (it was difficult when they didn't wear the same shirts).

one day, before a match, he sat next to you. and you, at that moment, didn't even recognize him as one of the players, but simply as another spectator.

"you really like basketball, huh?" he asked you, exactly a moment before you decided to lean over a little to have more space.

“uh?” 

“when i play,” he explained, pointing with a finger at the basketball court "i almost always see you sitting here. i could almost start thinking i have a fan.” he smiled, looking back at you.

“oh” for some reason it made you feel a little awkward knowing that there was someone who had noticed you for so long "i really like watching the game, even though I don't actually how to play it." you added, out of fear that he would invite you to play because maybe he was missing a player. but that wasn't the reason he was talking to you.

“so i don’t have a fan.” he joked, resting his chin on his hand. “what a pity.”

you laughed, purposely pretending to think about it. "i just told you that i don't know much about basketball, how would i identify the best player?” you explained, though not very seriously, “i only become a fan of the best.”

he smiled amusedly, then rose from the stand to stand in front of you.

“if u won the match today, would you do me the honor of going to eat something out with me?” he asked, tilting his head slightly.

“why should i do that?” you asked, confused as to what this had to do with what you had just said. but not against the idea; he was still a charming boy to say the least.

“well, if i won i'd be the best, and then you'd know who to be a fan of,” he said, counting the explanations he was giving on his fingers, “i would also take advantage of the hangout to explain the game to you. unless you want to do something else.” he crossed his arms over his chest, looking at you with an expression that must have seemed confident, but to you it simply looked funny.

you laughed again, shaking your head. “fine. if you win, i'll go out with you.”

he smiled at you, before being called back by one of the players who was waiting for him to start the game.

“i'm ricky, by the way.” 

“y/n.”

“such a beautiful name.” he said, before running onto the basketball court and winning the game.

i literally haven't even reread it, but i needed to get some cliché fluff out of my head. and what better than a classic basketball player? ( i'm a slvt for them, send help )

[yuseirra]

hikaai is such a funny ship. I feel like I'm defending someone in court for being wrongly convicted... pleading "Oh, there is no way he could have done it, your honor!" with the basis being.. my hunch (but there IS more than that) So it's... not exactly about being happy and excited at this point(I love drawing them btw), it's more about being unable to overlook some things.

Either the guy is so good at lying and his entire life that's been described so far is a lie, or it's that he's extremely hurt and timid (he couldn't even go visit his gf giving birth and go see his own kids because he got nervous if what he claims is the truth PL EASE Hikaru.. oh, goodness. But I think this DOES fit his character... it's oddly realistic. And he treats his children quite lovingly after that? The way I see it?)

but even if he can fool ME, I doubt he would have been able to fool Ai. She's the better liar, her whole story revolved around her lies and love and there's a scene where she literally reads him like a book within the story. If Ai and he fights, he does not have even the slightest chance to win. He does not stand a chance against Ai. That's what happened regarding the 15 year old lie as well, he didn't have a clue when it came to HER lies. I like that about them. They're very tragic, but you know, the way Ai steps in and leads him is sweet. That part of it is kind of cute. That's EXACTLY why she's worried about him, everyone, he's so vulnerable and so easy to be taken advantage of. It happens OVER AND OVER. I'D worry if I knew a person like that.

Am I the only one who feels this way? This character is being bullied. I shouldn't have to care about that, he's just a drawing, he can go to jail or HELL if he needs to be punished, I won't care about him if HE'S the one who's killed Ai (he's still good-looking but my feelings for him would change a whole lot) but don't people see?; Ai decided to help him because he was bullied as a child!! She couldn't bear seeing the guy she found endearing being in pain! I think that's happening again! And Ai's dead now so she can't help him anymore... their children have to do it in her place... This whole situation makes me feel like I'm watching a bullying incident in school but being unable to do anything about it... I feel really bad. Why are these things happening to him? It'd be better for HIkaru's sake if he really IS evil and is some sort of god that drives people crazy, that's the other way this could make sense but would that be a good story? It won't be, so I don't think that's it.

