#i will continue to spam all of you lovelies with my thoughts and finds later

[fullofcake]

I got my claws back into my tumblr account and promptly went crazy

[moonstruckme]

idk if u listen to taylor swift but her song mastermind (which is kinda like maneuvering things around to get together with someone) would be so cool to read with TASM! Peter !! Maybe the reader realizes Peter is Spiderman after recognizing his voice and then tries her hardest to become Peter’s friend in school and kinda puts all the pieces together herself (+ the line ‘to assess the equation of you’ is so peter coded) also I feel like smart reader deserves more rep 😞 like no way she wouldn’t recognize his cocky ass voice

Again this is just like. Me spilling out my random thoughts 🤭 -🍁 (sorry for spam)

Hi lovely! I didn't stick to this very faithfully, but it did inspire an idea that I'd be remiss not to give you credit for! It's established relationship, where reader has figured out Peter is Spiderman (I agree she's not dumb and that needs to be regonized). Thank you <33

cw: a whiff of harassment (more of an attempt really, but if that will upset you please don't read)

tasm!Spiderman x fem!reader ♡ 1.3k words

It’s hard to feel totally vulnerable walking around the city at night when you know you’re never really by yourself. Peter thinks he’s so stealthy, but he can’t always avoid casting shadows on the street ahead of you; you were bound to catch onto his well-intentioned stalking eventually. You’re not totally sure why he doesn’t just walk you home as himself (you’re coming from his apartment, it’s not like it would have been so difficult to ask), but your boyfriend seems to prefer stepping into his alter-ego when he thinks there’s any possibility for danger. 

It turns out this time, he was right.

It’s not that you don’t see the man walking in the opposite direction of you (you’d have to be blind to miss the slow, performative up-down he gives you) or notice his mouth moving in your periphery, but you’re city-trained; you keep your eyes ahead, hoping he’ll see that you’ve got your earbuds in and leave you alone when he doesn’t get the attention he wants. 

The man passes you, and you’re thinking you’re in the clear when there’s a forceful tug on your elbow. You very nearly pitch forward in your haste to get away from the unwelcome touch, but then the hand is wrenched away, and you turn to find the man stuck to a newspaper dispenser with one wrist covered in a familiar white filmy substance. A second later, and his other hand is webbed to the car behind him. 

You pull out your earbuds just as Spiderman lands in front of you, the tilt of his head indicating that he’s looking you over for damage. 

“Hey, what the fuck!” The man sputters. “I was just trying to pay the bitch a compliment—”

“Alright, thanks for that, pal.” Spiderman webs his mouth shut, and your harasser continues his muffled protests. “Maybe we just have different styles, but most of my compliments don’t start with unsolicited commentary on a stranger’s boobs.” 

You curl your lip, and the man looks like a dog on its leash the way he’s tugging against his restraints. Your rescuer webs his feet in place, stopping their scraping against the sidewalk.

“You know,” he says, turning to you, and he’s not even trying to disguise his voice, “you should really have at least one earbud out if you’re walking by yourself at night. That’s just the first entry in the Pretty Girl Guidebook.” 

You grin at him. “I think the first entry in the Pretty Girl Guidebook would really advocate more for playing damsel in distress to lure charming heroes your way. Walk me home, handsome?” 

You start back on your way, and he follows you like it’s all he knows how to do. He’s quiet, and though you can’t see his expression behind the mask, you wonder if you’ve actually startled Spiderman into silence. If he expects you to be bashful and awestruck, he’s got another thing coming; you’re typically a bit shy around new people, but Peter isn’t new people. 

“Yeah?” he asks after a second, and you wonder if you’d be able to detect the slight pitchiness to his voice if you didn’t know it so well. “So was that the plan all along? Get yourself attacked to get yourself rescued?” 

“No.” You shrug, casting a disdainful glance back toward the man who’d grabbed you. “I don’t go out looking for trouble, but I know that if it finds me,” you say, looking up into the mask with a simpering smile, “I’ve got Brooklyn’s friendly neighborhood hero to protect me.” 

You think he actually gulps. “I’m flattered you think so highly of me, sweetheart, but you really should take some precautionary measures too.” 

“Well, I suppose I could’ve asked my boyfriend to walk home with me,” you muse, “but he seemed like he was eager to have me gone. Better things to do, apparently.”

“What?” It’s a squawk, and then Peter clears his throat from behind the mask. “I’m sure if your boyfriend’s a sensible guy—which, I mean, anyone who managed to snag a girl like you must not be totally airheaded—I’m sure he didn’t mean to rush you off.” 

“I don’t know.” You frown, looking off in front of you contemplatively. “He’s book smart for sure, but he can be kind of dense sometimes.” You can feel your companion’s hesitation like a prickle at your side, his uncertainty of how to go about this conversation with you, and it catches him offguard when you stop to look up at him with coy, wide eyes. “Do you think you’re a sensible guy?”

His voice is strangled. “Me?”

“Mhm,” you hum, slowly moving into his space. 

“I—I like to think so, sure.” 

It’s all you can do not to giggle at how easily his cocky persona has come undone. You’re having too much fun to even feel bad about the torment you’re inflicting upon your boyfriend. “Maybe I should be with you, then,” you say. 

He actually takes a step back. “But—but—uh, listen, you’re really pretty, but didn’t you say you had a boyfriend?” 

“Yeah,” you say softly, batting your eyelashes up at him, “what about him?”

You’ve got your hands on his shoulders, lips so close to his face you can feel the warmth of his breath through the mask, and you actually think he’s going to do it. He’s going to let you kiss him. You shove playfully at his chest, unable to contain your laughter anymore.

“Pete, c’mon,” you say, careful to keep your voice low. “You must think I’m an idiot. You really thought I wouldn’t recognize you?”  

There’s a few moments of wordless sputtering which you can’t really hold against him, and then Peter’s whisking you into an alley, pulling his mask off. 

“Sorry for fucking with you,” you say while he’s still getting his bearings. He runs a hand through his hair, eyes wide. “It was just so easy to flirt back. You made it too much fun for me.” 

“Jesus, babe.” Peter fists a hand in his hair, already fluffy from being handled so much. “When did you figure it out?” 

“I mean, before today, but not very long ago,” you admit. “I knew something was up for a lot longer, but I didn’t put it together until you helped me with that mugger a few weeks ago.” You quirk a playful eyebrow. “You should at least try to distort your voice if you’re going to be Spiderman around people who know you in real life, you know.” 

“Never had to with Flash,” he mutters. “Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

You turn a bit more sheepish, unsure if you should feel guiltier about keeping your realization from him. To be fair, though, he’d kept a whole crime-fighting secret identity from you. “Is there ever a right time?” you ask him with a little shrug. “I guess I eventually wanted you to tell me on your own. I get why you didn’t, but it’s not like you’re exactly choosing to trust me here.” 

“I do,” Peter says immediately. He takes your shoulder in hand, like he needs to keep you steady to make sure you’re hearing him. “I do trust you, honey. It was never about trust.” He passes a hand over his face, shock melding into something more like dread. “It just, it could be dangerous for you, if you’re ever seen with me and it's obvious you know who I am, or something. I didn’t want to drag you into anything. There are…not everyone thinks of me as the friendly neighborhood hero you do.” 

He gives you a little smile, and you return it, stroking his jaw in an attempt at comfort. “I know,” you say softly. 

“We’re going to have to be careful.” 

“I know. Pete?” 

“Yeah?”

“If we’re being careful, you should probably put your mask back on.” 

[borderlinereminders]

They left you on read, and now you feel like spiraling. So the question is, what do you do? I want to specify that for this post, I am talking about pre-established friendships.

First of all, stop and take a breath if you can. A lot of times, we have urges to spam message someone, or send messages asking if they still care about us, or even urges to be passive aggressive because we feel hurt. This can damage your relationships though. If you are struggling with urges, please read about Urge Surfing. The goal of urge surfing is to "ride the wave" of an urge. Another suggestion I have is to try some grounding exercises to pull yourself out.

In most cases, being left on read does not equal rejection, even though it can feel that way. The next thing to do is to find an alternate reason they might not be responding. Here is a list of possible reasons here, but keep in mind that there are numerous other reasons that are not on this list. People have downtime sometimes, but it doesn't mean they want to fill that downtime with talking to people. Even people who are important to them. And that's okay. It doesn't mean they care about you any less.

If you are feeling rejected, challenge those thoughts. I personally keep screenshots from my loved ones that tell me they love me that I can read back when I need a reminder. I also keep a list of things they've done that show me they love me. Here's a post on challenging thoughts.

The next thing I recommend doing is to focus on distraction. A really great skill for that is ACCEPTS. Here's a write up on that here.

Below the read more is some stuff for some long-term coping/communication. It can totally be skipped though if you were just looking to get through an immediate situation.

Sometimes, greater communication might be needed. While no one owes you unlimited access to them, it might be good to set up plans with people who may feel too drained to talk (possibly for days on end), or even friends that may open a notification and then get distracted and forget to reply (and no, this doesn't mean they don't care about you.)

In the first case, it's so valid to feel drained from talking to people. And while people are allowed to take space they need, sometimes it can be a lot for us if it's going on multiple days. It is possible to find compromise. For example, I have one friend who feels insecure if I go a few days without talking to them. For us, we've established a specific emoticon that I can send that says "Hey, it's not you at all. I just am not up to talking right now." I send the emoticon if it's going on a couple days because I don't want to leave them hanging.

For the second case, someone forgetting, in situations like this it might be good to establish beforehand what an acceptable amount of time is before you can send a follow up nudge. While my best friend and I talk a lot, sometimes she forgets to do stuff that we need for the business we run together. We've discussed that it's okay for me to nudge her once a day because she does genuinely forget.

There are also different rules for different friendships. For example, my best friend is allowed to absolutely spam me. The messages can be related or not. But we've established that it's okay if I'm not up to answering, and in this specific friendship, it doesn't drain me if she messages multiple times because there is no pressure on my end to respond.

Either way, it's okay to talk to your friends about situations like this. Is there an acceptable amount of time they're okay with you sending a follow up message? Is it okay if they aren't up to replying to your message, but have the energy to send you an emoticon or even a picture of their pet without responding to the actual message? (Sometimes I have the energy to share memes, or pet pics, but don't have the mental energy to answer a bigger question, and my friends know and are okay with me coming back to the question later while continuing on the conversation in other ways.) If they frequently go quiet because of their mental health, is there a compromise for both of you? Sometimes, it isn't even about our insecurity but that (especially with online friends) we may be concerned for their well-being and would like an indicator they're okay.

Remember that sometimes friendships aren't compatible, and it isn't a reflection on either of you. But if your friend isn't able to compromise and you feel constantly stressed/worried, then maybe the friendship isn't compatible. And that's okay! It's okay to need to walk away from a friendship even if someone hasn't actually done something "wrong."

A lot of my anxiety about being left on read went away as I worked on my own healing and coping. I used to make my life all about my relationships, and I'd feel lost if I was alone. It took me a long time for me to find an identity outside of other people, and it was so worth doing.

[kazumist]

EPISODE 20 ✦ YOU'LL BE SAFE HERE

LOVE, MAYBE — A CHILDE SMAU

masterlist / prev ep / next ep / wc: 417.

it was surprising that ajax knew exactly where to find you.

well not really; it’s not like he had many options for where you could be in the first place. perhaps he was just lucky that he had thought of this place first—the quiet park where you two had your “late night walk” a few nights ago, which mostly contained you and ajax just sitting down on a bench and him walking you home right after, really.

ajax slowed down his steps when he saw you hiding your face with your knees up on the bench. he runs a hand through his hair in frustration, not because of you. he’s frustrated that he didn’t want to see you like this. although you rarely smile at him in general (he considers himself lucky if he ever gets you to smile in his direction), ajax knows that a smile suits your features better than a frown—or even worse, tears.

he gently approaches you, silently taking the spot next to you. you knew it was ajax right away from the familiar yet comforting scent of the fabric conditioner that he uses on his clothes. and he was the only one you contacted before you made your way here. after simply texting the location of the park, ajax immediately knew that something was up.

