#this could be an epic piece and then it's just like...a minute long

[tkwrites]

Can I Come See You? - Quinn Hughes x OFC

gif from gabelandeskog

Title: Can I Come See You?

Author: Tory / @tkwrites 

Relationship: Pre-established: Quinn Hughes x Sarah Roberts

Summary: After a rough game, Quinn seeks out comfort from Sarah. 

Warnings: some suggestive themes, swearing, other than that, it’s 98% fluff.

Word count: 4,600

Comments: I know I’ve been teasing the family reunion snapshot for a while now, but with all the heavy emotions September brings, I just haven’t been able to finish it. When this ask came in, I started writing right away, wanting some comfort myself. I’ve loved revisiting the beginning of Quinn & Sarah’s relationship while writing this Snapshot. 

Thank you, thank you, and thank you gain for your support and love! I have found such a lovely community here, and I’m so thankful. Even in this radio silence while I’ve been slogging through my grief, everyone has been so kind and supportive.  

If you enjoyed this Snapshot, please consider commenting, reblogging, or sending in an ask about it. I love seeing what you think of Quinn & Sarah’s latest adventures.

Anonymous asked: Quinn gives cuddler energy 1000000% After a game, especially when they played bad and lost/gave up a lead. Immediately wanting Sarah cuddles to make him feel better. Do you think he ever went to hers after a game, giving Eunice a heart attack in the early days. Or did they mostly hang at his?

Can I come see you? 

A Quinn & Sarah Snapshot

If it wasn’t a Friday night, he wouldn’t have even asked. But it was, and he knew Sarah didn’t have to be up early the next day. And they’d lost. Epically. 

Midway through the third, they’d given up a three goal lead. On a power play no less. He’d, thankfully, only been on the ice for one. He didn’t know what he’d do if he’d given up more than one short handed goal in a two-minute span.

There was another game the next day, the third in four days, and he knew he really should go home and go to sleep. But Toch had canceled practice the next morning, and he was upset and feeling restless and just wanted to see her. 

It had been a long time since he’d felt this longing to be with someone and actually had someone he could go to. He called his parents, but there was still a gap there, telling him something was still missing. He wanted a more physical kind of comfort.

It was a miserable night, and Quinn thought seeing Sarah might make him feel a little better. He’d never asked her something like this. Hoping she wouldn’t mind, he fired off a text.

Sarah was in her room after the game – after an awful game – when Quinn texted. 

Can I come see you? 

Her heart leapt into her throat.

Quinn had never sent a text like this before, and she wasn't totally sure what it meant.  

He wouldn't come here to initiate comfort sex, right? That would be crazy. Her roommates were home. 

Maybe he just wanted…she had no idea what he wanted, but he'd respected every boundary she'd thrown at him so far, so she responded. Sure. Let me know when you’re here, and I’ll come let you in. 

Though they hadn’t slept together yet, she was thinking about it a lot, and they'd made out. She'd even let him take off her bra a few days before. Just thinking about that night — the reverent way he'd touched her, like she was a priceless piece of art, and the croaked, pleasured noise he’d groaned into her neck when their dry humping culminated in him coming in his pants — still made her thoughts buzz.

He asked for her address. 

She’d forgotten he’d never been to her apartment before. Not inside, at least. He’d dropped her off several times, but it was always at the end of a date, and at least one of her roommates was usually home, so it’s not like she would invite him up. Also, it seemed silly to go from his lovely penthouse to inviting him up to her little apartment. If they were going to do anything, it wouldn’t be here. 

My roommates are home, just so you know, she sent, not wanting to set unrealistic expectations. 

He reacted with a thumbs up. 

Normally, she would warn them she was having someone over, but telling Eunice Quinn was coming over would only give her more time to wind herself up. So Sarah stayed in her room until he texted that he was downstairs and slipped by her roommates without giving an explanation. 

When she opened the large glass door to her building, he was standing off to the side, hands shoved in his pockets and his head hanging forward, as if it were just a little too heavy to hold up. 

“Hey,” she said quietly, not wanting to startle him.

He still jumped a little, but when he met her eyes, he smiled — genuinely — as if he was just glad to see her. 

Her heart fluttered.

“Come on in.” Taking his hand, she pulled him into the elevator, which was, thankfully, still on the ground floor. They only went up five levels before she got off and led him down the hall, and scanned through door 538. 

Her roommates were on the couch watching an episode of Friends. 

They looked over, and one of them yelped before slapping her hand over her mouth. She continued to make muffled noise, her wide eyes darting between Quinn and Sarah. 

“This is Quinn,” Sarah introduced, though it felt perfunctory. They both knew who he was. “And this is Eunice,” she said, gesturing to her, “she’s a big fan and a little bit excitable.” 

Quinn recognized her. She was the one who screamed when he’d knocked on the glass at Sarah’s first game. Her brown hair, which was more frizz than curl, was pushed back with a headband. She was still wearing a jersey – Petey’s, thankfully – from watching the game. 

“And this is Jane.” 

She was tall and willowy, with pale eyes and a thick, dark blonde braid. 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Jane said, standing up and offering her hand to shake.

Quinn grasped it, managing to pull a smile onto one half of his mouth. 

Eunice stood and followed suit, though he got the distinct impression that were they anywhere else with anyone else, she would be asking for a hug. “I can’t believe you’re in our house right now.” Her voice actually squeaked when she said it. 

“It’s nice to meet you,” he said, not quite managing to pull full sincerity into his voice. Though he did feel it, he was too tired and too miserable to mask the disappointment. 

Eunice finally seemed to get over the shock of Quinn Hughes being in her living room. Leaning her butt on the armrest of the couch, she said, “tough break tonight.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. 

“Here, we can go in my room.” 

When Sarah’s hand slipped into his, his heart did an embarrassing little flutter. Hoping it didn’t show on his face, he followed her down the hall. 

He'd forgotten what it was like to move into a blank slate of an apartment. All the places he'd rented since moving to Vancouver were furnished, including curated, so-neutral-it-wasn’t-interesting artwork. Sarah’s apartment looked like a home - framed photos and unique paintings on the walls. 

Her room was simple. There was a full bed tucked under the window that overlooked the street and a desk. There wasn’t room for much else. A quark board above her desk was filled with photos of who he assumed was her family. Half a dozen babies with her same bright blue eyes or chocolate colored hair. He noticed the warm up puck he'd given her sitting on her desk, bracing the pages of a textbook open to an anatomical drawing of a seahorse. 

She sat on the bed. It was either the bed or her office chair, and they couldn't both fit on the chair.  

“What's up?” she asked after a minute or so of him looking around her room, his hands in his pockets. He was in his suit, a rain jacket over it against the wet, misty night, and had a knit hat pulled over his hair.

His eyes snapped to her. Something about seeing her in leggings and a loose t shirt, sitting on her blue and green patchwork quilt, made him ache. Longing bloomed in him to see her this comfortable somewhere where they could be together. Not together like this; together permanently. The thought stuck in his mind. Had he ever felt that way about someone before?

“I just wanted to see you,” he admitted, shoulders dropping.

“Oh.” The sincerity in his voice took her by surprise. The fact that he wanted to see her on a hard night sent a giddy, effervescent shiver through her. 

She patted the mattress, and relieved, he sunk down next to her. 

Sarah pulled his rain jacket off, throwing it over her office chair before asking, “this too?” as her fingers tucked under the collar of his suit coat. 

Usually, he would have shrugged it off as soon as he'd pulled away from the arena, but he'd been driving in the general direction of Yaletown, breathlessly waiting for Sarah’s reply.  

Nodding, he pushed his shoulders back so she could pull it off. 

