#paper cha$e

[hustlehardermf]

💸 | 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐚$𝐞

[hustlehardermf]

Rubi Rose

[sulkingheichou012]

Into the Dungeon with You

Pairing: Jinwoo x Reader

Genre: RomCom, Action, Future Smut

Warning: Description of violence and profanity.

Summary: Jinwoo frowned as a new system notification appeared before him.

[Special Reward Successfully Claimed.]

Author's note: I'm happy that some of you are enjoying my silly work! Yes, if you're asking to be tagged—sure! 😊

Chapter 11

The calm after the battle barely lasted. Portals still flickered like scars in the sky, waiting to burst open again. Though the latest threat was repelled, no one believed it was over.

The recent battle had left scars across the city—and across everyone's hearts. But there was no time to rest. Hunters from around the world gathered for a joint training initiative under the Korean Hunter Association. They needed to be faster. Stronger. Ready. Because this fragile peace was temporary, and everyone felt it.

On the Association’s largest training grounds, the top Hunters were already at it—stretching, sparring, sharpening their reflexes. Among them were the absolute best: Sung Jinwoo. Cha Hae In. Liu Zhigang. Thomas Andre. Goto Ryuji. Lennart Niermann. Christopher Reed.

And there was Y/N, standing slightly apart, quiet but unmistakably there. Not a licensed Hunter. No official ranking. But she was here. She’d fought alongside Sung Jinwoo, cutting through monsters like a scythe through paper.

Some whispered. Some stared. Y/N ignored it.

Because it might be.

“Time to pair up,” Go Gunhee’s voice boomed across the field. “Choose wisely. Push each other. We need to be faster. Stronger. Smarter.”

Cha Hae In was already walking toward Jinwoo.

“I’d like to spar with you,” she said, polite and composed. “You’re the strongest. I’ll test my limits against the best.”

Y/N sighed and crossed her arms. Of course. The main couple vibes are strong today.

As Hae In and Jinwoo faced each other in the middle of the field, Y/N’ thoughts spiraled.

“Cha Hae-In is the perfect partner for Jinwoo, I can’t deny that. The silent, noble knight type. Total power couple material. But if we’re going practical, Joonhee is the best choice. She’s been there from the start! When Jinwoo was still weak, rank E, practically jobless. That’s loyalty! Ride or die! Dammit! Why is it always the blonde beauty?!” She glared at Hae In’s gleaming hair. “What about dark-haired women?” Y/N flicked a strand of her own black hair. “Villainess energy right here! Hmph!”

Jinwoo and Hae In stood opposite each other on the sparring mat. No weapons. Just hand-to-hand combat. Raw speed. Raw strength.

The two of them were like shadows and light, moving so quickly most eyes couldn’t follow.

But… Jinwoo’s attention wasn’t entirely on Hae In. His gaze kept flicking toward Y/N. Who, at that very moment, was chatting and smiling with Liu.

Jinwoo blocked Hae In’s strike a second too late. Her fist grazed his jaw.

“Distracted?” she asked, arching a brow. “Eyes over here, Sung Jinwoo.”

Jinwoo exhaled through his nose. He refocused… mostly. But the territorial flare in his eyes was hard to miss.

Meanwhile,

It was Liu Zhigang. The strongest hunter in China and one of the five National Level Hunters, ranking 2nd in the world. And he was smiling. At her. Golden eyes gleaming, like he was sizing up his next favorite person. “We meet again.” he said smoothly. “It would be a pleasure to spar.”

Y/N blinked. Externally? She tilted her head, gave a tiny, polite nod, and said, “Sure. I’ll go easy on you.” Voice calm. Totally collected. Cool as a cucumber.

Internally? System Notification: “Y/N.exe has stopped working.” Her brain slammed the red “EMERGENCY” button. Sirens were going off. Cue the internal screaming cat meme: “AAAAAAA!” Her inner self was slamming her fists on a table screaming, “NOTICE ME SENPAI!” And somewhere in the back of her mind? A tiny version of her was ugly crying while waving a Liu Zhigang body pillow.

Get it together, she screamed at herself, pasting a composed expression on her face. She was a professional. A fighter. Not some fangirl. (But oh, she was absolutely going to write about this in her diary later.)

Their spar began. He was fast. Fluid. But Y/N was ruthless.

Liu was fast. Precise. His strikes were surgical. But Y/N fought differently—more like someone used to reacting on instinct, unpredictable and fluid.

She ducked under a jab, sidestepped a low sweep, then planted a sharp punch right in his ribs. He grunted, stepping back. Then she spun, kicking his leg out from under him. He hit the ground hard.

And Jinwoo… Jinwoo was done watching. His spar with Hae In ended abruptly when he shoved her back gently but firmly. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I need to switch.”

Hae In’s brows knit together. “Distracted again?” she asked, half amused, half exasperated. “Careful. One of these days, that’s going to cost you.”

But Jinwoo wasn’t listening anymore. He was already stalking toward Y/N.

“Switch,” Jinwoo told Liu flatly.

Liu raised a brow but backed off with a shrug.

Y/N blinked.

Then Hae In called. The blonde stood ready, calm and focused. “Y/N, Let’s spar.”

Y/N cracked her knuckles. “Thought you’d never ask.”

No weapons. Just raw skill.

They circled each other, the tension thick. Hae In struck first—clean and fast. A palm aimed for Y/N’ shoulder. Y/N slipped under, pivoting, and aimed a knee at Hae In’s ribs.

Blocked.

They moved like dancers—fluid and graceful. Strike. Block. Counter.

Y/N smiled. “You’re good.”

“You’re better than I thought,” Hae In admitted.

Then Hae In pushed harder, her sword aura flickering around her fists even without a blade. She punched, and the air shuddered. Y/N blocked, sliding back, feet skidding across the dirt.

Y/N’ grin widened. “Now we’re talking.”

She darted forward, ducked low, and swept Hae In’s legs. Hae In flipped mid-air and landed on her feet.

Then they both lunged. Fists clashed. Shockwaves cracked the ground.

The other hunters stopped to watch. Even Chrispher Reed whistled in appreciation. “These women,” he muttered, impressed.

They shared a faint smile. For a moment, there was peace.

Y/N blinked as the tremor rolled through the training ground like a localized earthquake. Loose tiles cracked. Dust sprayed into the air. Nearby Hunters stumbled back, some scrambling for balance.

Boom!

A shockwave ripped through the air, and the noise that followed was like a thunderclap inside an enclosed space.

And there he was. Sung Jinwoo. Standing in the middle of the wreckage… With Liu still struggling to get back on his feet.

And then there was Y/N.

Already seated cross-legged on the sidelines, her face puffed out like an annoyed chipmunk, a juice box stuck firmly in her hands.

SSSSLURP.

She sucked aggressively through the straw, the noise cutting through the calm like a sword slash. Her eyes squinted ever so slightly as she glared at the two national-level hunters like they owed her rent.

The sparring session had left everyone winded but strangely satisfied. For a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath, offering a brief sense of accomplishment and unity. Even Y/N found herself smiling, stretched out on the training field, towel draped over her head, watching Jinwoo.

This isn’t so bad, she thought, chest warming.

But peace never lasted. And far away, behind the veil of dimensions, unseen eyes watched.

In the space between realms, where no life should exist, an ancient presence stirred.

A massive throne of fused bone and molten obsidian floated in the dark. Coiled upon it, like a slumbering cataclysm, was Antares, the King of Dragons. His wings folded tightly against his body, his molten gold eyes half-lidded as he listened.

Below him, circling the ruins of a once-great battlefield, were his Ancient Dragons—each one older than the Monarch War, older than the age of men. Titans of scale and fury, their voices echoed in a guttural tongue that made the void itself quake.

“The Balance Keeper walks,” growled Kardum, a dragon with iron plates covering his head like a war helm. His voice sounded like continents grinding together. “The girl.”

“Y/N,” spat Zerathul, his scales oozing venom as his long neck twisted toward Earth’s pale glow. “She stands with the Shadow Monarch… the Ashborn’s heir.”

“The others are dead,” rumbled Veyraxis, the oldest of them all. Her wings were torn, ancient wounds that had never healed. “Ashborn. Beast. Plague. Frost. All gone.” Her teeth bared in a grin of bone and rot. “But we remain.”

Antares slowly opened his eyes. They glowed with smoldering fire.

“You remain because I remain,” he said softly, though his voice carried the weight of inevitable ruin.

The dragons fell silent, watching their king. Antares rose from his throne, each movement like a continent rising from the sea. His gaze drifted to the image of Earth, suspended before them—a fragile blue jewel against endless black.

“She is the last piece,” Antares said. “The Balance Keeper. The one Ashborn hid from us all.”

“She does not know,” Kardum said, flexing his talons. “She doubts,” hissed Zerathul. “She falters,” Veyraxis added.

Antares smiled. “Good.”

A clawed hand hovered over the floating image of Y/N. “Break her balance… and the Primordial Hunger awakens. A force even I do not control.”

Zerathul’s slit eyes gleamed. “Then why summon it?”

Antares' wings unfolded like a shadow blotting out a sun. “Because when the Hunger fully awakens… there will be nothing left to balance. No rulers. No monarchs. No armies.” His gaze hardened. “Only dragons.”

The dragons hissed their approval, fire leaking from their mouths.

“Prepare the legions,” Antares ordered, his voice a promise of extinction. “We will burn their world. We will break the Balance Keeper.”

“And if the Shadow Monarch stands in our way?” Kardum asked, baring obsidian teeth.

Antares laughed, deep and cruel. “Then he will fall beside her.”

The dragons roared their agreement. Their wings spread wide as they took flight into the void, each one dragging with them an army of horrors.

The war had begun.

Dear Diary,

(Or as I like to call you: my therapist I don’t have to pay. >:) )

I’m in trouble. Not dungeon-trouble. Not "oh no, the world is ending" trouble. Worse. I am in romantic trouble.

I think… I might be falling for Sung. Jinwoo. (!!!) And I know what you’re gonna say: “But Y/N, you’re the quirky side character who crashes into portals and accidentally teleports into showers. He’s the main lead! The hero! You’re just a guest star in this world!”

EXACTLY. I was supposed to root for him and Cha Hae In, maybe cheer from the sidelines while eating popcorn and dodging ice spears. NOT… get confused because he keeps doing these things.

Like yesterday.