“i don’t get it.” you mumbled. ajax doesn’t dare to speak—not yet.

instead, he pulls you closer to him by wrapping an arm around you. he could feel his clothes getting slowly dampened by the amount of tears you’ve been letting out but he doesn’t mind. he’ll take care of that later. “why? i have my limits too, dammit.” you sobbed into his shirt. ajax comfortingly rubs his hand on your arms.

“my poor girl,” he whispers at the crown of your head, gently pressing his lips to it right after. “it’s okay; it’ll be okay soon.”

“they all say that—” a sniffle, “—but what if i don’t? what if it doesn’t get better?” you said, shakily. “i’m scared, ajax.” he gently shushes you, not allowing you to continue that trail of thought. “do you trust me?”

he feels you nod against the fabric of his clothes. “then trust me when i say that it’ll be okay, yeah? being scared and crying is okay; take your time with it. you don’t have to suffer alone, (name).”

even if you think that the world is against you or when nothing seems clear, always remember: you’ll be safe here.

extra notes.

"my poor girl" was it casual when you said MY poor girl when you were comforting me late at night? (alexa play casual by chappell roan ?!?!) /j

testing the waters tbh but i think i'll start updating more now :') ive been js super busy lately sorry TT college isnt really that fun of a place LOL

taglist (open): @xianyoon @mitsvriii @kizakiss @kissingkzuha @aethion @phtogravi @ell1e2010 @esthelily @b4tm4nn @hcmay @ivvieene @morganadorodo @kaitfae @kentply @scaranthropy @kyon-cherri @kookiibun @kochothehoe @mekiiiii @ibyobi @iuspired @tetsuskei @kunikuzushis-darling @morgyyyyyyy @chluuvr @scaradooche @kissmiere @a1-ic3 @bubblegum-angelquartz @tiredjxnna @levlucs-kiru @angeilix @cerisescherries @saeskiss @a-talkative-corn @briluvspnk @kamisatoyato @bbysatoruuu @viviixoxosblog @bambisz @chemiru @eternal-dokja @bflyprincess @jamieexistss @monocerosei @enjisthings @jangyung @hahalame @cupid-spams @snzhrchy @ukinya @luciledreamz @bisatanica @bananasquash @almond-t0fu @thegalaxyisunfolding @jaguarthecat [1/2]

[ohbo-ohno]

I would trade my firstborn child for a part two of kingpin price. It’s consumed my thoughts. I have so many what ifs in my mind.

alright listen. i don't take requests. i don't write part 2's just because someone asked. i DON'T and i WONT START okay this is a ONE TIME THING it will NOT happen again!!! please do not start spamming me asking for more!! i won't do it! it actively discourages me!!! i don't do requests!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE

anyways. here's the 1.4k part two of the kingpin price x reader thing. (cw for... being forced to move in with a mob boss? and unplanned pregnancy. no smut!)

"Be careful!" You hiss at the brute dropping a box with PICTURES scrawled across the side. "Are you trying to break my things?!"

The man ignores you, heading back out to the moving truck with the other workers. You huff, just barely stopping yourself from stomping your foot, quickly kneeling to make sure nothing's broken. Luckily for them, it's all perfectly intact, wrapped safely and securely in bubble wrap.

You're not fully mollified, still scowling as you stand and move to one of the tall windows to watch them work.

"Keeping the men in line?" John asks from the doorway, a glass of water in his hand. You scowl as he steps forward, offering it to you, but still take it and sip from the straw.

"Can they not read?" You complain, feeling more than a little bitch-y with your entire life being turned on it's head in front of you. "If anything is even cracked when I unpack, there'll be hell to pay."

John chuckles, stepping up beside you as the men bring another round of boxes in. "I'm sure, love. You're very scary."

You glare at him, entirely unamused by his sarcasm, but his smile only grows.

It doesn't take long for the movers to get all your boxes settled, and John dismisses them before they can start trying to unpack for you, leaving you surrounded by what bits of your life you'd chosen to take with you.

You'd been stressed beyond belief when John took you to your apartment to chose what got packed, flitting between various movers and trying your best to make sure they were doing everything the exact way you thought it needed to be done. John had trailed behind you, seemingly perfectly content to let you worry and only intervening when you started trying to do the movers' jobs for them.

"Now, now, love," he'd rumbled, laughing and guiding you away with a hand on your elbow. "Let's let the men do what I'm paying them for, hm? Why don't we find you something else to do."

You'd bristled at the condescending words, had redirected all of your annoyance and bitchiness back to him - where it belonged, really - and only realized hours later that that was probably his intent all along. You can only hope he regretted it after several minutes of your very targeted complaining.

You bite back the urge now, just a bit more nervous in his house than you had been in your apartment. Even with all the strangers packing up your things, there had been a sense of familiarity that distracted you from just who you've gotten yourself entangled with. But in John's house, with everything decorated in a painfully masculine way and his cologne filling the air, you really can't forget who you're with.

It makes you just nervous enough to bite your tongue now, uncomfortable in his territory. So you don't complain when he tugs you away from the boxes, guiding you further down a hallway, even if your heart does race.

He leads you to what is clearly his bedroom, the bed made perfectly but the various signs of life on his dresser and his nightstand giving him away. You clear your throat before speaking, taking another sip of the water and staying by the door even as he begins to putter around. "Where can I sleep? If you don't have a guest room, I don't mind the couch."

He shoots you a look, like you've said something silly, and huffs when you don't continue.

"The woman carrying my child doesn't sleep on a couch," he almost sneers the words. "You'll sleep in here."

You lick your lips, shifting on your feet. "And where will you sleep?"

His look turns shifts to something almost teasing, like he's just humoring you. "I'll sleep in my bed, just like you. Too tall for the couches, I'm afraid."

It's hard to keep your face neutral, but you think you manage. "You can't stay in a guest room?"

He turns back to whatever he was doing at his dresser before, shaking his head with a smile. "You don't need to worry, love. I won't touch you until you beg, you're perfectly safe in bed with me."

Your face flames, cheeks hot with embarrassment. "What- why would you even-? No, that's not what I was worried about." It definitely was, but he doesn't need to know that. "And I'll never beg for you to touch me."

He turns, leaning against his dresser and crossing his arms, one ankle crossed over the other, the picture of comfort. He looks at you like you're amusing, like you've said something you believe that is fully true but are obviously wrong.

"We'll see," he hums, head tilting. "Regardless, anything that happens between us will be on your terms. Until then, we'll just be bedmates."

The heat doesn't leave your face. "Do you really not have a guest room to stay in?"

"I don't see why I should have to. We're both adults, and while I know I won't maul you in the middle of the night, I wouldn't mind if you initiated something. Doesn't seem like much anything can go wrong."

You're... not sure how to argue that. It seems almost juvenile, somehow, to complain about sharing a bed with the man who took your virginity and got you pregnant on the first try, but there's still a part of you that doesn't feel safe enough around John to fall asleep in the same bed as him (at least while sober). And while he couldn't seem less threatening at the moment, you refuse to let yourself forget that he's a violent criminal.

You shift from foot to foot, eyes trained on his throat to avoid eye contact. "...Fine."

"Good." He ducks his head just enough to make you lock eyes, his smile soft. "Glad we got that settled. Now, how would you like a bath?"

You eye him, then the bathtub you can see through the open door to the ensuite. It's massive, could probably easily fit four people in it, and it's hard not to feel tempted.

But... you're not sure you want to strip down in front of him.

You take a deep breath, and figure that you'll have to bathe at some point anyway. John's made it more than clear that you're not leaving any time soon, and while you already plan to get as much freedom as you can, you're under no delusion for how much control you really have in this situation.

"Alright," you agree. "Alone, though."

He holds a hand over his heart, standing and holding his other arm out towards the bathroom. "Of course, what do you take me for?"

You side eye him as you walk to the bathroom, keeping him in your line of sight for as long as possible.

"A criminal and a man with no sense of personal boundaries," you mutter on your way past, just long enough for him to hear. He laughs, but doesn't stop you from shutting the bathroom door in his face.

You lock the door behind you, already feeling more relaxed. He's surely got a key, and you know a flimsy lock won't keep John Price out if he really wants in, but the layer of security is still a comfort.

You don't bother to look around the bathroom too much, far too eager to slip into the tub and float in warm water. It doesn't take long to fill, the multiple jets on the side of the tub warming quickly.

As you sink into the clean water, you daydream about all the decorating you'll do in John's house. It's a beautiful home, and if he's going to make you live with him for the foreseeable future, the least he can do is let you make it even marginally more appealing.

You smirk a bit, wondering if maybe you can even finagle his credit card. He certainly owes you, and you've got no problem spending his money on yourself and your baby. It's the least he can do, after all.

The water leaves your limbs loose, the steam soothing in your throat and lungs, and you can't help but feel that you might've been overreacting earlier, and that everything is going to be just fine.

When the sound of the door unlocking breaks the silence in the bathroom, you jolt forward. You wrap one arm around your chest to cover yourself just as the door opens, a shirtless John stepping inside.

You stare at him with wide eyes, gaping, and his lips curve into a smile beneath his facial hair.

"Would you mind some company, love?"

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

incredibly low stakes and online aita post; ☁ to find it later.

aita for blocking a person on discord without telling them why?

so, i like the occasional online rp, and was hankering for a new one, so i found a tumblr blog that posts people searching for rps to do. i interacted with a post that seemed interesting, and the blogger and i talked briefly in ims. they seemed okay, and they liked me, so we shared discords to continue talking and plotting our rp.

as the conversation progressed in discord, i started getting some bad vibes from this person. nothing too bad, just things i kind of disliked. for instance, they shared some political opinions that we did not see eye-to-eye on, details of how they lost their virginity, and would get upset if i "took too long to respond". mind you, this is the first time we met. there were some smaller things as well, vague preferences or how they worded things that irked me, but not as big of deals. basically, this stuff kind of piled up as the convo progressed, i decided i wouldnt have fun rping with them, and i ended up blocking them.

i did not communicate to them that any of the stuff they were doing bothered me. i did not encourage them to overshare information about their political preferences or sexual experiences, nor did i tell them afterwards that it made me uncomfortable - although i did try to change the topic of conversation. i simply stopped responding for while, they send in several messages trying to egg me to respond (to the tune of "are you there???" "??????" "hellooooo???" "dude, you cant just ghost me like this" "i see you online") over the course of around 20 mins., and then i hit the block button.

shortly after that happened, they started messaging me on tumblr again calling me "petty", "immature", and telling me to "eat shit and die". i then blocked them on tumblr. lmao.

so! i get i might have been the asshole because i didnt communicate with them well enough. however! i am a big fan of curating online spaces. i love blocking people. i also love it when other people block me, if they dislike me, because i dont want to interact with people i dislike, nor ones that dislike me. i have been in their shoes before (being blocked by some random person online who i had just met basically) and my reaction to it is "lmao". i genuinely dont care that much. i then get on with my life because i dont think it matters. i get feeling super bad if you were good friends with the person and knew them for a while, but we werent. we had just met. i dont think the level of betrayal was high enough to make me blocking them a huge emotional turmoil. i wouldnt have given this a second thought until they sent me the messages calling me a pos afterwards.

if it helps any, this all took place earlier tonight. i liked the post this morning, they reached out to me this afternoon, we talked in tumblr ims for about 10 mins., then discord for about 1 hour, i stopped responding for 30 mins. whilst they spammed me with requests to reply, i blocked them, then about 5 mins later they sent me the tumblr ims. i knew them for only a few hours. also we are both over 18, although im older by about 4 years and, frankly, i think their immaturity showed in our convo lol.

so, aita for blocking a person without telling them why beforehand? thanks for reading ✌

What are these acronyms?