She folded it much more deliberately than he usually did, matching the shoulders and making sure the arms were flat before draping it over his jacket. 

“You okay?” she asked, her hand traveling up and down his back. 

Her gentle touch and the sound of her voice sent a pang of relief through him. 

Experiencing Sarah sharing her emotions with him so openly somehow made it easier to reciprocate and trust she wasn't going to dismiss his or throw them back in his face later. 

He shook his head.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don't even want to think about it,” he said, leaning forward and raking his fingers into his hair.

Not quite sure what he meant, her hand paused on it’s journey smoothing over the soft material of his dress shirt. 

“Can we…” he glanced over at her. In the light from her desk lamp, his eyes were the color of cognac. “Can we lay down?”

Her lips pursed. It wasn’t that they hadn’t cuddled before. They had, but she still wasn’t exactly sure what it was that he wanted. 

“I just want to hold you,” he finally admitted. The vulnerability of saying it out loud knotted his stomach.

Her heart did a giddy little dance in her chest, and she barely held herself back from asking, really?  

“Sure,” she said instead, although it still came out a little breathy. “You've gotta take off your shoes, though.” 

As he toed off the sneakers, she scooted back, so she was laying nearest the window. 

He lay next to her. They stayed that way, side by side for a minute before Sarah asked, “how do you...?”

Extending his arm, he patted his side, inviting her to snuggle into him. She accepted readily, pressing her body to his. Really, he wanted her to hold him, but he felt a little too vulnerable to ask for that. 

A deep sigh let go as her hand rested on his chest. It had taken more than six months for him to feel this comfortable with June, for him to even think about asking her for comfort.  It was amazing to him that things with Sarah were so much easier. 

“What do you need?” she asked, tracing one of his buttons. 

Emotion threatened to choke his reply. Taking a moment to swallow it down, he tried to remember the last time someone had asked him that not related to improving his on-ice performance. Nothing immediately came to mind.

“Can you just talk?”

“About what?”

“Anything. Tell me about your roommates.”

“Well, Jane is a pediatric nurse. She works in the BC Children’s ER.” 

He let out a low whistle. 

“Yeah. It’s a rough gig sometimes, but she really loves it. She's actually headed to work in a few hours.”

He glanced at his watch, “at midnight?” 

“She works a lot of graveyards. 3 to 3 or midnight to noon. She coaches a youth lacrosse league on the weekends.”

“Really?” He felt Sarah nod. “My mom played lacrosse. She put all of us in it, too.” 

“Did you like it?” 

He shrugged, “I like hockey better.”

“Good thing you stuck with it, then.”

A breath of a laugh escaped through his nose.

“And Eunice is studying biomedical engineering. She’s on track to get her PhD.”

“Really?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“I don't know,” he shrugged. “She just seems so…I mean, excitable like you said.”

“Oh, she's just dedicated to everything she does. She has a 4.0. I think it'd actually be higher if the scale didn't stop there. She does everything like that, you know? Doesn’t matter if it’s school or being a fan. She’s always 110% in. I don’t think she knows how to do anything halfway.” 

He hmm’d.

Falling into a companionable silence, Quinn sighed. He’d been looking for this his kind of comfort with another person his entire life. The first time he’d really felt it was on their first date, and it was a revelation. Each time it happened since then, it became a little less awkward. They might well be on their way to sharing the kind of quiet moments he used to see his parents have. Sitting together on the couch reading, or folding laundry together, or watching TV, just happy to be with each other. The idea of it made his chest feel buoyant enough to float away.

“How did you meet them?” 

“Eunice was advertising for someone new to move in on the school housing board. Their old roommate, Jenny, was getting married. So, I met them and saw the place, and it just worked out.” 

“Just like that?” 

“I guess?”

“I’ve never done that before.”

“What?” 

“Interviewed to be a roommate. I’ve always lived with teammates.”

“Not all of us have a built-in best friend squad.”

He snorted, and Sarah smiled. 

They eased into another quiet moment, and Quinn felt his eyelids grow heavy.

“Do you need anything?” she asked. 

“Hmm?” 

“Like, do you need anything to eat?” 

“I ate at the arena,” he said, “but I wouldn't mind something to drink.” 

As she pushed herself up and he resisted the urge to pull her back down. “What do you want? I have water, cranberry juice, or Ginger ale. I have some rum if you need something stronger, or I could make you some tea.” 

“I can't have caffeine this late. It’ll fuck up my sleep schedule.” Truth be told, it was probably already fucked just by him being here, but he didn’t want to inflict any more damage. 

She smiled, “I have peppermint, or a caffeine free maple that's really tasty as a latte.” 

“That sounds nice.”

“Okay. Do you want milk or almond milk?” 

“Almond, please.” 

“You got it.” As she crawled over him to get to the edge of the bed, she leaned down to press a gentle kiss to his lips. 

His mouth was still buzzing when she left the room. 

Eunice came into the kitchen as Sarah was filling the kettle. “What are you doing?” she whispered as if Quinn might hear them from down the hall. 

“Making tea,” Sarah said in her normal tone. 

She could tell Eunice wanted to start interrogating her and pointedly looked the other way. She’d be happy to talk, but not while he was still here. Getting Eunice started on a conversation like that required a certain amount of commitment, and Sarah wasn’t willing to rehash the night until it was over.

She stayed in the kitchen, watching Sarah start the kettle on the stove and pour milk into the frother. 

“I can bring this to you when it’s done.” 

“You’re sure?” 

“Yeah. Go be with Quinn. He looked like he needed some time with you. I’ll be in in a few.” 

“Okay.” 

As she walked back down the hall, she heard Eunice mutter something about getting Quinn to play better tomorrow.

Sarah winced, wondering if he was ever allowed to be human before being an athlete. 

Quinn looked up from his phone when Sarah came back in the room empty-handed. “No tea?” he asked, hoping his tone came off teasing. It was surprising to him she could start something and not finish it. 

Leaving the door cracked open, she got back on the bed and crawled over him, “Eunice offered to bring it in. It takes our stove ages to boil water.” 

He pulled her into him as soon as she got to his other side. As she bounced against him, she giggled, and it dissipated some of the angsty weight he’d been carrying around since the game ended. 

She snuggled up to him again, working her left arm under his back. He arched until her hand brushed his ribs.

“That’s okay?” he asked, settling back down. 

“Yeah.”

Though half of it was tied up, he threaded his fingers into the hair at the nape of her neck, then ran them through the soft strands. She made a contented little noise, so he did it again, just glad to be touching her. 

“Thank you for this,” he said, voice quiet. 

“For what?” 

“For letting me come over. For,” he moved so he could wrap his arm around her, squeezing her a little bit closer. 

“Hey, if cuddling makes you feel better, I’m always down,” she said, nuzzling her cheek into his shoulder. This kind of casual affection was what she missed most every time she broke up with all of her exes. Not to mention, she got so little physical touch being away from her family.

He chuckled, and it ended in a sigh. 

His free hand found hers, and he slotted their fingers together. 

“I really like you, Sarah.” 

“I really like you, too, Quinn,” she said, tipping her head back so she could see his face. From this angle, his nose was more pronounced. She had to resist the urge to pull her hand from his so she could run her finger down the ridge of it to feel the prominent bump. 

Sensing her stare, he turned his head, bringing their lips dangerously close. It only took a bit of stretching on Sarah’s part to bring them together. 

When he felt Sarah strain toward him again, he rolled onto his side to shorten the distance between them. Her hand stayed on his chest, and their kisses remained sweet, though the adjusted position allowed for a little more tongue, which he wasn’t mad about.

This was much softer than anything they'd done so far. It was nice to know they could just be here: not rushing to get undressed or into something more intense and physical. 