We were training. (Which I agreed to because I’m not a coward… okay, I was bribed with snacks but that’s not the point.) And I tripped. Like a loser. (Classic me.) But instead of laughing or stepping over my face like a normal apex predator, Jinwoo caught me. And—listen carefully—he tucked my hair behind my ear. BEHIND. MY. EAR. WHO DOES THAT?! And his hand lingered, like he was memorizing my face. I don’t even know what face I was making but I’m pretty sure it was somewhere between "blinking goldfish" and "loading screen."

I thought, “Okay, cool, maybe I imagined it.” But then today, he made me tea. Like, actual tea. With honey. Because “you’ve been pushing yourself lately.” BRO. He noticed. He’s not supposed to notice! I’m not even his type! Right? I mean, Cha Hae In is literally a goddess with silky blonde hair and sparkly vibes. I’m over here in all black looking like I’m about to kick someone’s shin in a villainess cosplay.

AND THEN—get this—he smiled. Like, softly. At me. And I felt my brain rebooting. If he keeps this up, I might actually… Nope. No. Not happening.

I’m a side character. This is temporary. He’s just nice. Like, super nice. Dangerously nice. The kind of nice that makes you think about stuff. Like… cuddling. And holding hands. And— NOPE. We are NOT going there.

But if he does the ear-tuck thing again, I’m suing. Or kissing him. (I need help.)

Send snacks. And maybe a reality check. Or a portal home. Preferably not cracked.

Sincerely,

Y/N

<< Chapter 10 | Chapter 12 >>

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[sylusjinwoon]

{ 153 }

love me for me.

jinwoo sung x fem.reader x liu zhigang

warnings: mentions of s*icidal thoughts

“i’ll forgive you only when you’re crawling over broken glass to get to me.”

anonymous said: Okay so, what if Cha Hae-in had a sister who was an A-Rank healer and Jinwoo Likes Cha but can't get close to her. Sooo in a desperate attempt to catch her attention he courts her SISTER bUt reader is skeptical cuz this isn't the first time someone courted her to get close to her sister and the first time it happened she was heartbroken. The way Jinwoo courted her felt so genuine that she fell for it, thinking he actually liked her. So when she said she accepted his courting the look on his face realizing he fucked up cuz he lead her on and when Cha told him she was happy he wasn't using her sister to get close to her cuz she wanted her sister to feel loved made him feel even more guilty. When Reader saw his expression her face fell realizing she fell for one of her sister's suitors again. When the time was turned back she remembered everything and did her best to avoid Jinwoo when they met in school(college or high school either way everything works still) because she didn't want to be used and have her heart broken again[I can't think of a happy ending but i rlly want a happy endingTT]

jinwoo was desperate to get close to hae-in, for the blond woman with stormy grey eyes was all that he could think about. everything about her seemed so... perfect to him.

but he was hesitant to try and get closer to her, since she seemed to be so out of his league. despite how jinwoo had grown stronger thanks to the system's interference with his life-

deep down, jinwoo was still the weak and unconfident man he had always been-

he still retained the personality he had as an e-rank hunter.

lost in his thought, he walks out of the meeting held at the hunter association building, his hands hidden within the pockets of his coat when he catches sight of cha hae-in. he freezes immediately, seeing hae-in coming up to hug another young woman.

he hears hae-in call out her name with an eagerness, earning a smile from her as she hugged her sister back. jinwoo was mesmerized at the sight of hae-in's smile, yet at the same time, he couldn't help but look over at the woman she was holding-

her sister...

you.

he remembers your name and takes a chance to admire the sight of hae-in holding on to you. on paper, you were known as cha hae-in's sister, but in all actuality, you were adopted into her family, being the same age as hae-in as you both grew up together.

and despite how his heart sang for hae-in-

he couldn't deny the beauty you held.

as he was stuck admiring the two sisters caught in a loving embrace, jinwoo could feel his eyes go wider at the sight.

he was too much of a coward to approach hae-in directly-

but perhaps he could use you to get to her...

{ ... }

you always had a bit of an inferiority complex when it came to hae-in.

it was true that you were as close as sisters could be, even believing that she was your best friend and vice versa.

you truly loved hae-in-

but what you didn't love was how so many boys fell for your sister while leaving you in the dust. more often than not, when guys were too shy or intimidated to approach hae-in directly, they would use you to get closer to her-

and that fact always hurt you.

perhaps the moment that hurt you the most was when you were a freshman in college and met a great guy named shik. he was so attentive and kind towards you, yet the worst night of your life happened when you invited him over for dinner and shik immediately confessed to hae-in, telling her how he only wanted to use you in order to get closer to her.

but lucky for you, hae-in loved and cherished you more than that as she slapped the bastard across his face all while rejecting him.

ever since then, you had been close to hae-in, basking in your mutual love and respect for each other as sisters.

now that you were older, being 24 years old, you quit your university life and became a healer, managing to become an a-rank while hae-in became an s-rank hunter. and despite how envious you felt over her natural abilities as a hunter, you did your best to remind yourself that you were just as good-

that you were a highly skilled and proficient healer who had saved many lives in various gates.

that you were highly respected by other s-rank hunters during co-op raids with global hunters, all aiming to raid any massive gates that posed as a threat to humanity.

and such reassurances were enough to calm your heart and ease your sorrows.

currently, you had finished a meeting with the chairman and was about to head out of the building when you ran into someone. your nose ached in response to the impact, nearly falling over had it not been for the strong hand that kept a grip on your wrist.

you open your eyes and gasp, meeting with sung jinwoo's kind eyes.

"hey, sorry about that. i didn't see you." jinwoo chuckles while helping you stand back to your full height. you could feel the heat dye against your cheeks as you struggled to find the right words to say to him.

"i-it's okay, hunter sung."

another light chuckle was heard escaping from his parted lips, causing your to jolt pleasantly in surprise as a tremble courses through you from hearing such a beautiful sound.

"please, call me jinwoo."

your mouth turns dry, and you felt as though your head were spinning upon hearing his words.

"o-okay... thanks, j-jinwoo."

his smile seems to brighten in response to your words, and you watch as he runs his fingers through his hair, giving you a sheepish expression.

"uhm, i was wondering, if you're free... would you like to grab some coffee with me?"

your heart quickly began to pound in response. ever since you had first laid eyes on jinwoo, you held a deep crush on him. you had always admired him, even when he was still a level e hunter.

was he really asking you out?

wait. don't fall for it.

suddenly, your mind began to take over, quickly banishing the strange racing felt within your heart as the joy shrivels slowly in response.

remember shik and how he asked you out to get to hae-in? think about it, jinwoo never spoke to you before... and you know that he is aware that hae-in is your sister.

you harden your heart and look away from him, actually listening to the voice in your head. "no thank you... i... i have other plans."

your rejection seems to shock jinwoo, his eyes going wide when he reaches out to you.

"wait, why-"

but you didn't allow him to continue, immediately walking away from him as you left the hunter's association building-

never once looking back at him.

{ ... }

several weeks had passed since your interaction with jinwoo-

and you honestly weren't expecting him to be so... incessant in his attempts to date you.

each morning, you would find cute little bouquets delivered to your and hae-in's guild. she would give you a knowing smile while jong-in would constantly smirk at you.

but perhaps what made your heart really skip beats was when he had sent a rather... extravagant bouquet to yours and hae-in's shared apartment. the bouquet consisted of every known flower in existence, their colorful blooms seeming to blind your eyes as the rainbow petals overwhelmed you in the best of ways.

you sigh and try to calm your racing heart. as you were looking at the bouquet, you saw a slender white envelope caught in the midst of the array of petals. gingerly, you take the card and place it in your hand, taking the card out of the confines of the envelope as you saw a series of numbers and a note from jinwoo:

xxx-xxx-xxxx

i can't stop thinking about you... please, give me a chance?

i eagerly await your call.

yours,

s.j.

unable to ignore the strange pounding in your heart, you clench your eyes shut and thought about what to do next.

don't fall for it. what if he ends up breaking your heart?

but he's so kind... and persistent. never once did he mention hae-in's name.

neither did shik, yet the moment he saw your sister, it all went to hell, remember?

you ignore the looming voice in your head, filling you with doubt as you went back to your room with the card and bouquet in hand. grabbing your phone from your nightstand, you dial jinwoo's number and give him a call...

{ ... }

jinwoo was simply dosing off within his room when his cellphone begins to vibrate. looking down at his phone's screen, he sees an unknown series of numbers and smiles.

he answers the call within the second ring, smiling into the phone as he says your name.

"you're really persistent, aren't you?"

jinwoo felt his heart skip a few beats upon hearing your voice so close to his ear, making him feel the tiniest bit flustered as he tried to calm down.

"i'm guessing you got my latest present for you?"

silence permeates at the air, and jinwoo nearly let out a chuckle when he hears your sigh.

"i did get your bouquet... it's lovely."

smiling widely, jinwoo sits back on his bed while gently asking you, "so... would you like to join me on a date this coming saturday? how does a dinner and a movie sound to you?"

"...it sounds perfect... come pick me up at my apartment around 7pm."

you hang up the call first, leaving jinwoo speechless as he was left grinning like an absolute fool at the thought of you agreeing to go out on a date with him. after remaining in that same, shocked position for several minutes, jinwoo finally hangs up the phone with a pleased expression on his face.

how did it turn out like this?

at first, he wanted to use you to try and get closer to hae-in, to see if being close to you would make hae-in turn softer toward him-

yet why was he now looking forward to his date with you?

why did he not mind pursuing you so relentlessly?

why did he wish to be your sole source of happiness; wishing to bask in your sweet smiles and melodious laughter?

feeling like he was on cloud 9, he settles his phone on his nightstand and lays back in bed, his shadow soldiers seeming to surround him, sensing his happiness as they all congratulated him.

"the lady has always been a perfect match for our king."

"it is clear that his attempts at courting her has been successful."

"we are with you every step of the way!"

jinwoo was practically soaring with happiness now-

perhaps he was a king, after all...

you made him feel like he was king of the entire universe.

{ ... }

one date turned into two dates-

two dates turned into three dates-

and this kept going on until you shared at least a hundred dates with sung jinwoo.

somewhere in between your thirty-ninth and fortieth date with him, he asked you to be his girlfriend-

and you accepted his proposal without hesitation.

jinwoo was nothing but the perfect boyfriend to you. he doted on you constantly, and you found yourself loving his attention and affections so much that you ended up finding an apartment to move into together with him.

it was such a huge change for you, yet hae-in supported you every step of the way. she basked and cherished your happiness with a bright smile on her face, and you were so blessed- so happy to have a platonic soulmate like her in your life.

living with jinwoo for 3 months now, you decided it was time to pay your sister a visit. she had invited both you and jinwoo over for dinner and wanted to catch up with you. cooking your own plethora of side dishes to bring to dinner, you finished making them and packed them all into neat containers.