[merakiui]

Oooooh expand more on incel discord mod scara? 👀👀👀

(cw: yandere, brief nsfw, unhealthy behaviors/relationship, incel behaviors, obsession, misogyny)

Either he lives in Ei's basement, or she kicked him out and so now he lives in a very nice apartment far from her. Scaramouche is an incredibly toxic gamer; the type who will spam petty nonsense like “kys” or “your mom doesn’t love you” or “get better at the game before you talk to me” or “i bet you shoot blanks irl.” He is a menace and a bully and an omen all in one terrible package. You’d think that with all of his cruelty he’d actually be trash at games, right? He’s actually surprisingly good—too good, actually, to the point where he’s placed very high on leaderboards and in online tournaments. He also has the worst gamer rage and short temper...

He’s in a server that was created by a pro-gamer who calls herself the Tsaritsa. There are eleven mods in total, with Scara being the sixth. Your meeting wasn’t exactly a meeting; it was more of you had been in a VC with him and a few others and the lot of you were playing games for the fun of it. Scara had some time to kill and he figured that annihilating everyone in the lobby and flexing his skills would give his ego a significant boost. What he doesn’t expect is for you to actually beat him and top his score by a few measly points. He claims he doesn’t care, but then you lightheartedly rub it in his face and now he really cares. The two of you end up arguing in the VC, going back and forth about skill issues and raw talent and how he should just relax because it’s just one win. He ends up kicking you out of anger and spite. 

Later, after appealing to mod Dottore (Scara hates him), you’re let back into the server after having promised to not stir up trouble or fights. Scara doesn’t notice your arrival for a few weeks until he spies your profile picture in the VC and he’s immediately reminded of how annoying you were that day. He’s been grinding on that game ever since you beat him just to improve; he’s such a loser. 

Scara actually doesn’t play with the other server members often. He’s more of a solo gamer, but with you in the picture he’s determined to put you in your place. That singular win chips his pride more than he’s willing to admit, so whenever he sees you alone in VC he’ll hop in and demand a rematch. You always agree, and each time you always win. Scara is losing his mind. How is he suddenly so trash?! What’s going on? He used to be so good—and he’s still good! You’re just hacking or something. Did you secretly team up with Dottore and did he let you in on some stupid hacking tricks? Is that what’s going on?

Every time you win, you tell Scara to get better. He’s trying. Archons, he cannot stand you. He’d kick you again, but like a worthless cockroach you’d just find a way back in. 

At some point, the two of you add each other so you can take your feud beyond the server. Every weekend the two of you engage in rematches and you win every time. If Scara’s pride was cracked before, it’s absolutely shattered now. His hatred for you and your skills (which he is certain are just cheap hacks) grows day by day until it gets to a point where he’s going through the socials you’ve linked to your discord profile just to see what kind of person you are beyond games. You might not even be a female, but Scara automatically sees you as one because of how annoying you are. He has this whole mindset that “women can’t be good at video games” and so regardless of your gender he’s going to live with the thought that you are a female who is kicking his ass at a game he used to be godly at. And Scara, as a pro-gamer, as a man, cannot let this continue to happen.

The next time you’re challenged to a rematch, you text him: if I win you have to pay for my groceries for the month. Scara thinks that’s a stupid request, but he agrees. And if he wins you have to leave the server forever and never return. Unsurprisingly, you win. But just barely. Scara doesn’t care enough to wonder why that might be, but then you’re typing to him: gg, not my best game. I’m kinda hungry and running on three hours of sleep rn, so I’m not at my best. 

Scara peers at the message with a scowl, sitting perched in his gaming chair. sleep, idiot, he tells you. and make sure you eat.

Obviously he tells you this only because he wants you to be in peak condition when he plays with you next. Not because he’s worried or anything. 

Your grocery bills are covered for two months instead of the one.

At some point, amidst trying and failing, Scara thinks he’s gone insane. He must be trapped in some vicious, unbreakable loop. He knows he should probably give up, but giving up would look weak and then his server members might say he has a small dick for letting you win all the time. He hates you, but what he hates more is when you stop appearing online for your weekly rematches. The idea that he would be worried over you is so lame. He’s not worried. He just needs you to be in one piece so he can kick your ass. 

The next time you text him you tell him you were busy with your real life, which is understandable, but Scara is chronically online and so he thinks that in the time you were offline you were busy fooling around like a slut. Is that how you’re so good at games? You seduce the competition and then win while they’re distracted? He hates you and your trickery. 

But he still finds himself asking if all is good on your end. If you need him to send money. If you need anything. Since when did he care so much? It’s not caring, Scara assures himself; it’s hate-caring. He’s doing this only because he needs you here so he can win. 

Without realizing it, you’ve become Scara’s discord kitten. He sends you money out of spite, he pays for your groceries and other necessities out of hatred, he stays up late on VC with you just to trash-talk and insult you (i.e. get to know you more). He finds your personal social media accounts and the accounts of your real life friends and he pulls up pictures of you on his three monitors and fucks into his hand to the sight of you. 

He really is going insane. How did he get to this point? Since when were you able to get him this hard? Why does he immediately think of you when he’s doing the most mundane tasks like chores or shopping and suddenly he’s insatiably horny? It must be because you’re a worthless female using your charms to seduce him, to always beat him at games, to use him like you probably use every other man you’ve come across!

Scara decides that, regardless of whether he wins or loses to you, he ought to just take you for himself and keep you in his apartment as his little housewife. Then he can get back to being good at video games and you can serve him like you’re meant to. He just needs to find your address and plan a few things, as well as buy some...tools. 

He can’t wait to welcome his kitten home. :)

[valeriefauxnom]

Interesting(?) Corollary on Aroarce!Euden

So, I've kinda already dug up the more obvious scenes that hint that Euden seemed to be Aroace (as seen here if you missed it).

But as I was spamming Dragalia to my friend today, I found another thing that I think is an interesting addition to this previous evidence.

Specifically, Orion's stories. His base form doesn't exactly give out any flags, aside from his continuing absolute blind spot re. romance...

...But his Valentine's alt has an interesting line in it indeed.

The exchange is as follows:

Again, pretty innocent. Euden thinks he's 'too young' essentially, to be worrying about that, etc. Fair enough.

But this concept seems to be echoed again all the way later in Summer Mym's story.

I'll stress the 'not mature enough to understand what it means to be in love' part for this one.

Here's where it gets hypothetical, but to me, it almost comes across as if Euden, growing up, has learned to associate 'romantic love' with 'maturity' in some fashion. It might stand to reason: kids are often told that, when they see couples behaving certain ways that are weird to them, etc, 'you'll understand when you're older/an adult/when you find that special someone/etc.' So child!Euden might have had a similar moment or three, and associated that romantic love=maturity.

The mere omnipresence of romance as a major theme in society probably doesn't help to dissuade the notion that it's the 'normal' state in the world, and that he is the weird one as he grew up to never having that spark of 'oh now I get romantic love'. Combined with the aforementioned connection he's made, Euden might believe that since he still doesn't feel it, it means he's not mature/too young.

Combined with his other comments over the years like flat-out stating to Naveed he doesn't understand the kind of love he's talking about (romantic) to Malora's story where he says "(romantic love/'capturing someone's affections') [is] just not the kind of thing [he] think about", Euden is consistent on the notion that he just flat out doesn't understand what people mean and feel regarding romance and the corresponding love.

At the very most, he can echo some of the trope sentiments people commonly say word-for-word in media, but even that kinda reinforces that he can at best throw out the most common tropes when trying to come up with what 'romantic love' is: this fanciful 'love at first sight' devotion where one puts absolutely everything about their partners ahead of anything else.

Even then, he doesn't mean a word of it and doesn't really understand why Elisanne is acting all weird about it, because he understands it was an act, she knows that, why would anyone react to having that spoke to them? He was just mindlessly repeating tropes from romance books to upset a dumb fiend. At most, he could see why it was uncomfortable - because it is uncomfortable having that kind of stuff professed to you when you don't like someone, which Euden would perceive Elly as feeling (Heck, he doesn't even really know Elisanne is big into romance novels, thinking 'it's not like her'). In fact, he more bases this comment on making her uncomfortable from a religious sense with the whole 'undying love of Ilia' thing she's forsworn above all else.

So yeah. Valentine's Orion provided an interesting prequel to Summer Mym's story that I felt added a new little layer of elaboration about what Euden thinks of love. All in all, it's surprising just how consistent they were in the messaging some of Euden's thoughts regarding romantic love and its associates.

Bonus round:

Also, apparently the dev team was being funny, and decided to add a running joke for Orion's anniversary lines that Euden just immediately starts walking away and ignoring him whenever he starts waxing poetic about love:

Which, as my friend said, "Honestly what a mood for Euden to walk away/zone out when it comes to things he doesn't experience, aka romance. If he doesn't know what it's like then it's hard to focus or even relate"

The idea of Euden just getting a glaze over his eyes and meandering off whenever somebody starts talking like this is a funny one, though!

[myveryownfanfiction]

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

warnings: smut, attempt at sexting, sexting lessons (sort of), swearing, Otto being a bit of a little shit (he uses a lot of gifs and there are some in here)

AN: Again thank you @illiana-mystery and @writingkitten for this idea! We love ourselves some Otto! Story below the cut.

Pt. 1

Over the next couple of weeks, Otto got better at using the phone. He mainly communicated through gifs, which was both cute and slightly annoying. Like now. When I was asking what he wanted for dinner, but all he would send was pictures of the movie we had watched the night before. I tried calling him out but it didn't change anything. I ran my hands over my face as the stress of the day was getting to me. Then an idea hit me. Slipping my phone under my desk, I scrolled through the photo gallery before finding the picture I was looking for.

(Y/N): behave yourself and this is what you'll get tonight after dinner.

Followed by a selfie where I wasn't wearing a shirt. Even though you couldn't see anything, I knew it would get his attention. I put my phone face down on my desk and continued working. My phone buzzed a few minutes later and I slipped it under my desk again, slightly afraid of what he would send.

Otto: I'll behave.

Otto: Wait. Is that what Peter called sexting? Because if it is I want to do that. Teach me?

I laughed and sent a quick text to Peter, asking him if he really told Otto about sexting. Then I walked Otto through taking nudes and what to say. When it seemed like he had grasped the idea, I asked him for a dick pic. Shoving my phone in my pocket, I made my way to the bathroom. Barely anyone used it at this time and that privacy is what I needed right now. Locking the door, I settled against the sink and waited. Otto's text finally came through and I had to fight my laugh when I opened it. Instead of a dick pic, I got a picture of his leg and our bed spread.

Otto: is this it?

(Y/N): no honey. That's not what I asked for but that's ok.

Otto didn't respond for a while so I figured he was either trying again or was getting frustrated with himself. So I took matters into my own hands.

(Y/N): how about this? Strip down, stand in front of the mirror, and take a picture of yourself. Flo might be able to help you. It should look like this.

And I sent him the last nude I had taken. It hadn't been meant for anyone except me, being one of the days I thought I looked pretty good. Within minutes, Otto responded. But it was more gifs.

Otto: fuck me

(Y/N): Otto please.

Otto:

Otto: seriously. fuck me.

(Y/N): alright. that's it. I'm going back to work. Go play a game or something you dork. <3

Shaking my head, I headed back to my desk. I shoved my phone into my bag and left Otto to his own devices. By the time I clocked out and was headed back home, I had been spammed with gifs. All of them the same as he had sent me earlier in the day. Rolling my eyes as I finally reached the apartment building, I headed up.

"Hey! Lover boy!" I called out as I entered the apartment. Otto emerged from the bedroom, actuators whirling behind him. Moe zoned in on me and immediately wrapped around my arm. I pet him and moved around the living room, putting my belongings away but he wouldn't let go. "Well someone is happy to see me." I teased as I looked over at Otto.

"After that picture, very much so." He teased. I smiled at him and ushered him back into the bedroom. "What are we doing?" Otto tensed up a bit as I pushed him down on the bed. I straddled his waist and went to work on his belt.