She loved this kind of lazy, slow kissing, but found it didn’t usually come until much later in a relationship, after all the first physical stuff was out of the way. To be kissing - making out without really making out - like this before they’d even had sex felt like a gift. Feeling his fingers run into her hair, bringing her face just that little bit closer to his Sarah sighed.

The way her chin moved in and out as they kissed, matching the rhythm of her tongue brushing his, lulled his body into a state of deeper relaxation than he’d felt all evening.

Pulling away just enough, she whispered, “you’re a really good kisser.” 

A zing of pleasure shivered through his brain and all the way down Quinn's spine.

 “Thanks,” he breathed, easing back to see her face. 

He gazed into her eyes for a few moments longer, trying to calm his thoughts. Once he was over the initial daze her compliment brought on, he realized he should probably say something else. Instead of blurting out the, I like being good for you, that popped into his mind, he said, “you make it easy to be.”

When she shyly thanked him as her cheeks pinked, he felt like he'd swallowed the sun. 

Unable to resist anymore, Sarah reached up to trace her finger down the bridge of his nose. “How did you break it?” 

“The first time, Jack punched me in the face in an intense game of mini sticks.”

“Mini sticks?”

“It’s like…” How did he explain this to someone who’d never played? “It’s like indoor, carpet hockey. You use these little plastic sticks and a ball, usually. We used to play in the basement. My mom talks about how we played so hard, we would shake the whole house.”

“That’s some serious competition if you’re getting your nose broken.” 

A breath of a laugh huffed out of him. “I deserved it. I was goading him on pretty bad, and he didn’t really know his own strength. I can still see the horror on his face when the blood started pouring.” 

She resumed stroking, her touch feather light and gentle, “how many times have you broken it?” 

“Three.” Quinn never thought he’d like someone touching him like this, but with Sarah, he found it comforting instead of irritating. It was like she just wanted to know every part of him. “The other two were pucks to the face.”

She winced. “That sounds painful. Those pucks are way heavier than I thought.” 

“It’s not fun,” he said. “Thankfully, the adrenaline is still pumping, so it doesn’t really hurt until after the game is over.” 

“You kept playing with a broken nose?” 

Nodding, he laughed, “they strap on a full face shield, and send you back out there.” 

An incredulous, protective look took over her face that Quinn instantly loved. 

“Don’t worry. They do concussion testing and reset it if it needs it before.” 

“That’s just…really?” 

He nodded.

“I keep seeing all these memes about how tough hockey players are, and I always thought they were kind of exaggerated.” 

“It’s a tough sport,” he said. “My goal is always to be swift enough on my feet to not get involved with the harsh stuff, but sometimes a puck just redirects, and bam, your nose is broken again.” 

The kettle whistled. 

As if by an unspoken rule, they pulled back from each other. Sarah’s hand dropped back to his chest. 

A minute later, Eunice gently hipped open Sarah's door, carrying a tray with two steaming mugs and the whole milk frothing machine. “I figured it would be easier for you to froth in here,” she said, setting the tray down on Sarah's desk. 

As she backed out of the room, she widened her eyes and quirked her brows a few times, giving Sarah a look that plainly said, you have a cute, famous boy in your bed, and we're going to discuss everything as soon as he’s gone. 

“Thanks, Eunice,” Sarah said through a tight smile, hoping Quinn hadn’t seen. 

“Sure thing,” she said before softly clicking the door shut.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a tea latte,” Quinn said as he rolled onto his back so Sarah could crawl over him again. The urge to pull her on top of him by her hips was so strong that he had to curl his fingers into the quilt. 

“Really?” she asked, plugging the frother into the outlet by her nightstand. 

He shrugged. 

The machine whirred to life.

“It’s good. I like it at night. The warm milk kind of puts me to sleep.” 

When it was done, she divided the creamy concoction into the two mugs and brought one to Quinn. 

“This is okay?” he asked, gesturing to the bed. 

“Yeah.” There wasn’t anywhere else they could go. If he spilled tea on her sheets, she’d just have him help her change them. 

Sarah sat opposite him, knees bent, her bare feet between his socked ones. 

Their eyes met over their mugs, and Quinn smiled. “This is really good, thank you,” he said, gently tapping her leg with his toe. 

“You’re welcome. I’m glad you came over.” 

“Are you still up for the game tomorrow?” 

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m planning on it.”

“And you’ll stay so I can take you home?”

She nodded. “Are you flying out again after that?”

He sighed, “yeah. On Sunday. We fly out to Dallas, play them on Monday, and then go to Colorado to play on Wednesday, and then I’ll be home for a week on Thursday afternoon.”

“I’m glad it’s not too long this time.”

“Me too.” A yawn split his face. He apologized, holding a fist over his mouth.

Shaking her head, Sarah said, “you’ve had a long day.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, downing the rest of the tea. “I should probably get home and get to sleep.”

While he pulled on his sneakers, Sarah set her latte aside and slipped on some sandals. 

Rain was pounding against the glass fronted lobby when they got downstairs. Looking down at herself, Sarah said, “I’d walk you to your car, but I’m not really dressed for it.”

Half of his mouth lifted in an indulgent smile, “that’s okay.” Gathering her against him, he breathed in the smokey smell of her perfume to fortify himself for the dash into the rain and the drive home. “Thank you again.”

Her hands slid under his suit coat, pulling him more tightly against her, “you’re welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, pulling back to look into his face. 

“Tomorrow,” he agreed, leaning down to kiss her. They were in public, so he knew he shouldn’t linger, but he did anyway, savoring her mouth as the last thing he’d taste that night. 

“Let me know when you get home, yeah?” she asked when they parted. 

He nodded, and she watched him jog away before heading back upstairs. 

Eunice was waiting in the entryway for her and immediately grabbed her hand. “Tell us everything,” she said, excitedly pulling Sarah down the hall to the bathroom where Jane was re-braiding her hair for work. 

Before she sat in the hallway outside the bathroom, Sarah got her unfinished tea. As she sipped, she explained how he ended up there. 

Both women awed when she recounted Quinn telling her he just wanted to hold her. Eunice broke in when Sarah got to the part about making tea.

“Jane, it was so cute. I walked by, and they’re cuddling. Then, when I came back, they were kissing. Like that soft movie kind of kissing - it looked so dreamy. Then when I walked by again –” 

“Why were you walking by so much?” Sarah demanded. 

Eunice didn't even blush, “I had to get my blanket.”

“And it took you two trips to do it?” 

“I forgot what I was getting the first time and had to come back to the living room to remember.” 

“Right,” Sarah deadpanned. 

“Anyway,” she said in an over-exaggerated tone, “when I walked by again, she was petting his nose.”

“Oh my god,” Sarah exclaimed, “I am never bringing him over here again. He’s going to think you’re some kind of psychopathic stocker for walking by all the time.”

“Oh, he had no idea I was even there,” Eunice said. “He was way too busy longingly gazing at you, Ms. Roberts. I don’t think he would have even noticed me if I was stomping down the hall like a t-rex.”

“He was pretty enraptured,” Jane said. 

“You too?” 

“I had to go to the bathroom. Mine was legitimate.”

“Oh my fucking hell,” Sarah moaned. 

“Why were you touching his nose?” 

“I asked him how he broke it.” Sarah smiled at the floor. “And I like his nose.”

Eunice snorted, “of course you do.” 

Cutting off Sarah’s incredulous look, Jane asked, “what was the best part?”

All of it, she wanted to say. The fact that he came over at all. That he just wanted to cuddle, the kissing… 

“He was really sweet. I told him he was a good kisser and he just looked into my eyes for a while before he goes, ‘you make it easy to be.’” 