"jin, do you mind helping me carry this bag out into the car?" you call out to jinwoo, seeing him appear in the kitchen with a smile on his face.

"of course, sarang." you nearly melt at the mere sight of him, seeing his dressed in a black turtleneck with dark jeans. he meets you and wraps his arms around the front of your abdomen. pressing kisses against your hair, he takes the bag filled with containers and gets ready to place them in his car.

you follow from close behind him, eyes looking out the window to see the grey clouds beginning to come in. "huh, the weather looks kind of bad."

jinwoo takes note of the cloudy skies, "do you want to call your sister and reschedule this dinner?"

you immediately shake your head upon hearing his suggestion. "no, i'm actually looking forward to seeing her again. let's just tread carefully when the storm does arrive and do our best to stay dry."

jinwoo nods his head, "okay, if you say so..."

little did you know, it would have been better for you to not see hae-in at all.

{ ... }

you were just being paranoid, that's all.

jinwoo was not constantly staring at your sister throughout dinner-

even though she looked lovely with her golden hair falling gracefully across her features-

even though she was dressed to perfection in a cream colored sweater and a matching skirt-

even though she wore no makeup and was still by far the loveliest woman in this room-

you still couldn't compare to her.

even with the delicious side dishes you made coupled along with hae-in's cooking, you couldn't bring yourself to eat. jinwoo still sat next to you, his hand barely remaining held within the palm of your hand as he spoke animatedly with hae-in.

why was it that you were left feeling like the third wheel?

hae-in notices your lack of appetite and calls out your name. "ah, what's wrong? you barely touched your food!"

"i-i'm okay... it's just, i had a big lunch earlier."

hae-in hums, not quite believing you, but still didn't question you.

"i know what will cheer you up! i bought you your favorite dessert, strawberry shortcake! give me a moment and i'll prepare it for you!"

you were ready to thank your sister, but your words die within the confines of your throat when jinwoo stands from his seat, taking with him his empty plates and utensils.

"here, let me help you."

without even sparing you a second glance, he goes to quickly help hae-in-

and you felt as though your entire form was bathed in an icy coldness. you shiver and felt your throat close up in response, pushing back your plate of food.

it's all in your head, jinwoo loves you. he loves you enough to live with you-

but a sudden soft moan heard coming from the kitchen breaks you out of your reveries, making you stiffly stand from your seat. your breath becomes more labored and uneven, reaching the kitchen to see something that absolutely broke your heart.

jinwoo was kissing your sister...

and your sister was kissing him back.

a choked sob escapes from you, the sound making jinwoo and hae-in pull away from each other. hae-in held a mortified expression, feeling ashamed for betraying your trust as jinwoo shakily calls out your name.

"wait, sarang, it's not-"

you ignore his words, casting a hateful glare at both hae-in and jinwoo.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE CALL ME YOUR LOVE, SUNG JINWOO! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU USED ME TO GET TO MY SISTER! YOU'RE JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER MAN IN THE FUCKING UNIVERSE! I HATE YOU BOTH SO MUCH! NEVER SPEAK TO ME AGAIN!"

your voice was dripping with venom, your throat aching from the intensity of your screams. yet still, the tears couldn't be stopped, with you running back to the living room as you grabbed your purse and sling the straps over your shoulder.

you ignore both hae-in and jinwoo's cries of your name, escaping the apartment while slamming the door shut.

running out into the downpour, your tears were blocking your vision, unable to see a damn thing. but truthfully, you didn't care where you went, or even what would happen to you.

your mind kept playing the image of jinwoo kissing hae-in over and over again-

and you kept berating yourself for falling for yet another man who wanted hae-in over you-

but this time, it hurt so much more than it ever did with shik-

because this time, you genuinely loved him.

you find yourself wandering aimlessly into the street, dimly aware of the incoming traffic as several horns blare at you all at once-

yet before any of the vehicles could crush your frame, you found yourself in the arms of a man, a man who knows you as he calls out your name.

"what's a lovely flower like you doing out here in the middle of the streets?"

you gasp, detecting a faint accent in his voice as your eyes met with the glowing, golden gaze of liu zhigang.

you gasp and ask him, "w-what are you doing here?"

he simply looks down at you, "i had a meeting with the chairman..."

the chinese hunter explains while keeping you in his arms, somehow managing to take you away from the incoming traffic. rain was felt pelting against his pristine suit, making your tears worsen since you were now filled with a guilt for troubling him.

"i-i'm sorry for ruining your suit in the r-rain."

liu simply scoffs in response.

"you nearly got run over by traffic, yet you're apologizing to me about my suit getting wet?"

his expression was a gentle one, filled with an uncharacteristically soft fondness as he makes his way over to his limousine. his driver sees him and opens the door for him, allowing liu to settle within the leather seats with you still kept tightly within his embrace.

with the door closed, liu focuses on warming you up, keeping you close to his body. while he was holding on to you, he kept hearing your ringtone going off several times in a row from your purse. lifting his eyebrow at you, liu asks, "what's with the thousand of calls coming from your phone?"

you shiver and give the chinese hunter a huff. "it's just my boyfriend- ex boyfriend, trying to reach me."

"and... is there a reason why he is your ex, my lovely flower?"

his question makes the tears return almost immediately. "i...i caught him kissing my sister."

"ah... he was kissing hae-in." liu's eyes seemed to glow with contempt, now unzipping your purse to take out your phone and answer the call for you. once he takes out the device, he could feel his eyes go wide upon seeing the name of your ex.

"sung jinwoo."

you were still silently sobbing, hiding your face within liu's chest, allowing him to answer the call.

"sarang-"

"sorry, she's quite busy right now." liu's tone was ice cold when he speaks to jinwoo all while drawing comforting circles against your back. "and i'm afraid you have lost your chance with this lovely flower, hunter sung."

you swore you heard a series of curses and threats coming from your phone, but liu simply hangs up the call, proceeding to block jinwoo's number before putting the phone back into your purse. after running a hand across his hair, he looks down at you with a kind expression.

framing your face with his two hands, he leans in to press a kiss against your forehead. "fear not, my lovely flower... i'll keep you with me and will help you heal your heart. you have experienced so much pain already, and i wish to help you."

you let out a few more tears while clinging to liu zhigang, feeling guilty for using him as a means to ease your heartache when it came to jinwoo-

but... just this once, you can be selfish, right?

here is this man who knows who you are- who knows hae-in and is still willing to choose you. fueled by desperation, you hang on to the collar of liu's suit and press your lips into his in a searing kiss, one that begged for his affections.

and as he kisses you back, you felt your heart turn lighter-

at least, for a mere few moments.

{ ... }

sung jinwoo became heartbroken when he realized you had left south korea to head to china with that snake, liu zhigang.

it was a series of unfortunate events that lead him to losing you-

him speaking to hae-in passionately about her raids-

him admiring hae-in's beauty one last time when he helped her grab your favorite dessert-

and hae-in looking at him with suspicion, testing his emotions when she kissed him in hopes of protecting her sister-

in hopes of protecting you.

when hae-in kissed him, he was so desperate to get away from her. to avoid raising your suspicions as he never wanted to come clean to you.

he never wanted to tell you that the reason why he wanted to get closer to you was because he wanted cha hae-in-

not when he found himself genuinely falling in love with you.

not when he found himself imagining a life together with you, sharing everything with you while growing a family with you.

but all of that was ruined the moment hae-in kissed him-

and now, he had lost you forever.

after the incident at dinner, jinwoo left hae-in's apartment and drove around for hours in his car. his blood was boiling with possessiveness and anger, hearing the smirk within liu zhigang's voice along with your choked sobs-

he did this to you.

he made you run into the arms of another man-

and he hated himself for it.

with a bottle of shoju in his hand, he continues to drink the clear liquid while scrolling through his phone, not leaving the apartment he shared with you- keeping tabs on you and liu. it has been two months since he had last heard from you, and the media coverage had spoke about your move to china as you found a new lover within the chinese hunter.

rumors circulated about yours and jinwoo's breakup, yet the shadow monarch didn't have the strength to correct anyone-

all he wanted was to get you back-

and the rest, he would figure out later.

as he wallows in his misery (taking another swig of shoju in the process) he hears a series of knocks coming from his door. a strange part of him hoped that it was you, which was what prompted him to drop his bottle of shoju and answer the door-

only to be met with disappointment upon seeing hae-in.

he nearly slams the door in her face, but... his mother had taught him better than that. and judging from the look of devastation on hae-in's features, he knew that she wasn't faring any better than he was at the loss of you.

"hello... c-can i come in?"

jinwoo remains silent, only giving her a nod when he steps aside to let her in. hae-in quietly thanks him before standing off awkwardly to the side.

an tense silence fills at the air, with hae-in speaking first. her eyes were clenched shut as she bows down to him. "i'm so sorry, for what i did. i only wanted to make sure that you felt nothing for me... that you genuinely loved my sister... and only her alone."

"i-i'm such an idiot... all this time, she's been so miserable standing next to me. every man that she falls for... they end up using her to get to me... and... and i couldn't stand the thought if you were the same way."

jinwoo couldn't say anything to comfort her, remaining silent as he stood there with his fists clenched to his sides, simply waiting for her to continue.

"but when i kissed you, and you simply froze in response... i knew that your feelings were genuine for her-"

"at first, i did use your sister to get to you." jinwoo interrupts hae-in with a strained voice

hae-in then stands back to her full height, her eyes still welling up with tears as they fell down her face in heavy droplets.

guilt was felt coursing through jinwoo's veins when he continues.

"but the more i tried to get her to agree to date me... the more i found myself liking her little quirks and mannerisms. from the way she scrunches her nose in annoyance... and that cute pout on her lips when she gets sad or upset..."

jinwoo closes his eyes and shakes his head, "she's amazing... and...and... i loved her more than i could ever love you."

hae-in continues to cry, but nods her head in response. "she is... she is so amazing, and i'm so happy you got to see the real her."

the young woman takes in a deep breath before facing him, giving him a look of determination when she says.

"please, for my sister's sake, allow me to protect your heart and stay by your side. i won't allow another woman to take you away from my sister. as a way of m-making things up to you, let me protect your feelings for my sister... and let her come back to you when she's ready."

jinwoo was taken aback by the sheer devotion seen within hae-in's eyes, and he becomes filled a plethora of emotions as well when he nods before giving her a hug.

his arms wrap tightly around her, and if he closed his eyes-

then he could imagine that he was holding you instead...