"I'm going to teach you how to do this properly or so help me you'll never see another nude picture of me again." I breathed out as I finally got his belt off. I yanked his shirt out of his pants and took it off. His pants soon followed as well as his boxers. Otto was left bare beneath me and I leaned over him to reach his phone, thrown onto my side of the bed. "Now Flo is going to take the pictures."

"Why?" Otto asked, trying to shift himself further up the bed without rubbing against me.

"Because she listens." I deadpanned as I handed Flo the phone. I climbed off Otto and let him position himself as he pleased. "Now all you have to do is sit there. Understand Otto?" He nodded and watched as his actuator hovered next to me, clutching his phone. "Flo, take a picture of Otto. Try to mostly get his dick in the picture. Then one of his face and upper body." Flo bobbed before positioning herself and taking the pictures. She moved back over to me, holding the phone out proudly. I swiped through the pictures and nodded, patting her before pointing back to Otto. "Now Otto, stroke yourself." He blushed bright red and lifted a hand to point his finger at me.

"You said I was learning to sext and take pictures. Nothing about this." I rolled my eyes at him.

"Well if you listen to my words, you'll learn what to type." I climbed on the bed and settled myself over his thighs, taking him in my hand and slowly stroking his length. "Besides, you want me to see all of you don't you?" He shuddered as I rubbed over his tip before gently pushing my hand away. I climbed off him as he continued before Larry pulled his hand away.

"What's the big idea?" He whined to his creation. Flo moved in a gentle circle, rolling her eyes the best she could. Then she moved in to take more pictures.

"Good." I praised as Flo showed me the new ones. "Alright. Off the bed. In front of the mirror." I motioned for Otto to follow me and I stood off to the side. Otto watched me carefully as Flo moved over his shoulder. Moe, Larry, and Harry stayed in the shot but stood away from Otto. "Now Flo if you'd please." Flo took some pictures while Moe moved in to pose Otto. I covered my mouth with my hand, hiding my smile and slight laugh. After a while, Otto started to whine.

"That's enough." He finally broke, reaching out for me. I moved into his grasp and chuckled as his hands started to roam. He leaned over and started to kiss along my neck. "Come on. You're dressed and I'm not." His whine was adorable and I reached up to cup his cheek. Otto turned to kiss my palm and I broke. "This isn't how it works. You know that." I released him and nodded. Otto broke into a wide grin as he started to undress me. As the last of my clothing hit the floor, Otto kissed me forcefully. "Even better than the picture." He moaned. Wrapping his arms around me, the actuators lifted us up and carried us back to the bed.

Otto laid down, forcing me on top. I shifted until he was lined up with my entrance and sank down. Our moans mixed and I slowly started to grind my hips against him. Otto's hands came to rest on my hips and Moe curled around my waist gently. With a nod, Moe started to lift me gently before allowing me to sink back down. I rolled my hips as I sped up, Otto's moans urging me on.

"(Y/N), I can't..." Otto panted. I nodded and sped up as much as Moe would allow me.

"I can't either." With a moan, Otto reached up to cup my cheek.

"I love you." He groaned. I smiled as I forcefully sank back down on him.

"I love...love you too." I ground out. A moment later, we groaned out as our shared climax washed over us. I braced myself on Otto's shoulders, Flo and Harry joining Moe so I wouldn't topple over. Otto held my arms gently, rubbing his thumbs over my muscles as we both came down. Moe gently lifted me off him and allowed me to sink into the bed. "That was a better outcome than I expected." I teased, reaching over to brush Otto's sweaty hair out of his face. He chuckled as he captured my wrist, pulling my hand to his chest instead.

"Isn't that usually the outcome from sexting?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. Either together or separately, depending on where you are and what's going on." I shrugged the best I could as I moved over to hug Otto. "We'll get to that another time." I smiled up at him from my place on his chest.

"Sounds good." Otto breathed out. "What's for dinner?" I laughed as I gently swatted his chest. "What?"

[all-hallows-street]

Lingzi's Odaibako/Twitter Answers Collection Volume 1

In case you weren't aware, the author of 1031 All Saints Street Lingzi has a twitter account they update rarely, mostly rt'ing announcements of the Japanese release, 1031 fanart, Jpns comedians, and sometimes posting doodles and answering fan questions through Odaibako. You can still send questions/comments/requests through Odaibako but please be respectful and mindful! As the author stated they will not respond to any questions or suggestions about future content! Also do not spam, Lingzi answers in rare bursts so they might not get to answer your comment any time soon. Here is a compilation of what has been answered so far. Chinese questions and answers are being machine translated and I'm verifying with a friend the Japanese questions translations.

A few clarifications. I will skip some doodle requests/drawn answers and will compile them later in a post with all of Lingzi's twitter drawings. Everything with [] marks an edit so the English sounds more natural.

1. Hello~ Lingzi! What made you want to become a manga artist?

To put it simply, it was because of a domestic comic called "Super Alloy Society". At that time (around 14 years old), I became completely obsessed with it after reading a few chapters, and I was very eager to draw such a work myself 😌

Source

2. Does Nick [have] feeling[s] towards Lynn?

ummm······I would say it's more like “he is curious about/interested in Lynn”

Source

3. Who out of all the character would have the [ugliest] laugh?

Ah-never thought about this before, maybe broken [Cupid]？

Source

4. Will we get stories about Nick's university friends? Their designs are so cool and I would love to know more about them!

maybe? 🤔🤔 let me ask my editor next time.

Source

5. anyone you relate to in the series?

Does this count? Look that is my name on the background 🤣🤣

Source

6. Which character do you enjoy drawing [the most]?

Definitely Nick[.] He's the easiest to draw, also [the] sexiest. 😌

Source

6. Lingzi, do angles live longer than demons?

Yes! Angels basically cannot pass away unless they are killed. Teacher Lynn's age is also in the three digits~

Source

7. I really, really, REALLY love All Saints Street. Thank you so much for creating this series! There are so many diverse characters, and I love the charming and relaxed atmosphere. I find it really difficult to choose a favorite character because I just love them all so much (Nick is objectively the best though). It encouraged me to try learning to read Chinese again in order to read the manhua. Again, thank you so much for creating this!

Wow I'm flattered, thank you for [liking] my manhua 😳😳 I will do my best to keep [it] going!

Source

8. A work of my pleasure! I love you! I love “All Saints Street”! I love you big hair! Thank you for creating such wonderful works!

[Thank you]! 😊😊 Hope you will like the Japanese [dubbed] version too~

Source

9. This is not an ask but I wanted to say thank you for your hard work! Your series makes me very happy and I love it so much! It's inspired me more to continue making my own characters and helped me create art more. thank you so much! &lt;3

Thank you too 😊😊 Glad I [..] helped.

Source

Not a question but a fact related to a previous question that is very much lore relevant:

Fun fact: Although angels live much longer than demons, because demons can reproduce independently but angels cannot, the number of angels is currently less than one-tenth of the number of demons. ( ← A small private device

Source

10. Can Lynn turn into a girl like Nick and Neil?

No~ Transfiguration is a demon thing.

Source

11. Can Ira taste demon blood? or does he hate it?

He can [...] but demon blood is always too strong for vampires, one bite is like [drinking] ten cups of coffee at once[.] They can get really hyperactive by drinking demon blood. Some vampires may like it, but not Ira. (And it's really bad for vampire kid[s])

Source

12. Hi! This is not a question but i wanted to tell you that I REALLY LOVE ALL SAINTS STREET, since 2020 i been in love with this manhua/donghua, thank you for create all saints street, the manhua/donghua really help me in hard times and inspire me to create my own comics. I really love the characters specially Abu and Luis ❤️

Thank you too, glad you enjoy my work 😊😊

Source

13. Who gives the best hugs?

Maybe?

Source

14. Why are Lily's wings so small compared to other angels?

No special reason, I just think it's cuter this way.

Source

REALLY IMPORTANT NOTE: IN CHINESE FANDOMS C P MEANS CHARACTER PAIRING, IS HOW THEY REFER TO SHIPS/SHIPPING

I will replace it with ship because I don't want the use the acronym due to tumblr search.

15. Will it be very Lynn/Nick? Because people keep telling me that Nini/Lily is the official ship, I am troubled. If the original painting is very bad, it feels like I have violated someone else's OC. I'm very sorry for disturbing you, and I really like your illustrations and works!

To answer this question, mainstream ship ≠ is correct. I think any ship has a reason to exist as long as some people like it. I don’t think it is a minefield at all... and even "official" ship does not mean anything. What kind of ship you want to consume is completely up to you, and you don’t need to ask for my opinion, just be happy

Source

Continued in Part 2!

[bigprettygothgf]

unbox thread

box 1: bigbadtoystore pile of loot

actually the one i spent the least amount of money on since all i had to pay for was tax and shipping everything else was already paid for and the last thing i added was thru store credit. been waiting to ship since december

first off: even more diorama setpieces. im worried this company has disbanded because there hasnt been any updates since last year and a lot of their product has sold out on most sites, including everything here. the top box i only got because i happened to catch one that went up after someone presumably cancelled their order, i had to cancel my siege sky lynx reissue to pay for it bc i didnt have another $80 lying around but this was far more important since im not sure ill ever be able to get it again. its already kinda hard to find info on these smaller chinese companies so i guess ill have to wait and see but i hope their line is continuing because i fucking love these sets. anyways

kämpfer to build later, my favorite mobile suit, knowing me this will either get built like tonight or in like 6 months

siege optimus, this has randomly restocked on several sites so its either uncovered old stock or a new production run. either way recently ive been trying to collect a more cohesive g1 autobot collection since i realised compared to my decepticons their situation is kinda (really) dire. earthrise optimus has risen up by a bit on the aftermarket but i think that version looks way worse and vastly preferred this version anyways so idc, if i later decide i *really* need a trailer ill look elsewhere

got the siege jetfire reissue, as prev mentioned i was gonna get the sky lynx reissue too but had to cancel him. will get that later, he seems a lot more abundant than jetfire is

i really love him. only thing i dont like is the hand gimmick where a 3mm port flips out whenever the fingers are closed because theyre loose and cause his guns to just kinda flop around but its whatever. and also the jet mode is gappy and ugly but its hard to make a good toy out of a design that fundamentally was clearly drawn by someone that did not give a shit lol so idc its fine still

g2 ramjet, one of my favorite 90s neon nightmare recolors, clearly the basis for slipstream. got on sale for like $25 back before bbts made the horrible decision to not allow sale items to be added to stack

addon kit for legacy scourge, i still have massive problems with that toy but this will help. a bit. i thought they sent me the wrong kit at first bc the box still showed laser prime and was panicking since this set is sold out now lol but i opened it and sure enough its correct, guess they saw no sense in redoing the box since its just a variant

more neca alien/predator, i do love the avp arcade game aesthetic, sucks that anime dutch is the only dutch you can get now that wont cost you a kidney but what can you do

and finally my most important acquisition

bf1 spam

[thefanficwriterscraft]

Loved this week’s new episode! I’m definitely guilty of putting short fics (<1k words) into a singular story instead of a series (though it’s all the same ship/universe). I’ve actually been struggling with the idea of continuing to do this or not but get caught up with 2 things:

1. The thought of having them ALL as individual stories on my page stresses me out from an organizational standpoint. And

2. I wish AO3 had a way to split a work, because I don’t want to lose the comments attached to each chapter/fic by deleting and reposting since I didn’t have the foresight to originally post them as separate entities. (Though with this option then you also run the risk of spamming everyone who’s subscribed to you on ao3).

And I guess also adding on to this and the ao3 improvements mentioned, I’d love if there was a way for an author to highlight their favorite works, because otherwise if you have an author who writes a lot of short works, they add up and things get buried 150 fics deep.

Sorry for the massive drop in the inbox 😅 This has been something on my mind for awhile and the episode just brought it all back. Thanks for all the work you put into the podcast!