“Oh my gosh,” Jane gushed, “really? That is such a good answer.”

“Will you just fuck him already?” 

Sarah let out a surprised cough, and Eunice continued, “I think he’s proven he’s not just in it for the sex.”

“I think I knew that from the start.”

“So why are you waiting so long to jump him?” 

“Eunice,” Jane admonished, “Sarah can take however long she likes to take that step.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Eunice said dismissively, flapping her hands, “I just want to know what he’s like in bed.”

“Oh my god,” Sarah said, dropping her head into her hands. “I am never discussing my sex life with you.”

“Yes you will.” 

“No. I won't.” 

“You will,” Eunice said with a quirk of her brows. “You've told us everything else so far. I don't think you'll be able to resist.”

“You’re unhinged, you know that?” 

“That’s why you love me.”

Laughing, Sarah had to admit she was right.  

Want more Quinn & Sarah? Check out the Snapshots Masterlist

To read all my fics, check out the Fanfiction Masterlist

[b3ach-bunn7]

LATE NIGHTS AND STAR-CROSSED MARGINS

Jason Todd is the most beautiful boy in your lecture. Luckily, fate lands you a seat next to him

college!au, fluff, pining, happy ending

——————————————————————

This has to be some form of epic karma.

You’ve never been late to a lecture before. At least, not this late, where you’re sure Professor Levine will not hesitate to slam the two double doors in his face when you eventually make it there.

You’d overslept horrifically. After a night spent with your roommates over board games and shitty wine in cracked mugs, you’d been too tired to remember to turn on your alarms. You didn’t regret it. It was hard to find time to spend together, and even if it was just a couple of hours of UNO, it was nice to catch up. Unfortunately, the drinks your friend Wendy had kept pouring into your mug had lulled you into the best sleep you had in a while. Which, unfortunately, was interrupted by a confused knock on your door, a concerned friend wondering why you were still in bed so late.

Now, without a shower and the outfit you’d worn yesterday, you were practically running to the hall to try to make it in time. Feverishly checking your phone, watching the minutes go by, as you finally stop outside the doors.

You pause for a second. Do you knock? Just walk in? Professor Levine wasn’t necessarily strict. He’d never kicked anyone out before, but you’d never seen him angry. Would he even be angry? You didn’t know. God, you were being so dramatic.

You push open the door. Immediately, a couple dozen eyes lock on you, dishevelled and anxious at the door. You could die. Really and truly, just drop down on the floor and die. You glance at the professor. He just nods slightly, and you take that as a sign you’re in the clear. You start walking to your seat, relief flooding your veins, to see that it’s taken.

Your second dosage of karma. You’re not sure what you’ve done to deserve such cruel treatment. You sat in the same seat every say. Far enough front the front that you didn't get picked on, and far enough from the back that it didn’t look like you were hiding from Levine. You quickly scan the room and see the only spare seat is right at the very back. Right next to Jason Todd.

You knew who he was. Everybody in your literature class did, everybody at your university did. He was six foot tall, with hair that curled perfectly over his brown eyes, and a body that looked like it had been carved by the gods. As if that wasn’t enough, he was also nice. Boys that attractive were usually paired with a big ego and an obnoxious personality, but he had neither. He kept to himself, was polite and respectful. Jason Todd was like every guy you’d spent hours reading about and analysing for your English classes, the perfect man in every way.

Which, of course, meant he was also horrifically out of your league.

You take the awkwardly long walk to the back. You drop your things on the floor, and sit down. He flashes you a small smile and your knees feel weak. You hope the one you give him back makes you look normal. You fiddle around with your things, bring out your laptop and books, and sigh.

Crisis averted. You made it in one piece. You tap the power on button, turning your laptop to face you. Wait a little bit. And nothing.

It's out of charge.

You tap furiously on the button, as if it will somehow make something happen.

“Fucking shit.” You whisper, digging in your bag for the charger, that you know is not there.

You feel eyes on you, and you look to your side. Jason is watching you, an amused smile gracing his lips. You feel heat rise to your cheeks and you look away.

“Sorry, I just- I forgot my charger. And my laptops out”

He hums under his breath, low and deep in his chest. “Not your day, is it?”

“No, it’s really not. It’s where I take all my notes.” You slump in your chair, rubbing a hand over your face.

He slides a piece of paper over to you. “It’s okay. Professor Levine won’t call on you if you sit this far back. He takes offence. Makes him think you’re avoiding him.”

“Surely that would make him want to call on us.”

Jason shrugs. “He’s different like that.”

You huff. You open your anthology. You’re studying Keats, one of your favourites. Despite the constant reminders that your chosen degree would get you nowhere, you love literature, evident by the copious amount of annotations you’d done. It wasn’t part of the syllabus but you thought it was fun.

A hand reaches over, hovering over your book. Jason’s, bigger thank yours, with a large watch around its wrist. Not that you were checking.

“Can I look?”

You nod. You try not to watch his deft fingers slip between the pages (try not to think about where else they could slip) and write meaningless things on the sheet of paper he’d given you. You can’t focus on the lecture, only your need for his approval of your work.

“This is incredible. You did this all on your own?” His eyes don't leave the paper as he continues to flick through.

You laugh nervously, “Yeah, I’ve got a lot of free time.”

“Oh, I love this one.”

He points to Modern Love. You smile, nodding excitedly.

“Yeah, that’s my favourite! I don’t know why, but there's something so cool about one of the best Romantic poets ever writing a poem about how people put so much pressure on romance, you know? Especially in the era he was in.”

You mouth shuts. You laugh nervously.

“Sorry. I'm rambling.”

“Don’t be sorry. It’s cute.”

You don’t have time to try and dignify a response through the shiver that runs down your spine, because Professor Levine clears his throat loudly from across the room. You look over and he’s staring right at the two of you (who are considerably closer than you were when you’d sat down).

“Is there something more interesting you two are discussing? Like perhaps how to show up to my lectures on time?”

Jason snorts and you duck your head. “Sorry, professor.”

The rest of the lecture is spent like something out of a high school classroom. He scribbles notes in the margin on your paper, and you draw little stars across the page. You’ve not spoken before, but you spend the whole time whispering to each other. He shows you his favourite poems, and you pretend they aren’t yours too.

It’s a shame, really. Deep down, you wish you didn’t get along with him so well. If not for the way he looks right at you when he speaks, breath fanning over your face as he leans down to say something, but for the fact you’ll never speak again. The two of you will pack your things and part ways, and you’ll spend the next lesson in your usual seat with a fully charged laptop, thinking about him. He’ll just be another story your friends will drag out of you over a glass of wine, the day when you sat with the sexiest boy on campus.

The lecture ends, and the two of you leave side by side. You avoid eye contact with your professor and pause outside the door.

“Thank you for the paper. And letting me sit next to you.”

Your hands awkwardly grasp at the straps of your bag. Of course today of all days you’d look so messy. You’re not wearing makeup, and you know your shirt is wrinkled. He looks effortless in a shirt that curls over his biceps oh, so perfectly.

“It’s no problem.”

Silence spills between the two of you. You nod once.

“Well. Bye, Jason.”

You turn to walk away, but you don’t make it far. A hand grabs your arm. You look back, and it's Jason, all smiling and nervous. He drops your arm, and shoots you another one of his boyish grins.

“Do you want to get some coffee? We can go over our notes. Get you back on Levine's good side.”

You should probably say no. Boys like Jason are the kind that could ruin you.

“Yeah. I’d love to.”