{ ... }

jinwoo's world was breaking before his very eyes.

he had successfully defeated the monarch's invasion on the world, yet... when he caught a glimpse of you-

he followed you, not even paying attention to the rulers when they had descended upon the earth.

of course, you would be back to the place where the battle was occurring-

after all, he was the sole reason the monarchs wished to invade the world to begin with.

when he sees a glimpse of your features before disappearing off into the crowd of hunters, he follows you.

your name was on the tip of his tongue, and when he could see your wisps of hair blowing in the wind, jinwoo swore that he could die happy right then and there.

his mouth was open, ready to call out to you when suddenly, the scene that plays before his eyes breaks his heart.

for he saw you in the arms of liu zhigang, his lips slotted perfectly against yours as his fingers were delved into your hair.

red-hot anger courses through jinwoo's veins, with him clenching his fists in response. he was ready to call out that bastard's name and pull him away from you-

but when liu stops kissing you, and jinwoo could see the genuine joy within your eyes-

it makes him hesitate.

his breathing was abnormal, and his heart had become broken into millions of pieces...

and in the midst of his agony was the moment the ruler appeared behind him.

"you have done well to win this war... however, your heart- it is in a turmoil."

jinwoo doesn't face the ruler, simply casting his gaze to where you were before saying,

"i wish to use the cup of reincarnation... i want to erase everything in this timeline and try again."

jinwoo's voice was empty, still staring at you with a longing as you were held within liu zhigang's embrace.

"that is an incredibly selfish reason. tell me, what would ashborn think?"

"i will face the monarchs on my own in the pocket dimension... just please, let me do this..."

jinwoo still doesn't acknowledge the ruler, yet he could sense the hesitance coming from the god-like being.

"are you certain... that this is what you want? no one shall remember your victory... and the cup of reincarnation has been nearly exhausted-"

"i don't care, just give me this one last chance... i'll do what i need to do, just please-"

jinwoo finally faces the ruler, desperation painting his features as they became twisted in a frown. he bows down to the ruler upon seeing the cup of reincarnation appear within their grasps.

"i wish you the best of luck, young monarch."

and with those final words, the world became bathed within a blinding, white light...

{ ... }

one moment you were in the arms of liu zhigang-

and the next, you find yourself falling out of bed, with your alarm clock ringing.

a melodious yet soft voice calls out your name, and you see a younger version of hae-in greeting you. "morning, sleepyhead!"

she was dressed in her school uniform, and your eyes go wide in realization.

hae-in was 14 again-

you were 14 again.

you remain settled on the ground, eyes going wide upon seeing her as you struggled to find the right words to say.

memories invade your mind, of her being a hunter and you being a healer-

of raids-

and armor-

and jinwoo-

"you-" your voice was about to take on a hateful tone, but you stopped yourself. somehow, you realized that hae-in didn't recall any of those moments, her grey eyes glazed over with complete innocence as she smiles down at you.

"i'm sorry, i know how cranky you get when you first wake up, but mom told me to make sure that you're up. so, come on? i want you to join track with me as well!"

biting back your words, you instead opt to let out a groan instead, standing back to your full height as your brushed your hand through your hair. stepping closer to hae-in, you giggle before tackling her in a bear hug, making her gasp before giggling along with you.

you didn't know why time got reversed... sending you back 10 years, but... you weren't going to complain-

since these few years of your life had to be the happiest moments for you.

{ ... }

two years had passed.

you are now 16 years old, beginning your second year of high school when a new student transfers to your homeroom.

and the mere sight of him was enough to make your stomach churn in response.

he wears the male version of your uniform, and while your teacher was introducing him to the class, he kept his glowing, purple eyes on you along with a lazy smile.

"class, i'd like you to welcome sung jinwoo, as he'll be spending the rest of the year with you all. please, treat him with kindness."

your throat turns dry, and jinwoo still doesn't look away from you. when jinwoo is asked to sit down, he casually saunters over to the desk right next to you.

your breathing becomes uneven, and you try to distract yourself by reviewing your lecture notes. yet still, he doesn't look away from you.

biting down on your bottom lip, you wonder if he'll back off when he realizes something...

something that you always kept a secret.

trailing your eyes upwards towards the teacher, you wait until his back was turned before whispering harshly to jinwoo.

"i remember everything, hunter sung."

his eyes go wide as a flurry of emotions were seen going through him-

but the one you recognized the most was guilt.

finally, he looks away from you, staring down at his unopened notebook.

"i'm sorry."

you ignored his apologies and chose to focus on the lecture instead, feeling your stomach twist further with the anxiety that was felt coursing through you.

{ ... }

you managed to avoid jinwoo throughout the day despite how he shared a class with you.

yet you were determined to keep some distance between the both of you.

when the last period ends for the day, you were ready to head to track with hae-in when a large hand felt on your wrist stops you. letting out a gasp, you were suddenly brought to a secluded area in the hallway-

with jinwoo looking down at you.

he shakily frames at your face with his two hands, gently caressing at your skin.

"i have missed you so much... please, you have to believe me! w-when you saw me and hae-in-"

you didn't allow him to finish, lifting up your hand to slap him across his face. a side of his cheek became red in response, and you felt the tiniest bit of guilt course through you at hurting him.

"i-i don't want to hear it, sung. i know what i saw and... and there's no way i can forgive you or forget."

you hear the way jinwoo's breath hitches in response, with him trapping you against the wall with his two hands.

"w-what can i do to obtain your forgiveness?" the desperation in his voice makes you tremble in response.

you refuse to meet his gaze, looking away from him when you bitterly tell him. “i’ll forgive you only when you’re crawling over broken glass to get to me.”

jinwoo's clenches his hands into fists in response, punching at the wall momentarily before pushing himself away from you. he walks off with his hands shoved within the pocket of his pants, making you slide down against the wall in response.

feeling emotionally exhausted, you decide to close your eyes and fall asleep... feeling too tired to care that you were going to miss track...

{ ... }

the fire started in the chemistry room, with the members of the chemistry club quickly evacuating as the flames began to spread across the school.

the alarms had gone off as all of the students came out of the building and out into the field.

yet jinwoo's heart couldn't help but twist with panic when he saw no signs of you.

"no, please NO!" jinwoo was already on the move when he sees hae-in's crying face.

"hae-in, where is she? please tell me your sister is safe!"

he clutches on to her shoulders, yet felt despair fill him as she shakes her head in response.

"no, she n-never made it to practice."

she was still inside the building-

jinwoo immediately turns away from hae-in all while calling out your name. he berates himself for not assigning a soldier to you, surrounding himself within the black and purple aura before re-entering the burning school.

even with the smoke filling his lungs, he calls out your name, ignoring the flames and how it licked at his uniform. he covers his mouth to hold his breath, quickly reaching the third floor where he had last left you-

only to see you slumped against the wall, the flames growing stronger as the windows shatter in response to the heat. he lets out a grunt, but doesn't let that stop him from reaching you.

so, he begins his slow and steady descent to you, not even feeling the broken glass piercing at his skin. he keeps going, not stopping until he sees your unconscious form directly in front of him.

fear clutches his heart when he brings you closer to his chest, shielding you from the smoke and flames before making a shadow exchange towards the school's gates, away from the crowd as he focused solely on healing you.

the moment jinwoo could taste the fresh air was when he looks down at you. you were still unconscious, which was what prompts jinwoo to surround himself in his dark aura before pressing his lips against yours, filling your lungs with oxygen while simultaneously healing you.

within just a few minutes, you let out a sharp gasp before shoving yourself away from him, letting out a series of coughs and wheezes. jinwoo keeps a tight embrace around you, never once leaving your side as he continues to gently heal you.

"it's okay... you're okay..." he repeats those two phrases like a neverending mantra, still holding on to you tightly when your coughs slowly begin to subside.

"j-jinwoo?"

he basks in the way you say his name, with you slowly looking back at him. tears well up within your eyes when you throw your arms around his neck.

"i... i remember it feeling so hot... yet, i couldn't move or breathe." your voice was shaky when you met his gaze, "you... you saved me...?"

jinwoo nods, lifting up a hand to brush back your hair, making you see the fresh cuts and blood against the palm of his hand. with a gasp, you gingerly take a hold of his hand within yours. "you're hurt...!"

but the young shadow monarch simply shakes his head in response, leaning closer to press a kiss against the back of your hand. "as long as i was able to save and protect you... that's all that matters."

filled with millions of emotions for him, you gently place the palm of your hand against his cheek, swallowing thickly before admitting to him, "i still love you."

jinwoo's eyes go wide momentarily before narrowing, his glowing gaze now filled with adoration for you when he leans in closer to you, "and i have always loved you..."

feeling happy to have you back in his arms, jinwoo leans forward to kiss you fully, tightening his arms around you as he swore to never let you go ever again...

{ ... }

the fire was suddenly put out, and hae-in swore she saw a bunch of shadowy figures surrounding the interior of the building, right where the fire had spread...

however, she quickly ignores the feeling of seeing such strange figures when she recognizes your lone figure being held by jinwoo.

she was ready to cry, sobbing with relief at the sight of your safety-

but the moment she sees jinwoo holding you so tightly while inching his lips closer to yours-

hae-in turns away from the scene, walking back to the crowd in hopes of comforting her other friends, knowing that you were in good hands. as she meets her friends and wraps them up in a tight embrace, she couldn't help but think back to her sister-

the young woman smiles, feeling elated that you had finally found someone who would always choose you first...

a.n. - oh my god.... after studying for my exam, i wrote this in 3+ hours as it totaled to... a whopping 6k words! 😭 i couldn't get his prompt out of my head! as always, this is unedited, but any changes and edits will be made later... after this is posted, so you'll have to deal with any errors at the moment.

all stories are written by rei; reposts, translations, and plagiarism are not allowed.

[kiwiana-writes]

Kiwiana's Christmas Fics

This was doing the rounds last year, so let's bring it back (and update it) for 2024!

Red, White & Royal Blue

[TBD… coming 2024-12-21 to an AO3 near you]

…

Got a will to win and a Cheshire grin [Alex/Henry; rated E; 4,952 words]

Please find attached the list of collective bargaining agreement breaches reported by the Sports and Recreation Floor in December. As the designated union representative, it is my responsibility to ensure that the rights and interests of our members are protected and upheld, even (or maybe especially) during our busiest time of year. In accordance with the grievance procedure outlined in our collective bargaining agreement, we request that Santa’s Workshop takes immediate corrective action to remedy these breaches. Please set up a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss these issues further and explore appropriate resolutions. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.