Thank you so much, and our apologies for the delayed response as I (pebblysand) was on holidays. So glad you enjoyed the discussion!

Regarding your first point, I can't help/relate, because I think honestly, the opposite would stress me out haha! Having all of my one-shots bundled as one instead of individual stories would drive me nuts! I would feel that is disorganised 😅.

Having said that, I want to be clear that I do think it is legit to do this in some circumstances. For example, from 2015 to 2018, I wrote a bunch of three sentence stories in different fandoms, ships, etc. as a writing exercise. I mostly posted them on their own on tumblr, but ended up bundling them when I uploaded them to AO3 years later. I bundled up together in one fic all the ones that were for the same fandom (so there was one big fic for TGW, and one for silk), then created a series to link them together. The TGW "fic" had multiple ships so I created one chapter for each ship, which I tried to indicate as clearly as I could in the summary.

I think the same thing applies if you're writing multiple short-ish (less than 3k) one-shots in the same pairing/ship/universe. Like: if, say, you're writing post-war Dramione, you have a vision for that universe and all of your one-shots are coherent with that universe and with each other. But again, I do think it's important to consider the fact that it may cause people to rec your work less. Because they might like one story but not the others, and so instead of reccing one chapter, they might just rec nothing at all.

I think it depends on your comfort level for this. For me regarding my own series what comes in threes, I didn't care because a) I published these on AO3 years after I published them on tumblr, and it was more about archiving them than promoting the work, as these stories were very old and I wasn't writing in these fandoms anymore, and b) both of these were in fandoms where reccing isn't the main way people find fanfic. I've mentioned this on the pod before but there is a massive difference in the way people find fics in big fandoms that are too massive to search (tags, rec lists, bookmarks, etc.) and small fandoms where you can just refresh the front page each day and find stuff. TGW and silk are small enough that I knew anyone reading fanfiction for these would be trolling the front page, and thus see the fic as it was published and be able to decide for themselves if they wanted to take a look or not.

Regarding your second point though, I feel you! I haven't talked about it on the podcast but I've been going through a similar struggle of my own with my long work. Castles has three very clear "acts" that are around 100k each. I didn't anticipate this early on and posted all three acts in one fic, and am now very stressed/nervous that it's making this fic too long for people to read. I would love to be able to retroactively split it, but I also, like you, don't want to lose the comments. I really wish there was a way to do this! 😫

And to your third point, I very much agree. I don't have that problem as I mostly write longer pieces but yeah, I get you!

Thanks again for your kind words and for taking the time to write to us! It's amazing to know our little podcast isn't just going out and falling into the ether, and that people are listening!

[aconflagrationofmyown]

(pt. 2) how rude, Tumblr cut me off. Allow me to continue -

Damn you Colonel, for always trying to shame and degrade the Captain, when all he’s done is carve out a beautiful place for the lonely souls who match his own. Jerry, my thanks and gratitude for putting a smile on the Captain’s face again, and also I’d advise against giving that same advice to other thirteen year olds, their parents might just smack you. “… as he drug his eyes away from that vision of loveliness …” he is so captivated by Rosey and so in love with her, my God. Cal always so willing to defend Rosey’s arms and stand her good name. “Rosey dared not offer a heartless cheer nor an insincere condolence for the loss of the parasite.” She is a better person than me because I would have been failing to hide my smile and cheers, but she is selfless for the man she loves and doesn’t fail to put his feelings above her own. “The difference in size, structure, and texture of their hands made her smile,” I NEVER KNEW HOW MUCH I NEEDED THIS UNTIL NOW. They fit perfectly together, personality wise and physically, the most beautiful couple to exist if only they’d get their heads out from their generous behinds! “And I’ve no wish to be parted from you.” Rosey is laying it out there she’s leaving no room for confusion and still Captain Presley is worried about her not really loving him. She’s going to be unable to see the horizon, she’s going to be locked down below, is it bad that immediately my mind conjured up so much fluff and smut with that thought alone? All she’s going to have is him and at some point I’m going to need Captain Presley to bed his wife. What’s all this nonsense he’s got going on about nothing having to change between them? Elvis, you love her, she loves you, (yes Marina you’ve explained whats troubling him to me but I need him to stop being stubborn and stop being selfless for the woman he loves because she’d gladly stand by his side no matter what.) I know we have our work cut out for us once the Colonel finds him out but I know that as long as Captain Presley and Rosey are side by side everything will be right in the world. I’m sure more will come to me later and when I reread there will be other stuff I want to yell at you about but you’re used to me spamming you so I don’t think you’d expect anything different from me. Marina, you genius, you poet, you author, I love you, I adore you, I cherish your stories and cannot wait for more.

💋

[violynsolo]

seeing some of my arcanetwt friends confused by tumblr so here are 10 tips, hopefully i can explain them in a succinct way that is specifically relevant for you all!

follow blogs and tags to see posts! eventually tumblr will accurately recommend things you like and show them on your for you page/"try these posts" on the explore page but i usually just scroll my dash.

you can sort your dash by most recent or recommended, but unlike twitter you aren't going to see other people's likes or replies on your dash, just posts and reblogs.

people love getting asks! (as long as they're nice!) asks are basically built in curiouscat. you can turn anon off if you want or turn asks off altogether but they can be a good way to spark a conversation/discussion.

people treat tags kinda like qrts! most people will throw their personal opinions about a post in the tags, because unlike hashtags you can use spaces and some punctuation. i rarely put my thoughts in a reblog unless i feel like it adds to the content of the post in some way/continues the discussion. basically if you just want to share your opinions put them in the tags but if you definitely want ppl to see what you're saying put them in a rb (either way people can look through the notes to read all the tags too)

on that topic, once your post has been reblogged it CANNOT BE DELETED! you can delete the original post off your blog but any rb is essentially a copy. it's not gonna disappear like on twitter. you can edit your posts on tumblr, but rbs that happened before the edit will not change. (this is why you'll sometimes see a deactivated blog's addition in the reblogs of a post)

you can private your likes and following list! honestly i recommend doing this, i think a lot of unnecessary twitter drama comes from those features being public but on tumblr no one knows how many followers you have but you and you don't have to share who you follow either. (keep in mind that privating your likes only hides the likes page from your blog, it doesn't hide your like in the notes of a post)

tumblr's tagging system is actually pretty great (whenever the search function decides to work lmao), you can tag a post by #gif, #art, #video, etc. so you can search your blog for it later. unlike twitter tumblr is shit when it comes to searching specific phrases, like it just refuses to work and i have no idea why, so i recommend this!

while tags technically do show up like hashtags in site wide searches, people very commonly come up with tagging systems just for their blog, like ways to reference posts to find them later, this is not really how people use tags on twt but it's common and useful here.

you can queue posts! if you don't want to spam you can schedule a post to be sent out at a certain time, or just leave your queue to post them in intervals throughout the day. people usually come up with a personal tag for their queue (often a pun where the word "queue" is replacing something) so their followers know they aren't actually active and the post was scheduled.

finally, and oops this ended up being long, tumblr posts have a ton of formatting features that make them a lot more like blog posts, feel free to play around! for the people who are really into blog design you can also actually edit the html of your blog's desktop site and fully code the page how you want (or just pick a premade theme)

happy blogging and don't hesitate to ask me any questions!

[bbyheedeungie]

womanly pleasures | boyfriend! heeseung au

genre: super fluffy fluffness, suggestive, established relationship

pairings: idol!heeseung x non-idol!reader

warnings: mature content, breast play (pls tell me if I missed anything)

synopsis: in which it's your time of the month again, and you're in need of a little bit of extra care.

It should've been a perfect lazy day, Heeseung had no schedules so the two of you can sleep in all you want.

But your morning cuddles was interrupted by your pained whines as you tried to wriggle out of your boyfriend's comfy arms to go to the bathroom.

Alas, you see a puddle of red in your underwear. It was that time of the month again.

"Baby, come back to bed." Heeseung groans sleepily from the bedroom, voice raspy as he wipes his barely open eyes. When he doesn't hear a response, he follows you to the bathroom to check up on you, only to find a teary eyed Y/N.

"What's wrong love? Are you hurt anywhere?" He hurries to grab your face, your cheeks squished in between his palms.

"My period came." You sigh, closing your eyes.

That was enough explanation for the boy to kiss the forming tears in your eyes away and pull you into a bear hug, just exactly what you needed.

Heeseung knew how sensitive and needy you get when you're on your period, so he does his best to give you extra care and attention.

He decided that cuddling will have to wait as he pulled you into the kitchen after you finished changing into a clean underwear with pads, instructing you to sit down while he cooks for you.

A hungry Y/N is bad, and a hungry Y/N on her period is worse.

Heeseung mentally noted this months ago the first time he encountered your bloody days. Let's just say he learned this the hard way.

"Yah, stop babying me. I can help you cook you know." You pouted, heart fluttering with how grateful you are of your boyfriend's efforts.

Five minutes later, your cheesy ramen with egg and spam was done. The smell made your stomach grumble as Heeseung placed the pan in front you. He passed you the chopsticks as he grabs utensils for himself as well.

The first mouthful of ramen was heavenly, and it sent you moaning. No one does it like Hee.

"My compliments to the chef, you really outdid yourself." You said in between chewing, giving Heeseung the chef's kiss. The boy laughed at your silliness, his eyes sparkling in glee as he pinched your cheek because damn, you were so adorable to him.

"I deserve a little token of gratitude, don't I?" He said teasingly, pouting his lips at you. He was only joking but you took the bait and planted a big kiss on his lips. Heeseung blinked twice before a grin spread across his face. The poor lovestruck boy looked like he just won the lottery.

"I am so in love with you, Y/N." He blurted out his thoughts involuntarily. He seemed unphased about it though, as he continued smiling at you like an adorable idiot. Swallowing another mouthful of the unhealthy goodness, you flash him with a goofy smile.

"I love you more, Hee. Thank you for this." You say genuinely, gesturing at the food. He rubs the nape of his neck bashfully.

"Well it doesn't end here yet." Heeseung says vaguely and you can't help but tilt your head at the boy in confusion.

"Just finish up quickly, go on." He ushered you to keep eating as he dug in as well.

__

Dishes left on the sink, Heeseung led you to the bedroom, sitting on the bed with his back relaxed on the headboard as he takes you in his arms delicately with your backside pressed up against his torso.

"So, when you're on your period, your body aches in certain places right?" He inquires and you nod, feeling his lingering hands on your shoulders.

"Then tell me where it hurts, baby. I'll make it better." He says, placing small pecks on your neck up to your temple. You shivered at the delightful sensation.

"Here." You pout, guiding his hands to your chest. The action makes him gulp nervously. Your breasts feel swollen and heavy to you, bringing you discomfort.

Heeseung grabs the oil from the bedside table and puts some on his palms, rubbing them together to spread them.

"Do you mind lifting your shirt up for me, sweetheart?" He commands and you immediately oblige, exposing your chest to him. Gently, he touches you, creating circular motions with his fingers. You tense up as he explores the area where it hurts, his massage gradually bringing relief as you find yourself melting in his arms.

"That feels good, yeah?" Heeseung whispers in your ear and you could only let out a moan in agreement. His warm palms that fondles you slowly stirring pleasure down below. Your hormones are going wild now.

"It feels too good, Seungie." You whine, arching your back for more as you feel his hardness pressed up to your lower back. Your hands boldly finding its way to palm him through his sweatpants, eliciting a low growl from your boyfriend.

"Does this excite you?" You ask him teasingly. He chuckles nervously.

"D-don't mind me, baby. Today we'll just focus on you, how does that sound?" He says, thumb circling your areola. You bit your lip to suppress a moan as Heeseung places a sweet kiss on your temple.

Ah, the pleasures of being a woman. Specifically, Heeseung's woman.