—————————————————————-

AUTHORS NOTE

my first oneshot!! I hope you all like it, and plz leave requests or if u want a part two 🩷

[very-straight-blog]

As a mostly TB fan, I hate how bidimensional they made all the characters. They glossed over so many things: Aegon and Helaena's grief for Jaehaerys' death, Aemond's trauma and guilt, Jacaerys and Rhaena's grief for Lucerys — the characters seemed to have blatantly ignored Rhaenys' death, literally no one other than Corlys cried for her!

Now this could have (barely) been excused in exchange for epic battles and dragonfighting scenes, but there's next to nothing! We have politicking, unnecessary sex scenes, Aemond acting (rather uncharacteristically) sadist, and the battles that were supposed to be the core of the show (the show literally talks about a WAR) lasted like fifteen minutes each and then no one mentioned them anymore. They cut out characters that had great or some level of relevance in the book (Maelor or Kermit Tully for example, and at this rate we probably won't have Black Aly or Benjicot either) and changed up the storyline on a whim.

The things that angered me the most, however, is the unnecessary age gaps they put in just for "medieval accuracy": Viserys could have easily been younger than they made him the show — he could have been in his early or mid thirties, there was no need to make him 50-60 years old (though I love Paddy Cosidine, he's a great actor and a sweetheart). Same thing for Laena: she was supposed to be older than Laenor, why the fuck did they make her FOURTEEN when she married Daemon?

Yes, thank you! I've been saying for a long time that even though I write mostly about Aegon and Aemond, the writers destroyed all the characters on both sides and I can't deny it. The whole show is now a huge piece of nonsense that cannot be discussed or analyzed. We have reached the point where the actions of the characters inside the story don't have any logic, so they cannot be taken seriously.

[jainiss]

hello!

bringing an oneshot with zoro, from one piece, and y/n, where you two are in a drinking contest.

Hope you guys like it ~~

Ps: forgive me if there are english mistakes. English is not my native language.

Ps2: all fictional.

In the bustling tavern of Loguetown, the air was filled with laughter, cheers, and the clinking of tankards as pirates and locals alike gathered for a raucous drinking contest. Zoro, the Straw Hat Pirates' swordsman, sat at a long wooden table, a pile of empty mugs already stacked beside him. He was ready for a challenge, and today, that challenge came in the form of an enigmatic fellow named Y/n.

You, known for your own legendary drinking prowess, took a seat opposite Zoro, a mischievous glint in your eyes. The contest was simple: who could down the most mugs of grog without passing out. But it was never just about the quantity; it was about endurance, constitution, and a dash of sheer determination.

The contest had drawn quite the crowd, with other participants eager to test their limits against the renowned pirate swordsman and the mysterious newcomer, (you). Among the contenders were a burly pirate with a booming laugh, a nimble rogue with a hidden flask strapped to their thigh, and even a marine officer who was clearly on shore leave.

As the referee called for the drinking to begin, the participants wasted no time. Tankard after tankard was emptied, the fiery liquid coursing through their veins, fueling their competitive spirits. The hours passed, and the atmosphere grew rowdier, the participants' faces flushed with alcohol-induced bravado.

Zoro and you matched each other mug for mug, your eyes locked in a silent battle of wills. Zoro's green hair swayed as he lifted another tankard to his lips, while your expression remained stoic as you kept up with him sip for sip. The crowd roared with each toast and empty mug slammed onto the table.

As the night wore on, the other participants began to fall by the wayside, succumbing to the intoxicating effects of the grog. The burly pirate's laughter turned into hiccups, the nimble rogue swayed dangerously on their stool, and the marine officer slumped over the table, fast asleep.

It was down to Zoro and you, both determined to outlast the other. With each passing minute, the tankards became heavier, the grog harder to swallow. But neither of you showed any signs of giving in. You were locked in an epic battle of stubbornness and stamina.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Zoro's eyelids drooped, and he collapsed onto the table, unconscious. You, with a victorious smirk, raised your final tankard high and drained it in one gulp, the crowd erupting in cheers.

You had emerged as the victor of the Battle of the Drunken Swords, earning the respect and admiration of the onlookers. They looked down at the defeated Zoro with a playful grin and a hint of mischief in their eyes. Perhaps, in the world of drinking contests, there was a new contender to be reckoned with.

As the night continued, tales of this legendary contest spread far and wide, and the rivalry between Zoro and you became the stuff of pirate legends, ensuring that your paths would cross again in the future, in both friendly contests and epic battles on the high seas.

.....

In the days that followed the epic Battle of the Drunken Swords, Zoro couldn't help but admire your incredible resilience and strength. He had always been one to respect those who could hold their own, especially in a contest as grueling as the drinking competition you'd faced.

One sunny morning aboard the Thousand Sunny, Zoro found himself leaning against the ship's railing, deep in thought. You, with your mysterious aura, had captured his curiosity. He knew you weren't just an ordinary drinker; there was something more to you, something that piqued his interest beyond the contest.

As Zoro stared out at the endless expanse of the Grand Line, he sensed a presence approaching. It was you, your footsteps soft but purposeful. You leaned against the railing beside him, and for a moment, you shared a comfortable silence.

"You know, you're not half bad," Zoro finally spoke, a rare compliment coming from him.

You turned to him with a half-smile. "The same goes for you, Zoro. I've heard tales of your swordsmanship. Impressive."

Zoro nodded in acknowledgment. "You're a bit of an enigma, though. What's your story, Y/n? Why did you end up in that Loguetown tavern that day?"

Your gaze turned distant for a moment before you met Zoro's eyes. "I've been wandering these seas for a while, seeking something I can't quite put into words. Adventure, I suppose."

Zoro could relate to that sentiment. Adventure was what had drawn him to become a pirate and join the Straw Hat crew. "Well, you've certainly found it with us," he remarked.

As the days turned into weeks, Zoro and your interactions became more frequent. Zoro, known for his reticence, found himself sharing stories of his past and aspirations with you during your late-night watch shifts. You, in turn, opened up about your own adventures, the places you'd been, and the challenges you'd faced.

Your camaraderie grew, fueled by mutual respect and shared experiences. Zoro admired your unwavering determination and the way you approached life with a sense of purpose, much like himself.

One evening, Zoro offered you a drink from his personal stash of sake. It was a symbolic gesture, a sign that he considered you a friend and an equal, a rare honor in his eyes.

Your bond deepened as you navigated perilous waters, battled fierce foes, and laughed together in the face of danger. Zoro found himself not only drawn to your strength but also to your unwavering spirit and the mystery that surrounded you.

As the Thousand Sunny sailed onward, Zoro and Y/n connection continued to grow, forging a friendship that would endure the trials of the Grand Line and the adventures that awaited you on the horizon.

Byebye~

© jainiss ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

[monkey-d-ezekiel]

I totally understand why manga readers hate the One Piece anime. like, the anime borderline ruins a lot of the important aspects of the show. I see so many one piece anime watchers who are frustrated with so much stuff in the anime, and like. please try the manga. for your own good. it'll take some effort getting used to, but once you get in the groove you won't be frustrated in that way at all. i promise. Oda has created what is more or less a masterpiece, and here's some ways in which Toei botched it and watered down the experience.

1. Art + Animation

the OP manga has some of the most consistently good art compared to a lot of other series. The shading conveys emotions well, the atmosphere is well built, and Oda makes pretty good usage of the 2D page in conveying 3D movement. The biggest difference is that while the women are still not the most accurately proportioned, there's a lot more emphasis on their facial expressions and overall aura and demeanor.

the anime spoils all this by giving us sloppy character design and lazy animation. since the episodes are still weekly and not seasonal, they have to pump out fast and cheap animation, which makes them overuse still frames, motion blur and overall just not give the source material the effort it deserves. the women in the show have zero detail paid to their facial features, and they all seem to have had their breasts artificially endowed to 3x the size of their head by the ever generous toei animators.