All Those Christmas Clichés [Alex/Henry; rated M; 7,500 words]

Daily triple drabbles: snapshots of the lead-up to Christmas 2023.

Schitt's Creek

I see every part of you [David/Patrick; rated M; 1,514 words]

Patrick is a straight-up aficionado when it comes to giving gifts. David has known this from literally day one of their relationship, when he pulled a bunch of tissue paper out of a blue gift bag, looked away from a sentimental receipt in a solid frame and into a pair of earnest eyes, and thought, 'I hate it when Stevie's right.'

How the reindeer loved him [David/Patrick; rated E; 2,178 words]

David wraps an arm around him, hand splayed across his chest to pull him close. “Tell me,” he says quietly. “I want you to dress up as Santa,” Patrick rushes out in one quick breath.

This is all I'm asking for [David/Patrick; rated E; 3,957 words]

But by the time they clean up after the party, and Patrick tactfully offers to take the garbage bags out to the shed to give the Roses a bit of family time, it’s well after eleven and David can only assume all their plans for the evening are out the window. That is, until they turn out of the motel parking lot and instead of Patrick putting his hand on David’s knee like usual it lands halfway up his thigh, fingers tracing absent circles around his inseam, and David realises that at least one part of the plan is still very much on the table.

Dear Santa… [Gen: David, Alexis, Patrick; rated G; 2,191 words]

Letters to Santa, 1987-1997

Do you wanna fuck a snowman? [David/Patrick; rated E; 7,216 words; co-write with @ships-to-sail]

David mimics her stance — and he has to admit, she’s not entirely wrong. In the quickly disappearing light, already blurred a little bit by the still-fallen snow, the snowman does look a little like he has tree trunk thighs and a well-formed ass, rather than being Frosty-shaped. But it’s the best they’re going to do, and David’s toes are officially cold.

I need some Christmas spirit [David/Patrick; rated T; 626 words]

David can handle his alcohol, is the thing. So no, it doesn’t occur to Patrick to warn him.

It probably should have.

Happiest Season

We always walked a very thin line [Abby/Riley, Harper/Abby; rated T; 2,775 words]

The girlfriend — Abby — stumbles over a lie about being Harper's orphan roommate, which… wow. Girl is a bad liar. Riley kind of wants to take her by the hand and tell her she’s going to have to get a lot better at that particular skill if she’s going to be in a relationship with Harper Caldwell. She doesn’t though, because it’s not her place and because who knows what, if anything, Harper has told Abby about her?

Tagging @blueeyedgrlwrites @cactusdragon517 @celeritas2997 @cha-melodius @clottedcreamfudge

@cricketnationrise @dumbpeachjuice @everwitch-magiks @firenati0n @getmehighonmagic 

@hgejfmw-hgejhsf @indestructibleheart @inexplicablymine @lilythesilly 

@myheartalivewrites @nontoxic-writes @notspecialbabe @orchidscript 

@piratefalls @rmd-writes @sherryvalli @sparklepocalypse @stereopticons 

@thesleepyskipper @thighzp @tintagel-or-cockleshells @welcometololaland @whimsymanaged and, as always, anyone who wants to play! 

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 29, 2024

The time course of feature-selective attention inside and outside the focus of spatial attention. Andersen, S. K., & Hillyard, S. A. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(16), e2309975121.

The role of uncertainty in regulating associative change. Chan, Y. Y., Lee, J. C., Fam, J. P., Westbrook, R. F., & Holmes, N. M. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition, 50(2), 77–98.

Neural correlates of perceptual similarity masking in primate V1. Chen, S. C.-Y., Chen, Y., Geisler, W. S., & Seidemann, E. (2024). eLife, 12, e89570.3.

Timing along the cardiac cycle modulates neural signals of reward-based learning. Fouragnan, E. F., Hosking, B., Cheung, Y., Prakash, B., Rushworth, M., & Sel, A. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 2976.

Multicore fiber optic imaging reveals that astrocyte calcium activity in the mouse cerebral cortex is modulated by internal motivational state. Gau, Y.-T. A., Hsu, E. T., Cha, R. J., Pak, R. W., Looger, L. L., Kang, J. U., & Bergles, D. E. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 3039.

A cognitive-computational account of mood swings in adolescence. Gregorová, K., Eldar, E., Deserno, L., & Reiter, A. M. F. (2024). Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 28(4), 290–303.

Probabilistic causal reasoning under time pressure. Kolvoort, I. R., Fisher, E. L., van Rooij, R., Schulz, K., & van Maanen, L. (2024). PLOS ONE, 19(4), e0297011.

EEG decoders track memory dynamics. Li, Y., Pazdera, J. K., & Kahana, M. J. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 2981.

Dynamic saccade context triggers more stable object-location binding. Lu, Z., & Golomb, J. D. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 153(4), 873–888.

It is not all about you: Communicative cooperation is determined by your partner’s theory of mind abilities as well as your own. Markiewicz, R., Rahman, F., Apperly, I., Mazaheri, A., & Segaert, K. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 50(5), 833–844.

Dopamine control of social novelty preference is constrained by an interpeduncular-tegmentum circuit. Molas, S., Freels, T. G., Zhao-Shea, R., Lee, T., Gimenez-Gomez, P., Barbini, M., … Tapper, A. R. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 2891.

Space wandering in the rodent default mode network. Nghiem, T.-A. E., Lee, B., Chao, T.-H. H., Branigan, N. K., Mistry, P. K., Shih, Y.-Y. I., & Menon, V. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(15), e2315167121.

Attention-based rehearsal: Eye movements reveal how visuospatial information is maintained in working memory. Sahan, M. I., Siugzdaite, R., Mathôt, S., & Fias, W. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 50(5), 687–698.

Manipulating Prior Beliefs Causally Induces Under- and Overconfidence. Van Marcke, H., Denmat, P. Le, Verguts, T., & Desender, K. (2024). Psychological Science, 35(4), 358–375.

Top–down modulation in canonical cortical circuits with short-term plasticity. Waitzmann, F., Wu, Y. K., & Gjorgjieva, J. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(16), e2311040121.

Phasic locus coeruleus activity enhances trace fear conditioning by increasing dopamine release in the hippocampus. Wilmot, J. H., Diniz, C. R., Crestani, A. P., Puhger, K. R., Roshgadol, J., Tian, L., & Wiltgen, B. J. (2024). eLife, 12, e91465.3.

Eye blinks as a visual processing stage. Yang, B., Intoy, J., & Rucci, M. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(15), e2310291121.

Distinct information conveyed to the olfactory bulb by feedforward input from the nose and feedback from the cortex. Zak, J. D., Reddy, G., Konanur, V., & Murthy, V. N. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 3268.

Conjunctive encoding of exploratory intentions and spatial information in the hippocampus. Zeng, Y.-F., Yang, K.-X., Cui, Y., Zhu, X.-N., Li, R., Zhang, H., … Zhou, N. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 3221.

Environmental regularities mitigate attentional misguidance in contextual cueing of visual search. Zinchenko, A., Conci, M., Müller, H. J., & Geyer, T. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 50(5), 699–711.

[seventeenreasonswhy]

SVT as CEOs 👔

18+ / SFW

OT13!Seventeen x Fem!Reader

How Seventeen would react to their S/O suggesting they role play as the CEO!

Content/Warnings: Somewhat suggestive but no hardcore smut, CEO!Roleplaying, implied dom/sub dynamics (if you squint).

A/N: This is just what goes through my silly little head. Enjoy! (not proofread, sorry!)

s.coups – He loves the way you look in a suit set! You’re so beautiful and the modesty of the clothing combined with knowing that he’s going to fuck you senseless really turns him on! He would be having almost too good of a time, haha. I feel like he would break character sometimes! He’s just so enamored by you! He gets giggly, okay!

joenghan – dear lord. born for this role, haha. he would get so into it. he would be so mean to you!! and you would eat it up!! he would do some very sexy power play like making you strip off one piece of clothing for every mistake he finds (there are many of them!) on your report, watching you like a hawk as you reveal more and more of yourself. he would want this to be a regular feature of your sex life together.

Joshua – flirty ceo! stylish ceo! buys-you-lots-of-expensive-lingerie ceo! knowing that you’re wearing filthy, pretty lingerie that he bought for you under your work clothes is a huge turn on for him. He would def call you into his ‘office’ to ‘discipline’ you.

jun – fits the ceo role well. He’s a more unpredictable boss, and he’d get off on giving you the cold shoulder every now and again just to make you flustered and panicky. he likes when you bring him some papers to sign and then linger bashfully to ask if you did anything wrong. he looooves to make you feel a little degraded/humiliated, like ‘the only way you’re going to move up is by using that mouth’ kind of stuff. You both have fun with these characters!

hoshi – haha, he would definitely want to get into this but he’s too baby lmao. he looks so good in a suit tho!! you develop characters that are a little bit more flexible – making you the pursuer of the boss and letting him try to “keep it professional” (he fails! lol). he’s obsessed with you in a blazer, with your hair up and high heels on – he thinks you look so sexy and in command.

wonwoo – ooo, this would be fun for him. He would be lowkey about it, but he would really enjoy it. He likes being your ‘boss.’ Like, a lot. Not only are you wearing stylish and fitted office wear, you’re being so demure and deferential to him, which really turns him on. He would want to draw out the roleplay, making it a slow burn over many sessions together. He likes when you try really hard to hide your flustered reactions to his scandalous flirting/teasing. Smirk never leaves his face during these play times.

woozi – born! to! be! a! C!E!O! he’d get intimidating with it. he would find excuses to slam things on your desk and demand better from you. he would require you to call him “sir” or “Mr. Lee” at all times. he would also like it if you snap back at him just one time so that he can enjoy disciplining you. totally a keeps-a-paddle-under-the-desk type lol.

the8 – hard to read CEO! would like keeping you on your toes with his mysterious and alluring vibe. he would never yell at you, but he would occasionally say something harsh that kinda snaps you to attention/makes you excited. you would pursue him a bit, too, which he would enjoy. he gets turned on by the challenge of remaining the calm and collected one while desiring to overpower you.

mingyu – he would look so good in a suit, but puppy is not ready to be bossy to his baby! he thinks you look so sexy in your tight skirt and matching blazer, and high heels are a... problem for him. he wouldn’t be able to keep up the act, he would just want to tear your clothes off right then and there lol.