[perhaps-in-anotherdream]

[CN] Victor’s Mystery Box DLC – “Date” (Eng Translation)

“tu me manques” – You’re an indispensable part of my existence. I’m incapable of being without you.

“j'appartiens a toi” – I belong to you.

“for the rest of our lives, forever.”

The following content is part of the Mystery Box Merch. The contents of the mystery box are exclusive to CN for players who’ve purchased the merch, and won’t make it to the global server! ♡

Do note that, this is not exactly part of the main storyline or the dates. You can treat this as “an independent date” which contains flavors from the actual storyline! A MUST READ!!! 🥺❤️

—

I’ve decided to not translate the “full-on angst” LOL cause it’s TOO MUCH contents. and I just don’t have the energy or the time ;-;

—

Allow me to give you some context from the storyline that are “necessary for the date”, instead of drowning you in the ocean of angst:

The story revolves around the conflict between Evolvers and ordinary people, BS drama, MC’s QUEEN identity and all that thing.

In Victor’s branch, he receives an email from MC which she thought was a spam and accidentally sent to Victor (he gets so “proud” later how he is her “go-to person” LOL 🤣🫀).

MC learns about how Victor got trapped in a phantasmagoria (because cue. the drama mentioned earlier), and figures she is the one to blame because if it weren’t for her – he probably would be living a relatively trouble-free life, and she’s the one who gets him into distress all the time (we see MC doing this continuously from S1 CH 18-21 as well) ಥ_ಥ

Along the way as she (i.e., you as the player lol) solves puzzles, she finds souvenirs Victor had stored to give her cue. more heartbreak. [they are actual souvenirs btw, you receive them with the merch box].

At one point, MC enters Victor’s subconscious mind and CUE. (P A I N + TEARS)^∞. She also sees visions of his time at the Space-Time Bureau, the ten thousand years—

And how in all those countless images in his memory during those years, SHE IS EVER PRESENT, his little secret silver lining to keep himself together.

The answer of a puzzle at a certain stage was – “I won’t leave you alone.” – the reference to his “Homeward Bound R&S”

And we see MC replying to him in her mind,

“Victor, I know... and I won’t leave you alone either.”

MC manages to find Victor in the end, and the two of them work together to find a way to get out of the phantasmagoria cue. more puzzles + playing card games with a mystery man cue. MORE P A I N + more hugs and hand-holding, as always 🥺❤️

While Victor expresses how he is proud of MC and all that, MC asks “how could be he so calm and certain the whole time, what if she failed to solve the puzzle in the phantasmagoria.”

Victor shows MC the cards he had drawn. A straight Royal Flush! MC realizes they could’ve gotten out even if she hadn’t solved the puzzles and asks him why he didn’t use the cards then? He replies,

“I didn’t look at the cards until you solved the password. I believed you could do it. This deck of cards is simply an alternative.”

~ ಥ‿ಥ

MC says that the “goddess of fortune” must be by Victor’s side. And we see him looking deeply into her eyes and saying,

“Indeed.”

sobbing intensifies

Anyway, after they break out of that painful illusion, MC is obviously heartbroken about the memories she saw, but what intensifies that is – Victor still can’t get out of this dimension.

With his reassurance and courage, MC leaves him there to solve more puzzles (but solving the puzzles were really fun tho haha🤡) Anyway, in the end, when MC manages to rescue Victor—

“Victor, I did it. I really have gotten you back.”

we find out—

Victor already knew everything was a trap from the start, and he went ahead after receiving the email from her, because he figured MC could be in danger. It turns out, ultimately he’s the one who rescued MC.

–

[Note: the aspect of “rescuing MC” is the same for all love interests btw ;-; but, their stories of being caught in the phantasmagoria, interactions with MC, events and everything else are different, of course, similar to the main story itself / their dates haha~ 💕]

–

Of course, Victor doesn’t breathe a word about his pain cue. his space-time bureau and other memories MC has seen. MC realizes how it’s not because “she is in his life that he is forced to be tangled in danger and pain,” rather it has always been “his choice to face the danger for her from beginning to end.”~ cue. Victor comforting and reassuring MC how none of this chaos was her fault~ 🥺

[same for all love interest] They catch the Evolver who caused the whole drama yes he has his own tragic story, more Evolver and ordinary people clash, and MC’s QUEEN identity being the “said” reason of it all—— 🤡

[branching out again] In response to Victor’s question, “how does she feel about her QUEEN identity”—

As usual, MC pours her heart out to him and tells him that she still doesn’t know what to feel. But she understands she has to “accept” this identity, and she will focus on the present instead of the future, one step at a time. Because this is what HE taught her you have no idea how I’ve been throwing hands by the time I reached here 😭😭

Ending with——

In this world – perhaps there are many who act in a certain way in spite of themselves, and there is no perfection. But I know that, no matter when or what happens, the six letters “Victor” will be my salvation, my strength, and my anchor in the journey to further beyond.

—

—

✧ [DATE – Part 1] ✧

The color of the sky outside the window is gradually turning dark. I sort out all the materials in my hands, heaving a soft sigh of relief.

It’s a project that isn’t very promising –– it’s about finding and taking notes of those families who have been unfortunately bereaved of their only child due to Evol, so that the entire society can see and pay attention to them.

Over the past few decades, Evolver attacks have resulted in the loss of many innocent lives. Each number represents a family and a painful story.

What happened in that phantasmagoria is merely a miniature version of these countless stories.

Dazed, I ponder for a while before returning to my senses. I lower my head and turn on my phone. The message I sent two hours ago hasn’t yet received a reply.

MC: Is Victor that busy...                     

Recently, LFG has taken on leading a collaboration project with a number of organizations. And as the person in charge, Victor has been so busy that he’s had his head buried deep in work and chaos, so much so that I’ve rarely seen him for a few days.

Every time I see him, it’s just quick glances at a meeting or while giving a report.

I scroll through the message history. He mostly found the time to reply with a “yes,” “redo,” or “talk to Goldman” – concise and comprehensive.

The last reply was at 1 a.m. this morning –– “Souvenir won’t be opening its doors these days.”

MC: Sigh...

I plop my face down on the desk, thinking about how I’m going to send him a text.

MC: It can’t go on like this. Why don’t I find a way to give him a treat?

As soon as this thought pops into my head, I can’t put it off any longer. I prance onto my seat at a galloping speed, ready to pry the information out of Goldman first.

MC: Goldman, I heard that the new project you guys are working on is going smoothly?

Goldman: Where did you hear that? But at least there are no more meetings scheduled for tonight; as of now.

MC: Ah, that’s indeed a help from heaven for me too!

Rejoicing, I dig out the spare key to Souvenir that Victor has given me earlier and tread out into the twilight before he gets off work.

As the sky slowly grows dusky, many people on the road are hurrying back home. I seem to be one of them as well.

When I arrive at Souvenir carrying the ingredients I’ve bought, the last shaft of twilight shrouds the white storefront, suddenly making me feel a speck of softness.

The door to Souvenir is still closed for business. I fish out my key and insert it into the keyhole, only to find that the door is not locked.

MC: That’s strange. Could it be that Mr. Mills is here?

Pushing the door open, I see a ray of light escaping to the dimly lit dining room through the half-opened door of the kitchen. A thought suddenly flits through my mind. I promptly accelerate my pace and run over.

MC: Victor––!

I slam open the half-closed door with a jerk. But to my dismay, even though the light is on, there’s no one in the kitchen...

MC: I guess he should still be at work...

I let out a bitter laugh, but a voice suddenly transmits from behind me––

Victor: What are you doing here?

When this voice, the one I couldn’t be more familiar with, rings out, my nose uncontrollably becomes a little sore. I turn my head impatiently and see Victor standing in the doorway.

He is still wearing his suit; only the jacket has been taken off, the weariness of the past few days lingering in his features. It’s only when he looks at me does the fatigue between his brows dissipate for a brief moment.

Victor: I just heard your voice and thought it was an illusion.

Victor’s gaze travels downward and lands on the key held in my hand, revealing a moment of understanding.

Victor: Why did you suddenly think of coming over?

MC: I just suddenly felt like... I haven’t seen you for ages.

Seeing that I’m still continuously eyeing him up from head to toe, Victor can’t help but break into laughter.

Victor: That’s your illusion.

Victor: Wasn’t it three days ago when you came in to submit a whimsical proposal and put down your grand statement on the spot?

Thinking back to that scene of me strongly arguing on my grounds and ultimately saying, “I will definitely make you guys approve it,” – my eyes can’t help but drift for a moment.

MC: That’s not... it’s because this project is really important.

MC: Although there is some difficulty with getting people invested in the early stage and the promotion of the show...

MC: However, it’s still possible to obtain good returns through a variety of means.

Listening to my frank and eloquent speech, Victor kneads the space between his eyebrows as though having a bit of a headache.

Victor: I’ll ask Goldman to compile a list of some trustworthy organizations to give to you.

Victor: However, I’m still putting my foot down on my original judgment. You can leave this project for someone else to handle.

He pauses in his words, hidden worries floating in his gaze.

Victor: Don’t let what happened in the phantasmagoria affect you too deeply.

MC: I...

MC: I can’t make any promises. The things that happened are facts, and the existence of pain is also real. There’s no use in running away from it.

MC: I’ll do the best of my capabilities to refine the proposal for this project until it gets approved.

Victor’s brows knit together into a tight frown, and I can see clearly that he doesn’t approve of this. I crane my neck and stare straight into his eyes, unwilling to retreat even half a step.

Finally, he sighs softly. Akin to a sign of concession, it causes my tense nerves to loosen up subsequently.

Victor: ...it seems that you end up persuading me every time.

MC: After all, my greatest merit is that I don’t ever admit defeat so easily!

Victor releases a soft chuckle.

Victor: Your self-awareness is fairly accurate.

Victor: I’ll be waiting for your refined proposal. And if it’s outstanding enough, I won’t stop you.

With that said, he crosses over to me and walks into the kitchen, rolling up the cuffs of his shirt several times as he does so.

Victor: Now it’s time for rest. You can set aside work-related matters for the time being.

Seeing that he has started to tidy up the cooking table that hasn't been used in some time, I also pick up a cleaning rag, prepared to help.

MC: Let me help too!

Victor: The cloth you’re holding is not used for wiping the table.

Victor: Don’t tell me that you especially came here just to clean up?

He turns his line of sight towards the ingredients on the side that I’ve completely forgotten about. It’s just at this moment do I recall the purpose of my coming over.

MC: ! I almost forgot...

MC: Actually, I was thinking that you’ve been working too hard recently, and I wanted to surprise you by trying out a new recipe...

But what I didn’t expect was for this plan to have foil as the outcome as soon as I set foot in the kitchen. Victor laughs softly; evidently, this thought of mine has also crossed his mind.

Victor: Dummy.

Victor: In case I hadn’t shown up, would the great meal you intended to prepare be devoted to your own stomach?

MC: Of course not. I had already inquired from Goldman in advance that you guys didn’t need to attend any meeting tonight.

MC: However, I was planning to call you after everything was prepared... didn’t you say that Souvenir isn’t gonna be open for business these days?

Victor: Looks like you’re in pretty good spirits since you’re talking so much.

Victor: A certain dummy had been drooping her head in depression the other day. So, I planned to try out a new dessert to cheer her up.

Victor: But now, seeing as she is still in the mood to comfort other people, this dessert doesn’t seem necessary.

Even though he says this, a light smile hangs at the corners of his lips.

My heart softens. It turns out that all my frustrations that I’ve painstakingly suppressed laid themselves bare before his eyes regardless.

MC: I’m sorry for making you worried. You clearly have been so busy lately...

Victor: In a few days, this project will reach the end of its phase, and I will hand over the rest to them to carry it out.

Victor: So that we can avoid letting you have the illusion again that “you haven’t seen me for ages.”

He gives me a meaningful look, a smile playing in his eyes. He then turns around to fetch the apron that is hanging on the side.

MC: Hold on a sec! Leave this to me!