Honestly, the One Piece anime is on par with shows like Dragonball Super when it comes to bad art and animation. Especially post-timeskip.

2. Pacing

pacing is always a big issue that anime watchers point out, and at this point bringing up this issue is like beating a dead horse. it's still extremely important though, because the manga is most definitely not this badly paced. 1 chapter worth of content is animated into 1 full length episode. the length of all the impactful scenes is elongated with reaction shots, exclamations of "woah! a very obvious thing is happening in front of us! unbelievable!", as well as stare-offs, wide shots and unnecessary flashbacks that all seem to last for an eternity.

there are 2-5 minute recaps in every episode as well, just in case you lost track of everything that has happened so far in the story you're following with interest. the manga has none of these issues, and the best part is that you can decide your own pace. if something is boring, just read past it quickly. if it's dense or interesting, slow down, take your time and savor it. the emotional impact of scenes is not lost simply because of how often they're repeated/elongated, as often happens in the anime.

In conclusion, the pacing and art quality of the source material is far superior to that of the anime adaptation, and while I do find it very epic when my favorite manga scenes are animated in the show, I don't think it's reasonable for anyone to put themselves through the grueling ordeal of watching the dragged out episodes of this anime simply for those moments/fights.

If you like the anime, that's great, im happy you're following the story of one piece in the way you find most suitable, and i don't wanna demean you at all because these are all just subjective opinions. but if you're an anime watcher who finds themselves to be frustrated with some of the issues in the anime, i think you could give the manga a try. it'll take some getting used to, but you won't have any of the frustrations that will persist as long as this anime is airing.

[luvo27]

cut scene from stress vs love

Finally, finally, Fig manages to make it to what passes for rogue classes. Honestly, it’s been kind of fun. There’s a part of her that kind of wants to attend rogue classes regularly now.

The instructions she’d found behind a locker led to more instructions that led to an inscription on the bottom of a potted plant that led to more instructions on a piece of paper hidden behind a chalkboard in a classroom on the third floor that led to a key that unlocked an unused classroom that apparently, isn’t all that unused. Scrawled on the chalkboard are tips and tricks for avoiding notice when sneaking, specifically for sneaking into tall buildings from the ceiling.

Riz is already in the classroom, standing by the chalkboard and scribbling in a notebook. Fig feels herself smile. It’s nice to see Riz, at any time in the day. At lunch, yeah, but it’s nice to hang out with him, it’s nice to see him in his element. Again, she considers attending rogue classes regularly, because she has a ton of fun hanging out with Gorgug in Barbarian, so if she picks up rogue classes, she could hang out with Riz!

She considers whether or not she would want to pick up classes with all of her friends, because that would just be the most epic thing in the world, right? She loves hanging out with them. It would be the perfect way to maximize the amount of time she gets to spend with her friends! It’s the perfect plan!

Grinning, she taps Riz on the shoulder. “Hey, Riz!”

“Fig?” Riz turns to blink at her. “This is rogue class.”

“Yeah, I know.” Fig shrugs modestly and feels her grin widen. “I was just trying it out.” She’s about to start talking about how she managed to find all the clues scattered around the school. She’s pretty proud of herself, considering she’s never actually taken a rogue class before. Yeah, she’s sneaky when she needs to be, but she’s really starting to appreciate the specific skill set that Riz brings, but Riz talks first.

He starts, “You should—Fig, you need to be in class.”

Fig closes her mouth as she takes Riz in. He’s blinking rapidly, like there’s something wrong with his eyes, and his tail is flicking around his feet the way it does when he’s feeling distressed, and in the gloves that he’s taken to wearing, his hands are twitching minutely. Fig feels her eyebrows draw together.

“Hey, Riz,” she says, softening her voice, “it’s okay. It’s my free period.”

Riz stares at her, taking in the information. And she isn’t technically lying, she doesn’t really go to bard class anymore and not going doesn’t affect her grades, even if she is a bard, so it is a free period. Whatever Riz is thinking, he doesn’t remember that this is when bard class meets.

“It’s your free period?” he asks.

“Yeah, Riz.” Fig nods. “It’s my free period.”

“Okay.” Riz nods. “Cool. So, you’re trying out rogue class?”

“Yeah,” Fig starts to say. She thinks about the probability that Riz will, at some point, realize that bard classes take place during the same period. She imagines the reaction that would cause if she told him she was going to take up rogue classes.3 It’s okay though, because while it has been fun, she’d be perfectly not adding another class to her schedule. 

“But,” she continues, “I think it’s not really for me, you know?”

“No,” Riz says. Fig notes with delight that the corner of his mouth twitches up in a smile. Another part of her notes that she doesn’t remember the last time she saw Riz smile, not really. “I don’t know, actually,” Riz finishes.

“Right,” Fig nods. “Course.” She thinks about Riz, focused on homework during lunch, and everyone saying that they asked if he wanted to hang out, and how she doesn’t remember the last time she hung out with Riz herself. She tries to think about the last time she saw Riz smile, really smile, and thinks it was probably over winter break, which is now a couple weeks ago and that’s way too long.

“Hey,” she says, “I was wondering, do you want to hang out?”

Riz frowns. Not one of his bad frowns, just a thinking frown. “Um,” he starts to say, “I guess—” he shivers, shakes his head. “I shouldn’t,” he says apologetically. “Uh, date night.”

“Oh.” Fig feels her face fall. That’s right, she thinks. Riz is, unfortunately, just really, really busy. She knows she’s gotten a few texts saying he couldn’t hang out at Mordred because he was spending time with Baron. But it’s sweet of him, she thinks. If Ayda were here—if she could call, or text Ayda, but cell service and time travel don’t really work together, she knows she’d be spending as much time with her as she could.

She’d also be spending as much time as she could with Riz and the rest of the Bad Kids though, of course. And in the back of her mind, something bothers her. Not enough that she notices it, not yet, but it is really weird that Riz is spending more time with Baron than any of them. That’s not the Riz she knows.

It’s sweet, she tells herself. It’s really sweet that Riz is putting so much effort into this new relationship. She tries to pull a smile back onto her face.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with Baron,” she says, trying to be playful. “Haven’t you?”

Riz laughs sheepishly. “Yeah, I guess I have.”

“Well, don’t forget about us, you know?” Fig tells him.

Riz smiles. A real smile. The worry in Fig’s heart melts away as he promises, “I won’t.”

Fig puts two fingers to her forehead in a salute. “See you later then, Riz,” she tells him. “Alright?” She starts to walk back towards the door.

“Yeah, Fig,” Riz says as he watches her leave. “See you later.”

Fig hesitates just outside the door for a moment. Riz gives her one last little wave before turning back to the chalkboard. Within seconds, he’s back to scribbling away. It’s almost like Fig was never actually there. Like she was never needed. Just an unwanted intruder, brushed off as soon as it was okay to.

Fig rubs her shoulders. She doesn’t go to any of her other classes that day.

[vintagealloy925]

nerd!reiner - gn reader pt.2

some people wanted me to continue, so here it is! thank you guys for the love. pt.1 here 

the next lab, reiner tries really hard to make things normal. i mean really hard. like it is so incredibly obvious that he doesn’t know what to do, but he clearly cares.

the second he mentions some extremely obscure show that you said you liked, you knew he really was sorry. he’s just not sure how to interact with most people, so you try to be as normal as possible too.

after lab, he walks with you and tries to talk. you stop him and tell him that it’ll be okay, and you admit that you just thought he was attractive and wanted to get to know him better.

he’s stunned.

he’s not attractive? why would you say something like that? 

so he immediately assumes you mean as friends, even though he wants so much more. but you are just so beautiful, so interesting, such a lovely person, that he thinks you can do better.

but when you invite him into your dorm again, he won’t lose this opportunity. he comes in and immediately tells you what he considers to be the most embarrassing thing about himself.