DK – Mr! Lee!!!! very kind boss - he has a quiet kind of authority that is so hot to you. You guys would love this role play. DK loves to act!!! this would be his moment to shine lol! He would be so good at staying in character, even when you get flustered. He would ask you into his office to check something, requiring you to move around to his side of the desk, examining his computer screen. Once he had you that close to him he would tease you by running one finger along the back seam of your pantyhose, making you jump. He would find no end of amusement at your cute reactions while he teased and flirted with you, eventually lifting you up on his desk and fucking you right there.

Seungkwan – can a CEO be bratty? Boo Seungkwan will find a way! He would make all kinds of progressively more annoying and ridiculous requests, always demanding you get him an iced americano and being so rude to you lol. You guys would have fun with this, though—you both understand that part of the tension/relief of the roleplay is that you would eventually snap at him for being so demanding and unreasonable, switching up the power dynamic and progressively escalating things from there until you’re “angry” fucking! (which he loves!)

Vernon – this man keeps it professional!! he is really good at not letting his serious and in-charge façade down. This has the dual benefit of making you frustrated (which he thinks is so cute) and seeing the creative ways that you try to get him to crack. Oops, you dropped a bunch of papers on his floor, guess you have to bend over really suggestively and pick them up. Oops, you made a mistake on an important contract, what is he going to do about it? He would be down to spank you as you get more and more into the roleplay.

dino – lol! he loves this! he’s not the CEO type but he doesn’t care lmao. He just likes being in charge for once in his life. he also finds you straight up distracting sitting at your desk, so focused with your hair pulled back and your blazer draped over the back of your chair, sleeves of your blouse rolled up so they don’t get wrinkled by the edge of your desk. he watches you all the time, he can’t help it! when he tries to be demanding and bossy though it just comes out adorable and you have to suppress your laughter lol.

[maxbegone]

happy wednesday! thank you for the tag @iboatedhere ♥️

u ever think about how pineapple is eating u when u eat it the enzymes they like eat away at ur skin or w/e it’s why ur mouth will feel weird Alex is frustrated and honestly pretty bored, hence the spam texting. He’s been chipping away at this fucking paper for a week, it’s nearly fifteen pages long and he knows he’s going to have to cap it soon. But there’s a point he’s still trying to make here that he cannot figure out how to articulate, and he’s quite literally about to pull his goddamn hair out. It’s going to be a bitch to edit and he honestly might set his laptop on fire and move to the mountains if it means he can just be done. But Alex knows himself well enough, which means he’s going to keep staring at his computer screen in attempt to make something happen until the words form a weird Rorschach-like image and he blacks out. Maybe that’s why he texted Henry. Actually, he texted June and Nora, both separately and in their group chat, but Nora hasn’t responded and June told him to touch grass before putting her phone on Do Not Disturb. He sighs heavily and falls back into his chair, slumped in a way that absolutely cannot be good for his back, not that he cares. His mug has run dry when he brings it to his lips, and he silently thanks his caffeine-addicted self for the needed refill and a break to stretch his legs. Who knows, maybe if he drinks enough coffee, he’ll somehow transcend into a different dimension. Then he won’t have to hand in this paper. He’s really just asking for impossible solutions here, isn’t he? It takes approximately two and a half strong cups and a few bites cold leftover sesame chicken for Alex to even feel remotely capable of returning to his laptop. Jesus, his eyes are already starting to sting at the thought of staring at the screen again. He presses his fingers into his eyes beneath his glasses just as his phone buzzes on the counter next to him. He lowers the brightness and squints at the screen. Bromelian. What? Another text comes through: That’s the name of the enzyme. Alex outwardly laughs. He didn’t expect a legitimate response, let alone from Henry. “Is that so?” Alex asks when the call connects, equally as surprised that Henry answered. “Why are you calling me at half one in the morning?” “Why are you answering at half one in the morning?” He mocks. “Just say one-thirty, man, it’s not that complicated.” Henry ignores him. “Have I not told you that I’m the prince of insomniacs?” “I’m pretty sure it got lost in translation. See, from my perspective, you’re the prince of blowjobs.”

tagging @kiwiana-writes @rmd-writes @cha-melodius @orchidscript @indestructibleheart

[nordleuchten]

24 Days of La Fayette – Day 24

After hopelessly falling behind schedule (and honestly, whom was I kidding?) let us have a look at one of La Fayette’s most iconic portraits – the painting showing him in his continental army uniform done by Charles Wilson Peale.

The was commissioned by George Washington and cost 20 Guineas. It is commonly dated to 1779 but Peale used to date his paintings when he started working on them and not when he finished it. And La Fayette’s portrait had to hit a few stops before being finished. Peale wrote to Washington on July 21, 1780:

Dr Genl nothing but dire necessity would have compel’d me to have called on you for any money until the end of the War. but you will allow me to relate to you my situation, as it will be my best appolegy. The House I live in being unexpectedly Sold, I am warned to leave it in a very short time, being unable to get any place to Rent in which I could follow my profession. I have been under the necessity of entering into an Engagement for the purchase of a House. and have promised a payment by the first of next month, in confidence that I shall get it from 3 or 4 Gentlemen for whom, I have done some Bussiness. The portrait of the Marquis is thought very like. yet I hope to emprove it when the Marquis will favor me with another sitting—The other parts of the picture, I will finish with great care without loss of time. I am Dr Genl with great respect you most obedient Humble Servant Cha. Peale The Coppy of your portrait in Miniature five Guineas. The half length of the Marquis de la Fayette. twenty Guineas.

“To George Washington from Charles Willson Peale, 21 July 1780,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-27-02-0193. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 27, 5 July–27 August 1780, ed. Benjamin L. Huggins. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2019, p. 233.] (12/24/2023)

Some time later, on December 12, 1780, Washington wrote to Peale, inquiring after the portrait:

Dr Sir, I perswade my self you will embrace the oppertunity of the Marquis la Fayette’s visit to Philadelphia to give the picture of him the finishing touches. You may not have another oppertunity and I wish for its completion. I am Dr Sir Yr Obedt Servt Go: Washington P.S. as I presume you must be done with my picture of the King of Prussia ’ere this I should be glad to have it returned to me.

“From George Washington to Charles Willson Peale, 12 December 1780,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-29-02-0321. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 29, 28 October–31 December 1780, ed. William M. Ferraro. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2021, pp. 487–489.] (12/24/2023)

Peale replied promptly on December 18, 1780:

I expect that the Marquis will give me a setting tomorrow, I waited on him in the beginning of last Week and found that he was engaged with the other foreugn Officers in taking a View of the several Grounds of battles and Encamptments. My intention is to give you the most compleat portrait I am Capable of painting.

Notes from “From George Washington to Charles Willson Peale, 12 December 1780,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-29-02-0321. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 29, 28 October–31 December 1780, ed. William M. Ferraro. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2021, pp. 487–489.] (12/24/2023)

The last letter regarding this portrait was written by Peale and addressed to Martha Washington on January 16, 1781:

I should be glad to be informed whether the portrait of the King of Prussia has yet reached head quarters: please to acquaint his Excellency that his picture of the Marquis is much aprroved off altho’ not entirely finished, for I have thought proper to ma[k]e an entire change of the back ground.

Notes from “From George Washington to Charles Willson Peale, 12 December 1780,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-29-02-0321. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 29, 28 October–31 December 1780, ed. William M. Ferraro. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2021, pp. 487–489.] (12/24/2023)

It is not known when Peale finally completed the portrait.

There are often some comments that this was not Peale’s peak performance, but something is remarkable about this painting – it does not sugarcoat anything. Many paintings of La Fayette show a very idealised version of him. Peale on the other hand shows us a young, slightly fleshy, red-faced General with a receding hairline.

The portrait was and still is fairly well-known and popular. Washington had it displayed in Mount Vernon’s Front Parlor. It was later moved to a guest room, commonly referred to the “Lafayette room” – the room the Marquis occupied when visiting the Washington’s in 1784. It’s former place in the Front Parlor was then occupied by a large painting of the whole La Fayette-family. It was later given to the Washington and Lee University. The spot in the “Lafayette-room” is now filled with a high-quality reproduction.

Merry Christmas Everybody!

[getmehighonmagic]

Ask me anything: WIP edition!

Hi darlings!

I have so many WIPs in my folders, I even started a new one recently, and I'm kind of working on everything at the same time. I've posted so many snippets for all the Tumblr Tag Games that I feel like it gets kind of confusing which snippet belongs to which story, so I thought I'd give you the chance to ask about a few of them!

In return, I'll answer your question and give you one of my favourite lines from the work you've asked me about (the stories I've only outlined don't have a favourite line yet :')).

Here's a list:

heading straight for your heart (like a bullet in the dark) - FirstMarine | Hurt/Comfort | E | 7.6K so far

Jealous Henry 2 (title tbd) - FirstPrince | PWP | E | 1k so far

Kinktober 2024 - various pairings | PWP | E | 3 prompts written, 11 more outlined/partially written

take me back to San Fancisco - FirstPrince | Soulmates/Love at first sight | E | 5k so far

I need comfort (but I hate being comfortable) - FirstMarine | Hurt/Comfort | E | outlined, one scene written

The Idea Of You AU - Alex/Hayes | Band AU (Alex is a groupie) | E | outlined, 600 words written

Nurse Henry (title tbd) - FirstPrince | Meet Cute | E | outlined

venom in your veins brings me to my knees - FirstPrince | Teacher/Student | E | outlined

Holiday Series 4; St. Patrick's Day - FirstPrince | smut with feelings | E | outlined

Trans!Henry (title tbd) - FirstPrince | friends to lovers to strangers to lovers | E | outlined in detail

I'm really excited about all of them and doing the best I can to get them all on paper, but life got away from me there for a bit, haha! Anyway, send me an ask and I'll try to answer asap ♥

No pressure tags in case anyone wants to do the same thing! @magicandarchery @bigassbowlingballhead @eusuntgratie @sparklepocalypse @kiwiana-writes @happiness-of-the-pursuit @affectionatelyrs @indomitable-love @heybuddy-drabbles @wordsofhoneydew @firenati0n @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @anchoredarchangel @clottedcreamfudge @anincompletelist @cricketnationrise @violetbaudelaire-quagmire @lostcol @matherines @captainjunglegym @thinkof-england @inexplicablymine @three-drink-amy @priincebutt @nocoastposts @littlemisskittentoes @cha-melodius @i-am-freyja @itsmaybitheway @saturntheday @ships-to-sail

[wispisstillverybored67]

(wonderful template idea here.)