One step ahead of him, I snatch the black apron hanging on the wall and hurriedly tie it on myself.

MC: I’m the chef today!

MC: Recently, I’ve meticulously studied a new dish. Although I cannot compare to the Souvenir’s chef, I can still manage to make it work~

Victor raises his eyebrows, a little surprised.

Victor: Are you sure you can do it yourself?

MC: Mm-hmm!! Leave the kitchen in my care now. You go out and get some rest first.

Seeing that he still wants to continue saying something, I rush to snatch his words.

MC: You can wait and see. No worries.

Victor: I’m leaving this all in your hands then.

He releases a chuckle, a handsome arc gracing the corners of his lips.

Victor: Don’t “blow up” my kitchen, though.

After prattling on with confidence, I kick Victor out of the kitchen, intending to implement my plan.

I bend down to open the cabinet to take out the utensils and ingredients, but find that the cabinet door is locked with an intricate combination lock hanging from it.

And the design on the combination lock seems to match the pattern on the Souvenir’s key in my hand...

—

[Players need to find out the answer to the riddle from the Souvenir’s key and commemorative coins they received in the merch]

Answer: TU ME MANQUES 

This is actually one of the most beautiful French phrases ever!!!

On the surface it means, “I miss you.” But the structure of the sentence actually indicates – “You’re missing (from me).” So there’s a deeper meaning to this phrase, “You’re a part of me that I was missing. You’re crucial to my existence like a body organ or blood, and I can’t live without you.”

You’ll see Victor explaining it in a bit. Also, this phrase was on Victor’s 4th birthday karma too! 🥺💘

—

After some careful observation and comparison, I’ve finally figured out the password to open the lock. I carefully turn the gears to the correct letters. With a “click,” the lock opens.

The password above rests on a string of letters – “tu me manques.”

MC: French? It feels so familiar...

My brows crease into a frown as I search through my memory. Suddenly, an image from a long time ago floods into my mind––

–

━━━ [FLASHBACK BEGINS] ━━━

It was the time when Victor went on a business trip to France for more than half a month. When he came back, I especially snatched the airport pick-up job from Goldman.

MC: Tu me manques, Monsieur Victor~

Victor: ...don’t use “Tu me manques” casually with other people. For ordinary relationships, just using “Je pense à toi” would be enough.

MC: Why? Don’t they both mean the same thing?

Victor: [sighs]  “Tu me manques” means more than just “I miss you”...

Victor: It also means, “You’re an indispensable part of my existence. I’m incapable of being without you.”

━━━ [FLASHBACK ENDS] ━━━

–

As I look at this familiar French phrase, a feeling of sourness slowly spreads through every corner of my heart, making my nose tingle.

So it turns out that I’m not the only one who’s been longing for the time spent together with him. He feels the same way too.

—

┈┈ ◍♡◍ ┈┈┈ ◍♡◍ ┈┈

—

✧ [DATE – PART 2] ✧

After gathering my emotions, I carefully remove the combination lock and put it aside before opening the cabinet and taking out the things I need from inside.

MC: First of all, let’s dice the vegetables...

Lowering my head, I wash and cut the vegetables one by one, following the steps in the recipe. Then, I toss the butter into the pan.

The butter melts into the pan with a soft “sizzling” noise. I, however, unwittingly begin to zone out.

My train of thoughts unconsciously returns to that phantasmagoria. The scenes seem to still linger vividly before my eyes, trying to drag me down into the shadows.

The aroma of food arising from the pan reminds me that it’s time to move on to the next step. I scramble to open the can of tomatoes and prepare to pour them into the pan.

MC: So hot...!

“Clang” –– the empty can falls onto the counter. I draw my hand back in pain and find a red mark on my finger from the burn.

MC: No, no, don’t think too much about it for now!

I turn down the heat and shake my head vigorously from side to side, as though this will toss away all those numerous turbulent thoughts.

Victor: What are you doing?

Hearing the voice, I turn my head and find Victor standing in the kitchen doorway, quietly watching me for who knows how long.

He repeats his words, his eyes seeming to see through all my concealment. But those eyes land on me as they have always had, just like any time in the past – as though nothing has changed, no matter what they’ve been through.

MC: I just accidentally...

For a moment, I find myself unable to find a suitable answer, but Victor doesn’t wait for my explanation. He walks over to me in a few steps, his expression somewhat piercing.

Victor: Give me your hand.

On tenterhooks, I anxiously place my scalded hand behind my back, still trying to find a way to refute.

MC: There are no blisters from the burn. It really isn’t that serious.

Victor takes hold of my hand that I was trying to hind behind me. When he touches an edge of the burned area, I can’t help but draw in a sharp breath.

MC: [hisses in pain] Sss...

Victor: Is this what you call “not serious?”

He frowns at me, his face wearing traces of dismay.

Victor: The first thing you need to do when you get burned is to treat it immediately, not stand around and be lost in thoughts.

Allowing no explanation, he places my hand under the water to rinse it off. His movements, however, are of great care and caution. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, I want to draw my hand out of his shackle, only to receive a faint warning in return.

Victor: Don’t squirm. It’ll still take a little longer to rinse.

Only after confirming that I’m no longer flailing about does Victor take out what appears to be an unopened burn cream from one of the drawers in the corner.

MC: You’ve actually got burn cream prepared here?

Victor: Just in case. Better safe than sorry.

He sweeps a glance over me, pulls out a paper towel, and gently soaks up the water from my hand before squeezing the white ointment onto his own.

MC: I can do it myself...

Not giving me any chance to choose, he lowers his head and applies the ointment to my fingers.

The icy ointment slowly coats my faintly stinging skin. But the truth is, what’s even more powerful than this cold presence is the touch of his finger pads – tender and patient.

Victor: All right, don’t touch the water for a while.

MC: It really doesn’t hurt that much anymore.

I explain with a little guilty conscience. Victor glances at me.

Victor: Didn’t you just say that it didn’t hurt?

Victor: Every time you cook, something always seems to happen.

He looks in the direction of the stove. The fire has been turned off, but there is red tomato juice spilled all over the pan and countertop, akin to a “scene of a tragedy.”

And the tomatoes, carrots, and king oyster mushrooms that have been sliced to different sizes in the pan... are soaked in the tomato juice. The entire composition doesn’t look the least bit appetizing.

Victor: The new recipe you were boasting about – were you referring to making a chaotic stew with seasonal vegetables?

Victor: It really seems like I shouldn’t have looked forward too much to your new recipe.

MC: Actually, that’s only the first step. The next step is to take the ingredients out of the pan, and then...

My mind spins at lightning speed, thinking about how I’m going to devise. Seeing me like this, Victor sighs a little helplessly.

Victor: There’s no next step.

He leans down, reaching his outstretched arms to my sides. The sudden movement causes me to have no other option but look up at his face, making my upper body fall backward––

Victor: Don’t move back. Careful!

Before my back hits the cooking table, Victor wraps his arm around my waist just in time, pulling me back.

The pepper bottle that has been knocked down by his movements rolls away. I stare wide-eyed at his enlarged facial features, my heartbeat involuntarily accelerating a little.

MC: [nervous]  Wh-what’s wrong?

Victor: Dummy. What did you think I was going to do?

My reaction elicits a low chuckle from Victor. His body heat seeps through his arms that are wrapped around me, making me somewhat crave this temperature and reluctant to let go.

But he quickly draws back his arms and unties the apron strap behind me with his fingers.

Victor: If you’re unable to concentrate on cooking with your heart and soul, then you will be just wasting the ingredients.

Victor: Therefore, you’re temporarily deprived of your right to be the chef.

MC: !! I can still try harder!

Victor, however, doesn’t give me that opportunity. He pulls out a folded handwritten card and places it in my hand.

Victor: I’ve written down what I wanted to say to you.

MC: What?

For a while, I find myself unable to return to my senses and stare blankly at Victor. A soft laugh spills from his throat as though he’s pleased with the sight before him.

Victor: See for yourself.

Victor: And if you can’t understand, I’ll tell you again.

His eyes are like the dark, bottomless night, but there’s a tenderness concealed in their depths that no one knows.

Victor: Now, the kitchen should be returned to me.

–

Just like I kicked him out of the kitchen earlier, Victor closes the kitchen door on me.

A small, warm lamp illuminates the dining room, and a soft etude is playing on the stereo off to one side.

Victor: You rest here for a while.

Victor places a glass of warm water with fragrant lemon balm in front of me. As I’m about to say thank you, a cacophonous cooing sound suddenly escapes my stomach.

I lower my head in embarrassment and bury my face in my palms, only to hear a soft laugh coming from above my head.

Victor: It’s already a bit late for dinner today, and there aren’t any ingredients in the fridge. So, we can only keep everything simple.

Victor: I won’t let you be hungry for too long.

Only when I hear Victor’s footsteps gradually receding in the distance, do I lift my face to look at his back, heaving a sigh of relief.

Souvenir’s lounge is utterly empty, and there isn’t a single soul except for me. The gentle piano melody makes everything quiet. I can even hear the minute of movements coming from the kitchen––

The knife’s edge lightly landing on the chopping board in a swift motion, the butter melting on the fire, the water instantly evaporating from the vegetables with a “bzzz” sound…

These sounds portray the methodical manner in which Victor moves in front of the cooking table, like a commander handling a butcher’s cleaver with ease.

The long-awaited tranquility embraces my unease. The mere thought of him being there just across the wall makes me feel at peace.

I compose myself and open the folded letter. The handwriting that I couldn’t be more familiar with comes into my view again––

–

[The letter is a part of the merch players received]:

To Dummy:

When it comes to loving bravado, a certain someone has always been very persistent. Even if your gloom has long been written all over your face, you still have to say that you’re doing fine when it comes to it. Sometimes I really don’t know where this “stubbornness” of yours comes from. There are some things I’ll only say once, so listen carefully.

In the past, you didn’t use to think things through enough and even made reckless decisions. But now, you’ve grown far beyond my expectations. That day in the phantasmagoria–– I’m absolutely certain that I saw a different you. The “transformation” that you, yourself, have been clamoring about has indeed lived up to its name.

In the face of setbacks, you are able to calmly adjust your mentality and confront the challenges with a positive attitude. In the midst of adversities, you are able to stand firm in your convictions and devote everything you’ve got to the unknown future… these characteristics are incomparably precious. But, the outcomes attained from the setbacks and adversities are equally precious too. I’ve never considered them as painful memories, but rather, they are irreplaceable gains on the road to growth in the long run.

From this point of view, there’s no need for a certain dummy to be sullen because of that phantasmagoria. Instead, why don’t you pull out your “vacation checklist” and check out what you want to see and where you want to go. I’m on vacation next month, so I’ll leave the arrangements in your hands.

Victor.

—

After slowly reading the entire letter, I stare at the six letters “Victor” in the signature in a bit of a trance.

Every word of the letter seems to tell me that my anxieties and struggles over the past few days–– he has seen them all.

’That I’m not the only one who remembers how I’ve staggered and zigzagged along this whole journey onward to my growth, transforming through every adversity.

This journey towards hope is a long, long run. But fortunately, there’s another person to accompany me.

MC: Victor, thank you…

I draw in a deep breath and set down the heavy boulder weighing down on my heart, finally breaking into a relaxed smile.

As I put aside this important and precious handwritten letter with great care, I smell a wisp of aroma emanating from the kitchen and can’t help but start looking forward to Victor’s cooking, which I haven’t tasted in a long time.

On the back of the chair opposite the dining table rests the jacket that Victor has taken off. His wallet is also casually placed on the table, an identity card slipping out of a corner of its compartment.

The pattern on the card surface seems to be somewhat familiar-looking. My heart stirs. By some curious coincidence or miracle, I pull it out and quietly scan the QR code on it with my phone––

–

[Tidbits: If your phone supports the NFC function, and you scan Victor’s card – this is what you get *sobbing in hands*]

MESSAGE:

J'ai envie de rester avec toi, toute la vie. 某人念叨的惊喜, 不知道这个算不算。

MEANING:

“[in French] I want to be with you, for all my life, forever.”  The surprise that a certain someone keeps talking about–– I wonder if this counts as one.