“i’ve never had someone... pay attention to me before. i’m sorry if i don’t know what to do. all of the friends i have, i’ve known since i was a kid.” he says

‘he just wants to be friends’ you think to yourself. that’s fine, you suppose. maybe he already has someone special.

so the two of you just sit in your room, watching a movie. at an awkward distance apart. you don’t dare remove your eyes from the screen, but he can’t stop stealing glances at you.

every time you giggle or have some sort of reaction to the movie, he smiles. eventually, he decides to try something risky.

he does that stupid yawn and put the arm around your shoulders thing.

to his surprise, you look up at him and smile, lean into his, and kiss his hand. he thought you would push him away. you aren’t interested in him.

and you thought the same thing.

soon, you guys start talking over the movie, ignoring the epic fight scene on the screen. the conversation takes a turn, and suddenly reiner is listening to you talk about your last partner and how they were not that good to you.

on one hand, reiner wants to scream out that he could treat you better. he would buy you anything you wanted. post you on his socials every day. hold you hand everywhere he goes and never, ever, look at some other person. you are all he wants.

but he also knows that he has no idea how to act like a boyfriend. i mean, he’s never even kissed someone, much less been in a relationship.

but he is willing to try. for you.

he kisses your cheek, trying to comfort you, which leaves you both blushing and quiet.

he thinks he messed up, you can’t believe he feels the same way as you, but you know you have to do something about this.

so you kiss him.

he gets all flustered and his mind is running a mile a minute and can’t help it but to say:

“ireallylikeyouandiwantyoutobemypartnerbuti’veneverhadonebeforebutipromisei’lldomybest.”

how does he talk so fast?

but now he’s your boyfriend! and he is faithful to his promise

he got you your favorite coffee/drink the next day and brought it to you before your first class, almost making him late to his own.

the best listener in the world. like any time you want to vent or just ramble, he is all in

in your lab, he does all the hard work, not that you can’t, but he wants you to be able to relax.

you worked out today and your muscles are sore? massage time

buys you dinner at least once a week, and desserts like ice cream almost every day.

and he is trying to get better with physical affection

after the first kiss, he can’t get enough but also doesn’t know how to approach it

he will, however, not hesitate to play with your hair, no matter the length. if it’s long enough, he will braid pieces without thinking (yes he learned how to braid how bc of gabi, no he does not want to be praised for it don’t make him nervous)

he also loves cuddling together. any position is good with him. will have you sit on his lap in front of people. he does have a slight thing about claiming you as his ;)

but as time goes on, he finds so much comfort in you and your presence. you make him so happy, and he makes you happy too.

everything he does is in the hope that it will make you happy and proud

[gffa]

Have you also watched the One Piece anime? After watching the new live action I was like “oooh! I should check out the anime!” But it is like 1000 episodes. Is it worth it?

Hi! I've watched a good chunk of the One Piece anime, yes! I watched up through at least the Arabasta arc, probably up through episode 150 or so, but at the time that was all that was released, so I had to switch to the manga. (I kind of fell out of One Piece for awhile after certain events in the manga hurt my heart too much to keep going for awhile, but I've always intended to go back. So I would say I've read somewhere just past half of the manga?) So, take that into consideration, that I'm coming from "started with the anime, got 150 episodes in, that's all the further the anime was along at the time, so I had to switch to the manga, but I fell out somewhere around chapter 500 or so, but that was long enough that I had plenty of time to compare the manga and the anime to each other, once the anime caught up to where I was in the manga". My ideal One Piece watching order is pretty much exactly what I went through: - Be prepared for the first ~20 episodes to be kind of dull, maybe you'll like them, but most people find them kind of tedious, but idk maybe you could skip the first 30 episodes or so because OPLA covers the events reasonably well - Watch up through the Arabasta arc (episode 150 or so), the pacing of the anime is really, really watchable up to that point and the voice actors are ASTOUNDINGLY perfect in their roles - Switch to the manga for the Jaya arc/Skypiea arc, unless you're having a really hard time with it, Skypiea should still be pretty good pacing (up to episode 195 or so) - SERIOUSLY GET OUT OF THE ANIME AROUND THIS POINT because it has to start stretching out the events to fill time because it catches up to the manga too quickly, so there's a TON of filler, like by the time I went to try to watch the events of the Davy Back Fight in the anime, it was EXCRUTIATING trying to slog through the long, looooooong minutes of characters just STARING at each other to fill time Is it worth it? Yes, yes, and yes. One Piece is genuinely my favorite manga ever, nothing has ever come close to how well done I've found it to be. It's not perfect, it definitely has trouble when it comes to women (though, I think Oda is at least trying to get better about that) and the art style isn't going to be for everyone, but the sheer WORLDBUILDING and PLOT are absolutely NUTS, Oda knew exactly where this story was heading when he started and you can see that dedication unfold as it goes along, things that you had no idea were important back then, that just seemed random, will suddenly be MASSIVELY important, like as an example: When Shanks tells the sea monster to GET LOST! after it chomps his arm, there's a whooshing, the camera in both the anime/manga and the live action make a point of how the air kind of 'shakes' around him, and it's super dramatic, right? THAT'S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT LATER and watching OPLA I was struck all over again HOLY SHIT ODA PLANNED THAT FROM THE BEGINNING. One Piece is a deeply silly and ridiculous series, not everything is meant to be taken seriously, sometimes it's just Oda joking around and being goofy! But there's a genuine story about friendships and a massively internally consistent world that will slowly unfold before you and some of the most epic battles I've ever seen. One Piece is a series that has made me genuinely cry over Luffy's hat more than once, it has made me cry over a ship, that's how powerfully the story can affect my emotions, because it's genuinely such a loveable series. Yeah, I absolutely do recommend it! Start with the anime, but for the love of all things holy, stop at least around episode 200 and switch to the manga, it's a tough adjustment for a few chapters, but it's totally worth it!!

[whoishotteranimepolls]

A response to Defend your Blurbo 3

I love the Beckman section, and they're right. He should demand child support from Rayleigh because if it weren't for him, Shanks probably would have ended up dead of his drunken stupidity a long time ago under his watch. He only lost one arm, and that's because Shanks ran off by himself and was left unsupervised for 5 minutes. That's not Benn's fault.

I mean, I'm pretty sure that scar on his face he did not get from some kind of epic battle. The scar is probably from shaving Shanks from his stupidity, like stopping Shanks from drunkenly trying to juggle swords or something. So, anytime the rest of the red-haired pirates want to do something stupid. He starts rubbing the scar as a reminder that we don't do dumb things because they have consequences.

And back on to answering the anon's question. Some of us find Benn Beckman attractive because sometimes you get tired of trying to fix him, and you want a guy who can fix you. Just look at that silver fox. He could fix me any day

That was quick, and it's only slightly thirsty. Are we doing okay? One Piece fandom

For context they're responding to this post.

[meraki-yao]

RWRB Movie Thoughts: Emails

The emails are my favourite part of the book, partly because that is how I show affection: I write lengthy letters to my friends during their special occasions, and I keep every message of love they send me in a cherished chest. The emails detailed their growing relationship and love not only in a wonderfully written way but also in a way that speaks true and is personal to me.

That being said, I went into the movie knowing they can't do the full extent of what's in the books out of practicality: the audiobook takes like fifteen minutes to read an email, and with visual media, there has to be something on screen, and long montages don't work. I've accepted this and just was curious about how they were going to deal with it.