By the way I've been rereading ch 1 a lot because Ai-

and if I had a gf like that who'd risk everything they had going because of their love towards me (that's EXACTLY what she's doing there) I could give my life. She's so lovely?? I'd love her with all my heart. Yeah she's hurt Hikaru so much from that lie she told him but, it was an action so full of love, I get it so well. She's that sort of character, she's the embodiment of love. So I think Mephisto must be the boyfriend's song. Ai risked everything for him, and I don't picture the guy she loved acting any different for her sake. He wouldn't have fretted over giving his own life for someone like that, in fact, he'd wish to do MORE if he could. Being the super.. timid person he used to be, he's probably been pushing himself really hard. However, I don't even know how much he's capable of doing because I feel like 'Huh..with this personality, can he really even go that far?;; CAN he actually do something for Ai in a drastic manner?;'

yeah.. this ship is stressful.. it's golden though! I just hope things get resolved somehow and soon. nervous laughter

I should go play my game too~ I wish I had several bodies, there's so many things I want to do and have to as well..!

[hoodlessmads]

Dark Heir spoiler thoughts:

Okay some of these are criticisms but please understand I really liked it! I liked it even more than Dark Rise. I’m just an overdramatic person and need to yell sometimes.

These don’t have any particular order, I’m just freestyling -

Reading Captive Prince years ago (and rereading since) before reading Dark Rise made me have an unfair resentment towards James for being basically the same character as Laurent but not as good and that continued here

Will is the second best character Pacat has ever made after Laurent and book 3 might push him ahead

I loved seeing Will use more and more of his evil powers

The best one being where he possesses anyone with a brand and his eyes turn black and he turns into Legion (maybe shoulda turned that off before trying to appeal to Violet…)

Finding out his mom actually was tying him to bedposts and beating him this whole time somehow shocked me because for some silly reason I believed one of the most unreliable third person subjective narrators ever, Will, that she was a nice lady just doing her best. Anyway I love this revelation because it makes such perfect sense, it’s just, “Oh. Of course.”

Violet and Cyprian are both himbos yet Violet is somehow the only character with a single brain cell left at the end of the book

Cyprian drinking from the cup makes no sense after they had a whole discussion in the first book about how drinking from the cup put the Stewards into the Dark King’s plans and made them his thralls and was the entire reason they died, a massacre which Cyprian experienced viscerally, and then he goes and drinks from the cup anyway and oops surprise Will can in fact enthrall him. Cyprian is able to fight it off but that doesn’t change the complete recklessness and out-of-character-ness of it to me.

Violet/Cyrprian is a good ship

Phillip/Visander is hilarious (in a good way)

Will/James is fine but I wish I was more compelled by them than I actually am. For being the main couple, I don’t feel like their relationship has been given the room it needed to develop organically and instead it feels like we’re falling back on physical attraction and a vague shadow of a past relationship in the old world that we didn’t get to see. It’s hard not to compare to Damen/Laurent which by contrast was developed so painstakingly.

Elizabeth is incredible

Visander sucks, actually

The whole Light kind of sucks. The Stewards, the Sun Kingdom, they were all assholes

People with black-and-white morality are truly terrible, aren’t they? And pretty much everyone is like that except for Will, James, and Violet

Sometimes I felt like that fact was really being hammered in on purpose almost as though to make James murdering like 300 people seem less bad (but it didn’t….)

But I don’t dislike James because he murdered 300 people, I actually love villains and I especially am attached to the idea of everyone being redeemable. But what I don’t like is the book telling me I should like James without giving me a good reason or the book downplaying his actions to make him seem more sympathetic. He can have murdered all the Stewards and still be compelling, we don’t need to diminish what he’s done in order for him to be likable

Also everyone in this book except like, Will and maybe Violet and James is an idiot (and I’ll excuse Elizabeth for only being ten). Someone send these characters to Psych 101, they don’t seem to understand the concept of a self-fulfilling prophecy…

Like obviously if you tell someone they’re evil over and over again for their whole lifetime they will become evil

Theory - I don’t think Violet will turn on Will. I think she’s just shell-shocked. She wasn’t really given a chance to take a stance before James Peter Panned him away. Violet knows exactly what it feels like to be told you are evil because of some past thing, and she knows Will better than any of the other characters. And she knows that morality is not black and white (Tom is her brother). She’ll definitely end up in Will’s corner by the end.

Theory - The line of the Lady and the line of the Dark King are the same bloodline and they split off later. Sarcean’s “cataclysmic night together” with the Lady was mentioned not once but twice. Pacat doesn’t waste lines. The child that the Lady had was Sarcean’s, or at least one of them.