–

[Personal Notes]: YESSS!!! YOU GODDAMN BET IT WAS A SURPRISE!! 🥺 Tbh tho, I can’t say I’m surprised that Victor writers would be throwing mega-bombs like this, but still... you just never get used to being loved and cherished in this way... UGGHHH VICTOR WHY ARE YOU JUST SO HNNNGNNNNN 😭💘🤲

–

[Players have to find out the answer to the clue from this game]:

ANSWER: 余生可期

This phrase is actually hard to translate into English. It’s essentially what Victor said in French, but in Chinese, it’s more of a “vow.”

余生 means – “rest of one’s life.” 可期 can have different meanings based on the context. It’s him basically saying, // (if you want) the future waiting ahead is “us, together,” and it’s valid for the rest of our lives. //

—

With great difficulty, I find the final answer. I lightly stroke the identity card with my fingers, a warmth swirling in the depths of my heart.

Who would have known that within it is concealed a cryptic message from his heart?

As I listen to the sound of Victor cooking in the kitchen, a warm current gushes out of my heart, a feeling of stability suddenly coming over me.

In the future that belongs to “us,” we will have each other for the rest of our lives, forever.

–– this is the pledge that he has made to me.

After thinking about it, I take out a pen and surreptitiously write a sentence in French on a corner of his identity card.

This is the answer I wrote to him, and it’s also our secret.

After the ink has solidified, I carefully put the identity card back into Victor’s wallet.

He will find out my little secret when he uses it the next time.

—

┈┈ ◍♡◍ ┈┈┈ ◍♡◍ ┈┈

—

✧ [DATE – Part 3] ✧

Having put away the identity card, I sneak a surveying glance at the kitchen behind me to confirm Victor hasn’t noticed my actions just now.

But before I can heave a sigh of relief, his shadow has already stepped out of the kitchen.

MC: !!

Victor, carrying the tray, crashes straight into my frenetic gaze. He stops in his motion, his eyes seeming to ask me why I’m losing my head in a panic.

I stand up sheepishly, trying to find a justification for my anomaly.

MC: Let me help you with those!

Victor: No need. You just sit tight.

MC: Hmm…

I pretend to be nonchalant and sit upright and still with my hands on my lap, watching as Victor places a plate of creamy-white mushroom bisque in front of me.

MC: So fragrant… it looks super delicious!

Victor: The vegetables you diced have also been preserved.

Victor: Fortunately, the rescue was carried out in time, and the flavor is pretty good.

He sets down another plate of pasta with tomato sauce, filled with side vegetables that I cut up into all kinds of big and small sizes.

The diced vegetables that just earlier looked like the scene of a massacre are reborn after being cooked in his hands. So much so that their different contrasting sizes now have taken on a hint of amusement.

Victor: This is all that was left in the kitchen. The next time we have time, I’ll make something a bit more sumptuous.

Victor takes his seat opposite me, and spreads out the napkin with graceful movements.

MC: No, this is already very good! There’re so many people who would want to eat this, but can’t!

Victor: You can have it anytime you want.

Victor: After all, the key to this place is in your hands.

Hearing what he means, my face turns red. I can’t help but mutter in a small voice.

MC: What’s important is not the key. It’s the person…

I scoop a spoonful of the bisque into my mouth. The rich, creamy aroma diffuses across my taste buds, sliding down my esophagus with just the right temperature.

But I release a sigh inexplicably, squeezing the spoon at the taste that the tip of my tongue undoubtedly is so sentimentally attached to.

Victor: What’s wrong? Is the taste not to your liking?

MC: No! It’s delicious!

I lift my head, locking eyes with Victor’s tolerant and focused gaze. Beneath the warm yellow light, his silhouette seems to be tinged with warm colors too.

He waits for me to brew my answer slowly, neither rushing nor urging me–– as though he has plenty of patience. This is the tenderness that belongs uniquely to him.

My heart grows warm, my eyes crinkling themselves into a smile again to reassure him.

MC: Actually, I just feel a little guilty.

MC: If I didn’t have Evol, the actions of those people wouldn’t have implicated innocent lives, and they wouldn’t have been separated by life and death.

MC: But here I am, I can still enjoy such peace and quiet of everyday life, like a despicable thief…

At this point, I lapse into silence. Suddenly, a large hand lands on the top of my head.

Victor: MC, you haven’t done anything wrong.

His voice is gentle, soft, and certain, without the slightest hint of hesitation.

Victor: It’s not essentially your fault. You’ve simply been given the identity of “QUEEN.”

Victor: And you’re foreordained to become even more powerful. When that time comes, you will be able to dismantle their operations and put an end to this crisis, once and for all.

Victor: And you are the only one who can do that.

“Can I really?”

As soon as this thought flits across my mind, I immediately squash it.

I look up. In Victor’s eyes is reflected my somewhat bewildered gaze, but he only raises the corners of his lips in a soft smile.

Victor: A true “thief” won’t feel any guilt over the matter. Those who initiated the evil practice are the real thieves.

Victor: Usually, you’re a little brighter. How come you know how to bash your head against the wall at a time like this?

MC: In fact, I’ve always understood that there’s no use in being frustrated. The more important thing is the future.

MC: I can do it… no. Yes, I can definitely do it!

I clench my fists and give him a smile brimming with enthusiasm.

Victor: You better keep your word.

He loosens his slightly furrowed brows, the hint of a smile cresting on his face along with it. He then bends down and takes out a doll from a shopping bag.

Victor: I was going to give it to you a bit later.

Puzzled, I meet the Shiba Inu’s giddily giggling face and can’t help but laugh along with it.

Victor: I went to the mall before coming here. Its giggling face bears the most resemblance to you.

MC: …that obviously looks very cute!

I take the silly Shiba Inu and knead its smiling face.

MC: What made you think of buying this?

Victor pauses for a bit, as if he somewhat doesn’t want to answer this question. But eventually, he releases a sigh under my burning gaze.

Victor: When you first gave me your Shiba Inu, you said that looking at its laughter can cure all bad emotions.

Victor: I don’t have a deep experience or understanding of this matter, though. However, this time, I hope it can cheer you up instead.

Victor: This doll, I think, was the one with the happiest grin in there.

–

[Tidbits]: Victor is talking about “Rooftop Date,” where MC finds out about his mom and gives him her old Shiba Inu doll, which her dad gifted her as a kid. She told him–– this doll has accompanied her through laughter and sorrows for many years, and she hopes it can do the same for him now. MC gives Victor the very same Shiba Inu doll in S2 CH 4 as well. 🥺❤️

–

My eyes widen slightly at these words. I didn’t realize that he still remembers these words I once said.

Victor: Now, it seems that it has accomplished its mission very well.

He looks at the doll in my arms with some tenderness in his gaze.

I look down at the Shiba Inu doll, which is smiling extraordinarily happily, and suddenly spot a crown pattern on the doll’s stomach…

–

[Players have to find the answer to the riddle from the B.S. archive they received as merch]:

ANSWER: 我陪你证明永远

MEANING: I’ll accompany you to prove “forever.”

–

I raise my head and look into Victor’s eyes, who’s sitting directly opposite me. Beneath the lights, a soft glow twinkles in his gaze.

It appears that if only his presence is there, the painful and negative emotions that have been pent up deep in my heart will be slowly dissolved by his silent tenderness, bit by bit.

’Because I know that no matter what happens, this person in front of me will accompany me and face it together with me.

I hug the Shiba Inu close to myself and can’t help grinning gleefully from ear to ear.

MC: Hehe…

Victor: Don’t just giggle. Your dinner will get cold if you don’t eat it.

At his reminder, I feel my stomach rumbling with hunger again. I fork a piece of potato and stuff it into my mouth, the soft and filling flavor making me squint in happiness.

MC: Tasty! The taste is entirely different from what I’ve practiced before, though.

Victor: If it were to be the same as your craft, Souvenir would go out of business tomorrow.

MC: I at least get the pass mark, right? I had a bit of irregularity in my game today.

Victor: When have you ever played properly, though?

MC: Although your point is very valid, I still do a passable job once in a while.

Turning my grief and indignation into appetite, I curl up the pasta and bring it to my mouth, then squint my eyes cheerfully.

The dissipation of the dark clouds reinstates my good appetite once again. Happily gorging myself, I soon polish off the plate full of pasta.

Victor: Can you still eat the dessert?

Though having just yelled-- “I’m so full,” I immediately react to the sound of his voice and look at him with anticipation written across my entire face.

MC: Is it the new one you mentioned?

Victor nods, but with a hint of rarely seen hesitation.

Victor: This is the first time I’ve tried making it, and the procedure is quite complicated. So, the taste may not be a success.

Victor: Don’t hold your expectations too high.

I never thought I’d actually hear such words from his mouth one day. I gaze at him in wonder.

MC: Y-you actually have moments when you’re not sure of something…

Victor: When something is important enough to you, it’s only natural that uncertainty will arise.

A ripple flashes in his eyes as he gets up and brings the dessert from the kitchen.

The dark blue ceramic plate gradually transitions outwards to a lighter blue, with a moon-white sphere inlaid in the center of the dessert, surrounded by little white specks on all sides as they create a starry sky.

It’s reminiscent of the vast universe in which all human unease and angst are nothing more than just an insignificant speck of dust.

Victor: Try it. You are its very first taster.

I cautiously and solemnly cut a small piece off the edge with a dessert spoon before carefully taking it into my mouth.

MC: Mmm…

The first sensation on the palate is a slight bitterness with a hint of fragrance, followed by a sweet aftertaste that pervades the tip of the tongue as the bitterness returns to the fragrant sweetness.

The crispy outer shell enveloping the soft, fluffy interior is akin to a freshly made soufflé. Only at the most appropriate moment can a flavor this wonderful be born.

Victor: The procedure of making this is different from what I’ve done before.

Victor: I tried it a little. A bit of bitterness can make the entire flavor a lot richer.

Victor explains in a light-hearted manner, as though he is simply talking about something that couldn’t be any more ordinary.

But I know that because of the recent collaborative project, every minute and every second of his time is awfully precious, and he doesn’t often even have the time to reply to messages.

Victor, who values efficiency and results above all else, spent his time on this little dessert, just so he could cheer me up.

The faint bitterness in my mouth has already faded away, leaving only the profound sweetness that engraves itself into my memory.

MC: It’s yummy~ This must be the second best dessert in the entire world! Only lagging a little bit behind your pudding!

MC: Merci, Monsieur Victor~ 

I look at him with immense seriousness as I speak. In exchange, my exaggerated tone of voice earns a soft chuckle from Victor.

Victor: Why are you suddenly speaking French?

MC: Because the cabinet in the kitchen was locked earlier, and then I found something…

I drag on the tail note of my sentence and stare at Victor’s face. However, Victor remains utterly unfazed, looking calm and composed as he picks up the black tea on the table and takes a sip.

Victor: What did you find?

Seeing that he isn’t taking the bait, I roll my eyes and open my mouth in a manner as though I’m hinting at something.

MC: Mm, that’s confidential! Who knows, perhaps you might find some trail in your identity card?

Victor arches an eyebrow, dropping a sentence as usual.

Victor: Deliberately creating mystery.

Despite saying this, he still opens his wallet as I have hoped and takes out the identity card that I put back in earlier.

At a glance, he sees the newly scribbled small line of handwriting on the corner: j'appartiens a toi.

–– “I belong to you.”

As Victor looks up at me with some surprise, he is met with my triumphant smile. Consequently, he also perks up the corners of his lips into a smile.

Victor: Dummy, you don’t need to say it to me. It’s not like I don’t already know that.

—

——__——__——

[Extra]:

btw, the meme I was talking about in the tags is actually this one LOL 🤣😭

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