"Mm... Oh, hello, Instructor. What, you want to learn about me? Er, heeheehee... Let's see, uh... My mother disappeared when I was 9, and I'm confident she's still alive, b-but I never bothered to look, no reason. And yes, again, I was born looking like this... Heeheehee. Thinking this up on the spot is so difficult."

>Dreaming Herbs: Herbs for people who are often carried away by bitter nostalgia. Will allow them to feel at peace.

Full name: Ozvaldo Noa Sgàthach

Nicknames: Oz (by most), Ozzy-boy (by Iris), Ozpera (by Hapi), Ozzykins (by Dorothea),

Birthday: 6th of the Wyvern Moon (October 6th)

Age: 17

Crest: (major) Crest of Scáthach

Family: Lord Bealtane, unnamed mother (possibly deceased), unnamed uncles, unnamed aunts.

Nationality: Morfithian

Titles: Prince of Ghouls, Quiet Boy, Deformed Creep.

Voice Claim: Shin-ichiro Miki, Armen Taylor

Interests: Cooking, reading

Likes: Going for night walks, mythology, plum jam, his father, magic tools, organ meats, secrets, loose desert clothing, new dishes, pomegranates, his homeland.

Dislikes: Being stared at, bright lights, marmalade, conflations of words, anything tight, putting things in or near his eyes, being alone, discrimination. 

Favorite Meals: Fruit and Herring Tart, Daphnel Stew, Sweet Bun Trio, Gautier Cheese Gratin, Super-Spicy Fish Dango, Onion Gratin Soup.

Liked Meals: Pickled Rabbit Skewers, Gronder Meat Skewers, Sweet and Salty Whitefish Sauté, Fried Crayfish, Cheesy Verona Stew, Pickled Seafood and Vegetables, Small Fish Skewers, Pheasant Roast with Berry Sauce.

Disliked Meals: Peach Sorbet, Vegetable Pasta Salad, Fish and Bean Soup, Saghert and Cream.

Tea Preferences: Tea of the Saints, Crescent Moon Tea, Rose Petal Blend, Ginger Tea, Kelp Tea

Liked Gifts: Tasty Baked Treat, Smoked Meat, Tea Leaves, Pitcher Plant, Ancient Coin

Disliked Gifts: Goddess Statuette, Riding Boots, Ceremonial Sword

Lost Items:

Lavender Invocation

A small paper containing instructions for a spell that calms targets. It probably belongs to an intellectual who has a menacing appearance.

Black Marble Statue

An exquisite looking carving of the patron goddess of Morfis; the Shadowed One, made of a stone extremely rare in Fódlan. It probably belongs to a religious native of that city.

Cosmetics Box

A thick carry-on case containing all sorts of cosmetics and products, highly sought after by the beauty focused. It probably belongs to someone who wants to look less offensive and corpse-like.

Starting Class: Preferred Class Path: Commoner, Monk/Myrmidon, Mage/Dark Mage, Warlock/Dark Bishop, Valkyrie, Mage Knight<>Dark Knight

Strength: Reason, Faith, Authority

Weakness: Axe, Brawling, Riding, Flying

Budding Talent: Riding

Personal Skill: Black Sabbath - Increases the range of Rally skills to all allies in range.

Weapons Starting Levels:

Sword: D Lance: E Axe: E Bow: E Brawling: E Reason: D+ Faith: E+ Authority: D+ Heavy Armor: E Riding: E Flying: E

Base Stats:

HP: 19 Str: 7 Mag: 13 Dex: 6 Spd: 6 Lck: 9 Def: 5 Res: 8 Cha: 1

Learned Faith Spells: Heal, Nosferatu, Seraphim, Recover, Fortify, Aura

Learned Reason Spells: Wind, Blizzard, Ruin α, Thoron, Ragnarok, Fenrir Ψ

Recruit Requirements: Complete Chapter 4, and share a meal with him before he approaches you on a free day.

Potential Supports:

Byleth

Iris

Edelgard

Bernadetta

Ferdinand

Petra

Linhardt

Dorothea

Caspar

Dimitri

Mercedes

Annette

Ashe

Sylvain

Lysithea

Marianne

Leonie

Yuri

Balthus

Constance

Hapi

Catherine

Shamir

Flayn

Crit Quotes:

AAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Dance in the shadows!

Feast your eyes on me!

My lady alone may know...!

A corpse may never leave you!

(Post-timeskip)

The face of a Phantom! Feast your eyes!

Shine, lady of shadow!

SING FOR ME!

Stranger then YOU'D think?!

AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Defeat Quotes:

Queer... I ought to fall back. I don't recall this exhaustion. (pre-timeskip)

Hrmph... Certainly hope this won't draw much attention... (post-timeskip, casual mode)

Heeheehee, ugh... All I ask of you... is to ask if Mama's fine... Oh, Leto... (post-timeskip, classic mode)

A result we were blind to see... Tell me if Leto was okay, Iris... I... miss you... (Ashen Demon, Rivers in the Desert)

Skill Level Increase Quotes:

Bad: Ha? I... see.

Oh, okay. I get it now. (either critique or console)

Good: Hehe.

Great: Yes, yes, this should work.

Perfect: Yes yes yes! Oops. I... apologize, heehee.

You don't mean that... do you?! Hah, I thank you...

Level Up Quotes:

How... ghastly./Sure. Sure. (0-2 stats up)

This will do./This'll do. (3-5 stats up)

Hmm.../Yes, this is nice. (4-6 stats up)

Can I truly rest on this?/It might be okay to rest on this. (6-7 stats up)

Never thought I would see the day.../Suppose I only have my lady to thank. (level 99)

Gift Quotes

Liked Gifts: Oh, uh, thank you. Where did you get this?

Neutral Gifts: (Who put him/her up to this?) How curious. Thank you.

Disliked Gifts: How ghastly. Heeheehee...

[speakingparts]

cantwait!!!!! ❤️⃛῍̻̩✧(´͈ ૢᐜ `͈ૢ)

Official teaser poster for Park Chan-wook's upcoming black comedy thriller film 어쩔수가없다‘

'Set to begin shooting this Saturday, August 17, Park will be adapting Donald E. Westlake’s 1997 novel The Ax, which the legendary Costa-Gavras first adapted in 2005. The black comedy thriller follows a man laid off from the paper company he worked at for 25 years. Some time later and still jobless, he hits on a solution: to genuinely eliminate his competition. Adapted by Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyung-mi (Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, The Truth Beneath), Don McKellar (LAST NIGHT, The Sympathizer), Lee Ja-hye (Decision to Leave, The Handmaiden), the cast includes Lee Byung-hun (A Bittersweet Life, Joint Security Area, I Saw the Devil) Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, Cha Seung-won, and Yoo Yeon-seok.'

source

[flock-from-the-void]

URL song tag game

Guys I love you so much. I saw this tag game and went "omg sounds cool would be nice if someone maybe tagged me" AND I GOT TAGGED T H R E E TIMES!!

Thank you @digital-chance (here) @writeblr-of-my-own (here) @avocado-frog (here)!!

RULES: spell your url with song titles and then tag as many people as there are letters.

I'm absolutely gonna do this three times lol. Another two below the cut <3

Some Cool Songs Version

F – found & lost – Survive Said The Prophet

L – LOST IN PARADISE – ALI, AKLO

O – Oh no! – MARINA

C – Cha Cha Cha – Käärijä

K – Kill the Sun – Motherfolk

F – Full Speed Ahead – Jorge Rivera-Herrans

R – Revenge, And a Little More – Unlike Pluto

O – Ollo – Hans Zimmer

M – Mulan – Lexie Liu

T – Tell It Like It Is – The Arcadian Wild

H – Hameln Wa Donoyounishite Fue Wo Fukunoka – Hello Sleepwalkers

E – Everything Moves – Bronze Radio Return

V – Venus Line – Kohmi Hirose

O – Our Lady of the Underground – Hadestown Original Broadway Cast

I – ivory – TOOBOE

D – Depression Is Here! – Jeremy Blake

16 letters! That's! A lot! Tagging, ofc no pressure!

@chuuyas-beloved

@jelliedoodles

@kamileonik

@ayakashibackstreet

@icedtoastt

@fatexweaver

@rongzhi

@jasperygrace

@anulithots

@theophan-o

@did-i-do-this-write

@fire-but-ashes-too

@gummybugg

@holdmyteaplease

@kaya9q

@afusiek

Other versions below the cut!

Polish Songs Version

F – Fabryka Małp – Lady Pank

L – Lipka – Łysa Góra

O – Otwieram wino (feat. Pezet) – Sidney Polak

C – Czarny chleb i czarna kawa – Strachy Na Lachy

K – Kołysanka dla Nieznajomej – Perfect

F – Fajnie, że jesteś – Wilki

R – Raz po raz (Straszą nas) – Perfect

O – Ogrodu Serce – Daab

M – Minus 10 w Rio – Perfect

T – Trójkąty i Kwadraty – Dawid Podsiadło

H – Hi-Fi – Wanda i Banda

E – Eroll – Wilki

V – Vademecum skauta – Lady Pank

O – Ostatnia Nocka – Yugopolis, Maciek Maleńczuk

I – I nikomu nie wolno się z tego śmiać – Kobranocka

D – Dwa Rzędy Kłów – Jerna

OC Playlists Version

F – Fhear A Bhata (The Boatman) – Silly Wizard

L – LIKE YXU WXULD KNXW (AUTUMN TREES) – Kordhell, Scarlxrd, CORPSE

O – Obiata – Jar

C – Cold Kind Hand – The Paper Kites

K – Killer Queen – Queen

F – Fuck This Shit I'm Out – The Theme Song

R – Requiem – Dear Evan Hansen Original Broadway Cast

O – Ode To Our Soldiers (Jinzhumami Zan) – Xu Jiangde

M – Metaphor – The Crane Wives

T – Tip Toes – half•alive

H – Heat Above – Greta Van Fleet

E – Everything Machine – half•alive

V – Vengeance – Killstation

O – One More Heartache – Peter Frampton Band

I – Infinitesimal – Mother Mother

D – Długość Dźwięku Samotności – Myslovitz

Okay, okay, some of them maybe are from my mood playlist for writing. There are, like, four song titles starting with O ever made, I had to get creative.

[firsttraintovictoriaville]

Just Leave a Comment Winter 2023 Totals

two days late but better than never!