Will better figure out how to destroy that collar quick…before they both get even more traumatized. I think that will be one of his main goals in book 3. Or I hope…otherwise it will be hard to develop the genuine romance

I sure hope Will can also figure out how to expel that shadow from Cyprian before he like… dies. Don’t do that to Violet D:

So, I’m not a huge fan of YA in general (outside of YA anime and manga which for some reason hits different). I used to like it a lot, it used to be most of what I read. I grew up reading series like Redwall, Darren Shan, Demonata, Pendragon, and so on. But I’ve grown out of the genre (I’m 27). Not every adult does - one of my best friends who is a year older than me still really enjoys YA. But because I don’t like YA, I think my enjoyment of Dark Rise/Dark Heir is influenced and my criticisms may be unfair.

But I find that with fantasy series like this, I the books really need to be longer. Or there needs to be more of them. I feel like Dark Rise has so many moving pieces, enough characters that there could be a trading card game (and there are literally collectible cards), so many different magical artifacts and magical powers, an entire magical old world beneath the semi-magical 1820s Europe world to develop, and also by the way a whole story that took place 10,000 years ago that has to be told at some point. I find myself feeling like all these different elements are being introduced and moved on from too fast and I wish they were all given more time to breathe. I think that’s part of why the relationship between Will and James feels a bit rushed to me. I don’t know if the short length of the series was Pacat’s choice or an editor’s, though. I don’t feel like Captive Prince had this issue because there were no supernatural elements, the cast was much smaller, and the plot was comparably simple so a lot of it got to be characters just talking to each other, which was great, and the world building was accomplished mainly through these interactions. The plot and world of Dark Rise is much larger in scope but the page count is the same (a little longer maybe).

So wait who is Mrs. Duval

Why did Ettore leave the Stewards anyway? Other than the obvious, which is that they suck

Where was Grace during the whole ending scene? Wasn’t she there but just not saying anything. As this total calamity befalls her only remaining friend group she finally has seen too much and just nopes out and is busy making tea in the corner or maybe popcorn

I do really like Cyprian btw in spite of thinking his moral code is shitty. Gave Violet a chance but sold Will for one corn chip… I see how it is (okay that’s not fair but you know what I mean, he has flaws)

It sounds like I’m in the majority when I say that I still don’t like Devon - I saw that theory about him being the final big bad and I’m so on that train. I think he’d make a good enough final villain. I agree there is something predatory about him and Tom. I don’t necessarily think Pacat wants us to root for them as a couple, though. There were better ways to pull that off if that was the intent.

Not to repeat myself but Phillip was such a pleasant surprise. Like who is this fruit and how did he get here

So next book, I hope (assume) we get to see the rest of the old world story filled in so we can understand where it all went wrong for Sarcean and also the exact nature of his relationship with Anharion because so far it’s been quite vague (intentionally I assume). Like….. you know….. did he agree to put on the collar?

The tricky thing about this series is that once the reader learns that Will is the Dark King, it’s hard to maintain any sort of external tension. Right? It’s hard to feel afraid of the forces of the Dark when the protagonist has total effortless control over them just by virtue of who he is. Will can literally just be like, “No, don’t” and everything’s fine. He did just this at the end of Dark Rise. I find the way Dark Heir seems to end with their “only hope of stopping the Dark army” destroyed to be pretty unconvincing. Why on earth would Sarcean create a destructible object that is the only way of controlling his own army? Of course Will should be able to control them with his will alone. If he can control Shadow Kings and make them die with his words alone, why didn’t he try yelling at the shadow army to stop trying to possess people? This doesn’t make sense to me. And if people become Returners through his magic, shouldn’t he be able to exert some control over their existence the way he does with the branded? Pacat has done a good enough job at getting us to know Sarcean (an extremely good job btw) so as to make the destroyed brand plot point unbelievable. Anyway…

Instead, the tension in Dark Heir is almost entirely internal or realized in character relationships rather than physical threats. The tension is between Will and himself, and between Will and his friends. (There are tensions between other characters but focusing on the main plot here.) The possibility that they might find out and abandon him, and the possibility that he might actually be as nasty of a guy as Sarcean was, the slim chance that he might learn something that makes him go, “You know what, I agree with my past self after all.”