Total comments left: 55

Fandoms read from (in no particular order): Merlin, MyScene Dolls, Harry Potter, Miss USA (Webseries), Avatar: The Last Airbender, Ted Lasso, Winx Club, Xmen Evolution, Succession, Sense and Sensibility, Law and Order: SVU, The Vampire Diaries-TV, The Vampire Diaries- Books, Justice League Unlimited, Smallville, Hawaii 5-0, Yugioh, Littlewood, Rise of the Guardians/Frozen, School 2013, Romance Is A Bonus Book, Aggretsuko, Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food, Teen Titans

Now for some fanfic recs for every day of the fest (disclaimer: I truly loved every single fic I read for the fest and if asked, I am more than happy to give out links to every single one of them)

Day 1: First Fandoms: Dedicated To... by MissHyperbole (MyScene Dolls, G, 1,173 words, Barbie/River)

"The bass player dedicated a song to me! But then we saw him giving his number to another girl."

Barbie and River have a moment at the 11c gig.

I adored this fic so much, it felt exactly like reading a MyScene webisode. The River/Barbie plotline was also my fave from the CD-ROM game and this just brought me back to that game quest with Barbie tying that red string around her finger and tracking down dog tags.

Day 2: Bookmark Day: The Poet's House by spacewitchbot (Romance Is A Bonus Book, E, 4,467 words, Cha Eunho/Kang Dani)

Cha Eun-ho slid a tiny piece of paper across the table to Dan-i. She unfolded it and read the note. “Marry me, Kang Dan-i,” he’d written.

She looked up at him with a smirk and shook her head, just enough for him to see. Nearly everyone had filed out of the room. He smiled and turned away, saying nothing more. But, he noticed as he glanced back, she hadn’t crumpled the paper. She folded the note neatly and tucked it in her notebook.

This fic felt so much like watching the drama. If you finished the drama and wanted to settle into the post canon world a bit before re-watching then this is the fic for you. The first chapter especially!! All of the Gyeroo employees together was just ahhh!!! so so so much like their interactions on screen

Day 3: Old Favorites: An Unexpected Attachment by umbrafix (Sense and Sensibility, G, 11,532 words, Colonel Brandon/Elinor Dashwood)

While Marianne was ill at Cleveland, Colonel Brandon was everything that was kind and attentive to Elinor.

Re-reading this fic (and commenting on it finally after reading it two years ago at least when I first finished S&S, eek!) reminded me of how much I loved Colonel Brandon and Elinor and how much I need more of them all the damn time. umbrafix's writing style pairs perfectly with Austen's and this fic was so good and scratched all the right places in my brain that if S&S had played out like this fic then maybe it would top Northanger Abbey as my fave Austen

Day 4: Fandom Curiosity: Dark But Just A Game by linnycarol (Succession, E, 3,952 words, Gerri Kellman/Roman "Romulus" Roy)

Gerri spends Fourth of July weekend with the Roy family and sparks fly between her and Roman.

This fic accomplished the goal of fandom curiosity and seeing Succession on my dash and making me finally want to watch the show. It was such a well done fic with spice and tenderness and realism. I can't wait to watch Succession, finish Succession, and then go back and read this fic with the knowledge of the canon

Day 5: Rec A Fic aka I Used This As A Free Day: party of one (party of none) by uncut (deadwine) (Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food, G, 540 words, Yoon Jinah)

Jinah searches for everything the day takes away from her in the night.

This fic was a treat for the senses. Every detail brought me into Jinah's world alongside her. It was an excellent character introspection that was so beautiful and poignant to read. If you have yet to watch Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food AKA Something In The Rain if you're searching for it on Netflix, I highly highly recommend reading this fic before watching because it captures Jinah's feelings at the start of the show so well.

[beardedmrbean]

Last Friday Finland's electricity market was turned upside down when a Norwegian energy firm erroneously offered huge amounts of non-existent electricity on the Nordpool market.

That forced the spot price down as low as -50 cents, meaning that any consumer on a spot price contract was able to make money just by turning on their household appliances.

Happy days for the end user, but energy market participants were less than pleased.

Financial daily Kauppalehti takes a very serious look at the problem in an editorial, suggesting that the Nordic countries might need to introduce an emergency brake mechanism to flatten out peaks and troughs in energy prices in the future.

The energy price is calculated each day by Nordpool, after it takes in bids from energy producers based on what they expect to produce and matches that against the expected demand.

In other parts of Europe the market holds a 'Second auction' if the prices are too low or too high. That allows producers to offer more or less energy once they see what the price is likely to be, thereby raising or lowering it.

In the Nordics that doesn't happen, even though it was proposed in 2015. KL suggests that might be because energy producers primarily thought about the possible reductions in price it might bring when prices would otherwise be high.

They preferred to rely on market mechanisms forcing reductions in consumption, and never really considered what might happen if there was a mistake and they had to source electricity to sell at a loss — as happened on Friday.

School dinner waste reductions

Aamulehti has a look at moves by Tampere region municipalities to reduce food waste in daycare centres and schools.

This food is produced by Pirkanmaan Voimia, a company owned by several councils in the area. They had noticed that a lot of food was getting thrown away, and asked schools and daycare centres to try and reduce their orders to reflect the amounts that are actually consumed.

Institutions can assume a certain level of absences based on sickness and other issues, and getting better at predicting those means there is less food thrown away after lunch.

Since the food waste drive started in 2022 orders have reduced by some 4-8 percent, depending on the institution.

That has caused some issues as most schools allow children to serve their food themselves from the lunch counter.

When popular foods are on offer, like fish fingers or similar, food can run out, according to Tampere's head of basic education Kristiina Järvelä.

"There is a recommended portion size, but there's always someone who takes 25 meatballs even though the order is based on 5 meatballs each," says Järvelä. "There is however always backup food [in the school's kitchen], so nobody is left hungry."

It's crazy, it's rental

Helsingin Sanomat reports on a new addition to Helsinki's holiday rental scene: the studio apartment that was home to Eurovision star Käärijä before he was famous.

Located in the rough and ready northern suburb of Malmi, the flat is decked out in Käärijä's trademark green and decorated with a painting of the man himself in his iconic bolero.

The advert text even uses the artist's trademark, endearing Finglish.

"Have you ever think how I live once in Malmi? Now you can come and feel yourself how it feels. Yes Yes I know you will like," reads the description.

This unique experience does not come cheap, however: HS reports that the price for an upcoming weekend would be 764 euros per night.

Käärijä himself (real name Jere Pöyhönen) was granted a rental apartment in Vantaa free of charge for one year as a recognition of his Eurovision achievements, allowing his former home to become a city break destination.

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 11, 2024

Routing states transition during oscillatory bursts and attentional selection. Banaie Boroujeni, K., & Womelsdorf, T. (2023). Neuron, 111(18), 2929-2944.e11.

Sensory tuning in neuronal movement commands. Baumann, M. P., Bogadhi, A. R., Denninger, A. F., & Hafed, Z. M. (2023). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(38), e2305759120.

Prior information differentially affects discrimination decisions and subjective confidence reports. Constant, M., Pereira, M., Faivre, N., & Filevich, E. (2023). Nature Communications, 14, 5473.

Identifying social partners through indirect prosociality: A computational account. Davis, I., Carlson, R., Dunham, Y., & Jara-Ettinger, J. (2023). Cognition, 240, 105580.

Paradigm constraints on moral decision‐making dynamics. Gautheron, F., Quinton, J., Muller, D., & Smeding, A. (2023). Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 36(4), e2324.

Influences of local and global context on local orientation perception. Huang, J., Zhou, Y., & Tzvetanov, T. (2023). European Journal of Neuroscience, 58(6), 3503–3517.

Visual attention to features and space in mice using reverse correlation. Lehnert, J., Cha, K., Halperin, J., Yang, K., Zheng, D. F., Khadra, A., … Krishnaswamy, A. (2023). Current Biology, 33(17), 3690-3701.e4.

Neural population dynamics of human working memory. Li, H.-H., & Curtis, C. E. (2023). Current Biology, 33(17), 3775-3784.e4.

Age effects on delay discounting across the lifespan: A meta-analytical approach to theory comparison and model development. Lu, J., Yao, J., Zhou, Z., & Wang, X. T. (XiaoTian). (2023). Psychological Bulletin, 149(7–8), 447–486.

Composite receptive fields in the mouse auditory cortex. Lu, S., Ang, G. W. Y., Steadman, M., & Kozlov, A. S. (2023). Journal of Physiology, 601(18), 4091–4104.

Interpreting the retinal neural code for natural scenes: From computations to neurons. Maheswaranathan, N., McIntosh, L. T., Tanaka, H., Grant, S., Kastner, D. B., Melander, J. B., … Baccus, S. A. (2023). Neuron, 111(17), 2742-2755.e4.

The formation and revision of intuitions. Meyer, A., & Frederick, S. (2023). Cognition, 240, 105380.

Multifaceted information-seeking motives in children. Molinaro, G., Cogliati Dezza, I., Bühler, S. K., Moutsiana, C., & Sharot, T. (2023). Nature Communications, 14, 5505.

A robust and compact population code for competing sounds in auditory cortex. Nocon, J. C., Witter, J., Gritton, H., Han, X., Houghton, C., & Sen, K. (2023). Journal of Neurophysiology, 130(3), 775–787.

Endogenous fluctuations in cortical state selectively enhance different modes of sensory processing in human temporal lobe. Parajuli, A., Gutnisky, D., Tandon, N., & Dragoi, V. (2023). Nature Communications, 14, 5591.

Action initiation and punishment learning differ from childhood to adolescence while reward learning remains stable. Pauli, R., Brazil, I. A., Kohls, G., Klein-Flügge, M. C., Rogers, J. C., Dikeos, D., … Lockwood, P. L. (2023). Nature Communications, 14, 5689.

Homo indifferencus: Effects of unavailable options on preference construction. Polman, E., & Stough, R. A. (2023). Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 36(4), e2326.

The value of control. Reis, M., Pfister, R., & Schwarz, K. A. (2023). Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 36(4), e2325.

The spatial and temporal structure of neural activity across the fly brain. Schaffer, E. S., Mishra, N., Whiteway, M. R., Li, W., Vancura, M. B., Freedman, J., … Axel, R. (2023). Nature Communications, 14, 5572.

Network controllability of structural connectomes in the neonatal brain. Sun, H., Jiang, R., Dai, W., Dufford, A. J., Noble, S., Spann, M. N., … Scheinost, D. (2023). Nature Communications, 14, 5820.