Now that everyone has found out who he is, that particular source of tension has sort of evaporated, so now in book 3 Pacat has to find a way to make Will’s conflict with himself and his friends compelling enough to carry us through 450 pages (I don’t expect this will be difficult). What I see as the problems now are 1) what was Sarcean actually planning and how did he plan on getting Will (himself) to fall in line with them (this was a question in Dark Heir as well but now it’s bigger), 2) how is Will going to destroy his own (Sarcean’s) Dark artifacts so he can free James, and 3) Can he convince anyone to ever love him (oh no ouch).

If I had to rank these books at this stage I’d probably give Rise a 3.7 ish…. and Heir a 4.2. I’m holding out for Dark King to be a 5 or close. (I don’t know what the actual title will be, I’m just guessing lol.) I definitely think Dark Heir is an improvement over Dark Rise since I always thought the most interesting part of the latter by far was everything that happened once Will learns he is the Dark King at the very end.

“Are we going to talk about the magic pseudo-sex scene—“ No and I hope we never will

[shouldhavebeenpersephone]

In GTN chapter 36, Cytherea says “None of you have learned how to die gracefully. I learned over 10,000 years ago"

Do you know/have a theory as to how Cyth could have learned anything pre-resurrection? She was not one of the original lyctors present for the resurrection and it was only 10,000 years ago. It could be hyperbole but I am suspicious of the “over 10,000 years”.

Thank you so much for the ask! I wanted to take my time with it, I hope you didn't mind the wait.

I actually had been chewing on this with my most recent GtN reread. Bear with me as I cut and paste all the pieces that form my thoughts on this - hopefully it's somewhat coherent to read.

Could "over 10000 years" be a hyperbole? Maybe. A lot of characters tell the 'truth' as far as they believe it to be so even if it's factually incorrect. I don't think, however, that Tamsyn would make Cytherea say it in this specific way if it was a hyperbole. In GtN chapter 35 where Palamedes confronts Cytherea we get the following lines, which are what feed my intuition about this:

"Don't lie to me, please."

Dulcinea said, "I have never lied to any of you."

Cytherea has no reason to lie, especially not after being confronted by Palamedes. She tells him herself - she has been giving pieces of the truth and using those to manipulate the narrative. Because of this and because it's much more fun if it isn't a hyperbole I see no point to dismiss it as an emotional inaccuracy.

So let's say she is over 10,000 years old. How does that work?

First thing I went looking for while trying to figure this out was the question of Cytherea's birth. On the fandom wiki, it states that Cytherea was born into the established Seventh. I have been combing through the books, and I cannot find anything in canon that truly confirms this. What we do know of the timeline and her age is the following from HtN chapter 9:

"When they first brought her to Canaan House, I thought there'd been some mistake. - She was just shy of thirty then, I recall. -

-Was she the first gen, or second?"

"Second," said God. "Early second. We were still experimenting with getting the Sixth installation up and running. Some of the Houses were empty."

Mercymorn spoke up: "No. We had it running by then. Because Valancy was with us, and Anastasia."

-"Yes, you're right. We were all there to meet her. All sixteen of us -

'Some of the houses were empty' is the important line here, because in NtN John 5:4 Harrow describes how the resurrection happened:

-You resurrected some of them. You wake up fewer still. You start out with a few thousand, then, later, some hundred thousand, then millions, but never more than millions. You teach them how to live all over again. You teach yourself. -

The houses are named in order of resurrection. The Seventh, then, comes after the Sixth, which should make it obvious that by the time Cytherea arrived the Sixth was already established - or the Seventh wouldn't have existed. Yet, for some reason, for John this is not as obvious. I have found what could be an explanation in HtN chapter 2:

He said, "No. I haven't truly resurrected anyone in ten thousand years. But at that time... I set many aside, for safety... and I've often felt bad about just keeping them as insurance. They've been asleep all this myriad, Harrow, -

The difference wouldn't be as obvious to John, because he didn't resurrect the houses one by one. He resurrected a chunk of the earth's population, kept them dormant, and piece by piece woke them up to populate the houses. Beyond the fact that Cytherea is never said to have been born on the Seventh in canon (again, to my knowledge - please correct me if I missed it), the following from HtN chapter 2 really seals the deal in my eyes that she was not born on the Seventh but rather woken up for the Seventh.

The emperor said gently, "She needs to go home, Harrow."

"That was never her home," he said.

You did not look. "And will the Seventh House accept her?"

I also considered John might feel Cytherea belongs at home with the other Lyctors and therefore denies that the Seventh is her home, but then remembered the following from the same chapter:

He said, "No Lyctor has ever returned home, once we understood the reprecussions... no Lyctor except one, who knew I would come to intercept her for that very reason."

He is talking about how Harrow cannot go home to the Ninth, and referring to Cytherea going home by returning to Canaan house located on earth. John also talks about the kind of people he resurrected in NtN John 5:4:

-We'll get them all back... some of them, anyway... or at least, the ones I want to bring back. Anyone I feel didn't do it. Anyone I feel had no part in it. Anyone I can look at the face of and forgive. -

Part of the same chapter I included above in combination with this one make me itchy almost. Harrow says 'You teach them how to live all over again.' That almost feels like it should be people who recently learned how to live. Like John only resurrected kids.

Think about it. He resurrects his loved ones and ones he can forgive. People who did not take part in the destruction of earth in his eyes. Who other than children could he really be talking about? Children, babies, who have no power to decide or influence to exert, who - even if they did have the power - do not have the capacity to understand the consequences of their actions. Whose memories will be easiest to erase because there is so little to begin with.

It then also makes sense why there were two generations of Lyctors. The population he woke up had to grow up into adults first. Why else would he have half a band of Lyctors trying to settle all of the Houses? If he was able to pick adults worthy of resurrection, he would have been able to pick adults capable of establishing his houses and becoming his hands and gestures.

One final point that drives this home is the following from the very beginning of GtN in chapter 7 when Teacher tells the Ninth about Dulcinea's condition:

"Dulcinea Septimus was not meant to live to twenty-five,"-

Dulcinea's hereditary disease is the same as Cytherea's. John did not know she was sick when she first was brought to Canaan house, which means that when he resurrected her, she must have been young enough to not be actively dying yet. Perhaps a toddler or a child who had been sick for some time - long enough to know what it feels like to slowly be dying.

So, all in all, my answer is that Cytherea was not born on the Seventh. I am not sure where the idea that the second generation was born on their planets of origin came from, but I honestly doubt any of them were born instead of woken. Cytherea claiming to have learned something 10,000 years ago would be a great way for Tamsyn to give us just enough to figure it out - this is, after all, the same author who gave us the big reveal of the second book in the first sentence of the first book of her series.

[pumpumdemsugah]

I just finished Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde few weeks ago and this book was one of the best Feminist books I've ever read (and I have read many feminists books through the years lol). But something that really makes me feel sad is how Audre Lorde isn't viewed as an important activist who had great insights on plenty of complex debates we're still struggling to this day(her perspective on how race, sex, class, sexuality etc create an intricated system of oppression is something few theorists really got) but a cheap token that promotes the dehumanization of black women while pretending to care about us.

People mention Audre Lorde just to mention her. It's a pattern I've noticed with how Black female scholarship is treated. No one actually engages with what those women have to say or think, it's a diversity tick. You don't see people pouring over what Black female academics think or respecting it or people would know what intersectionality is. I've seen people bring up intersectionality as a stand in for diversity and inclusion and it's not that. The OG piece is not that long. The Black women they love are the ones playing attack dog running around gleefully telling other Black women " you're barely considered a woman" as if they don't sound fucking crazy and they're not cooning

You reminded me I need to reread sister outsider ( I might have read it and I'm confusing the contents with another book she wrote but title I can't remember which is why I need to read it again )

When you look at the way people engage with Black women online, it's clear the ones that manage to " win " at the game of social media either suffer being misinterpreted because when do white people and non-blacks treats us like we're intellectual peers? or they just say what non-Black lib gen Z and millennials expect them to say and it can never be that deep because god forbid a Black woman produces something that requires active engagement. The more self loathing with lib language a Black woman can come across the more these people love her. They don't like Black women who see ourselves as normal people and normal women

The age of the mass consumption of content slop, it's hostile if you have thoughts that aren't glib and require previous reading

These people will scream " listen to Black women" and the only listening they manage is a retweet or video " essay "