And I liked that part of the film! It wasn't as innovative as how the texting scene was done, but texting allows that since texting is a conversation, basically talking online, while email is not that, and is something closer to continuous monologues, so it can't be presented in the same way. What we heard was less poetic or epic than the book emails, but it was soft, sweet and adorable in its own way, and I loved the book quotes we did get: "When we’re apart your body comes back to me in dreams" & "I'll be damned but I miss you", and I do wish it was longer and we got to hear more.

But with that being said, two things I noticed:

1. From the middle until the end of the email scene. I think starting from Henry's "Wait don't they have napkins in Texas?" line, there are actually at least two overlapping audios of their emails playing, it's just one is louder and subtitled. All I could pick up from the other audio is

Alex: Dear Henry, I miss you too Henry: Dear Alex/ Affectionately

but there's definitely more, I just couldn't pick the words up. So what is the other audio??? What are the other emails ??? Are there more that was recorded but wasn't even put in the movie??? I NEED to KNOW!!!

2. We may not get a lot of emails in the movie, but when the emails were leaked, the newscaster who questions Miguel says there's 72 emails, and the British newscaster still calls them "the Waterloo letters", which means in universe, the "Hometown Stuff" email thread, with “memories are difficult", " I thought, it someone like that ever loved me, it would set me on fire", and my favourite:" A INCOMPLETE LIST: THINGS I LOVE ABOUT HRH PRINCE HENRY OF WALES" with certain changes to fit the movie canon, EXIST IN UNIVERSE, even if we don’t see/heard it.

If I'm gonna stretch this point a bit further, since Henry looked so damn broken (applause to Nick here) and Alex mentions “most private and intimate thoughts", "fear and truth", and honestly as sweet as it is, I don't think the emails shown in the movie reaches the level of "most"," I imagine most if not all emails in the book still took place and were written between movie Alex and Henry with certain changes: "Paris?" during the time jump between polo and Paris, “You are a dark sorcerer” maybe after their night in Paris, "A Mass of fools and Knaves" maybe a little earlier than where it is in the book, or have the "Dear Henry, so I just came out to my mom” be the last email in that thread, "Bad metaphors about maps" between runway goodbyes and the email leaks...

I literally don’t know if this brain rot made me happy about the potential cross-universe point that is their emails or even sadder that these were the bleeding words that fucking asshole Miguel leaks to the world. Henry’s face during the whole scene breaks my heart into pieces.

But there you go, something to think about.

P.S: Also I really really really want to hear Taylor and Nick read the book emails :D

[glitchpirate]

It's 2023 and I'm still using the same template now 7 years in a row! Yippeee!

This year I decided to ramble about each artwork presented so uh. Storytime! Under the cut.

(Also usual reminder that now I have a GW2 side blog so that's where I'll upload GW2 artworks from now on -> @glitchgw2 (except the zine piece because I entered the zine with this blog))

January: I was going through a bit of an artblock, most of the things I drew this month were traced. One of the only things not traced was this Anassy! "Ah, etto... bleh!" I said after tracing the 5th drawing I saw on the internet.

February: a commission! Long overdue, but I finally finished it. Sylvaries are always tough to render. >.< The other things I drew this month were art party doodles and personal stuff.

March: one of the two months where the featured piece is the only thing I "finished" that month. And last minute, too! Made for trans visibility day which was on the very last day of March.

April: due to several things, Tyria Pride 2022's art commission giveaways got delayed to 2023. This was my piece for the person I was assigned to! ^_^ This was fun, I found out some new ways to render sylvari hair...

May: I vividly remember seeing a Diavolo art with this same reference and I was like hey. I could do this too but with Lucien. How haven't I done this before. P.S.: he's actually nothing like Bateman but it's a sick cover anyway lol. Mmm knife...

June: it was a sick (as in like epic) month for me. I reworked Dawn and Incendere (my Ghost OC), welcomed my unhinged self and drew a lot of nsfw. But not good nor holy enough to share. :P But it was a nice practice anyway. I chose one drawing of Dawn because out of everything I drew it looks the most "clean" and finished.

July: I remembered My Life as a Teenage Robot as I do tri-monthly and almost made an AU for Lucien. Almost. So instead I just made whatever this is. This was one of the most fun pieces I've ever did, I finally feel comfortable lining in CSP and just in general this was super shapey and smooth to work on. <3

August: Tyria Pride giveaway commission but this time, in time! I got to work on a lovely charr which I don't do often! My other choices would have been a cropped nsfw commission but I lowkey like this one better.

September: the other month where I didn't draw anything but this. Had a banger idea for Gliaster's future which is them becoming a lich but also being corrupted by malignant powers so they're now even more evil and also driven by vengeance towards the Commander and Aurene. Tried to come up with a design for them, alas this piece. It's... very in progress. But I like said progress so far.

October: the opportunity for an art related full-time job came up which meant I had to up my portfolio and draw some realistic/semi-realistic studies. I was surprised by myself lmao but ngl it was also a big pain in the ass. Art is suffering. <3

November: the continuation of October but now with an original piece! Felt like drawing one of my best friend's GW2 characters. <3 Haven't uploaded this one yet as I might rework the background sometime.

December: and finally, my piece for Commander Of Your Heart GW2 zine! Which wasn't actually restricted to only Commander characters, but any other OCs/player characters too, so of course I chose Gliaster. :D And we can apparently show teasers, so I can include this little bit! But what is Gliaster up to? Find out in February, for free!

*

Aaand that's it. It was actually super fun to look back to the year not only in pictures but some words too. :D If you read this all, I appreciate you, thank you so much. <3

[randomvarious]

Underworld - "Born Slippy" Essential Selection, Volume One by Fatboy Slim & Paul Oakenfold Song released in 1996. Mix released in 2000. Techno / Experimental

Plays: N/A on Spotify // 84.3K+ on YouTube

If you're someone who at least dabbles in electronic and dance music from time to time, then you absolutely *must* know the utterly strange and totally unique enigma that is Underworld's "Born Slippy." This is a tune that, against all odds, somehow managed to totally captivate the UK public in the mid-90s, reaching #2 on the country's singles chart, while also serving as the theme song to the Scotland-set Danny Boyle-directed film, Trainspotting. Plus, as what's likely to be the most popular techno song ever made, it's also probably the only piece of techno to ever so thoroughly penetrate the 'hip' and 'alternative' English-speaking music cognoscenti of the western hemisphere as well.

Now, there's a lot I could say about this provocative, mid-90s defining work of art, but I think the best way to describe it is thusly: essentially, there are two distinct, yin-and-yang modes to "Born Slippy." One is heaven, which consists of some iconically euphoric synth work and no drums, and the other is just pure fucking chaos, which chiefly contains hard and intense bouts of totally bugged-out and pummeling percussion 😵. And throughout both modes, Karl Hyde provides this mantric, barely sensical, partially improvised, and completely intoxicated stream-of-conscious narrative that seems to maybe be describing a very long and eventful night out. But a very important thing to remember with the studio version of this song in particular is that the two modes that are contained within it don't really overlap with one another; that is to say, outside of like, two small seconds, the synth melody that opens up the song and then returns somewhere in the middle doesn't touch any drums at all, and it's not until much, much later in the fullest version of this more than eleven-and-a-half-minute epic that you'll actually hear any sort of synth in a chaotic part, and those synths that do eventually manifest in one of those parts don't sound anything like the one that soothes in the beginning anyway.

But guess who went and totally fucked up this whole arrangement almost a full quarter-century ago? Fatboy Slim. Back in 2000, he and another piece of dance music's Mount Rushmore, Paul Oakenfold, put out a double-disc double-mix called Essential Selection, Volume One, and while Oakey's sublime trance set totally outshined Fatboy's less-than-stellar big beat and breaks sesh, there was still a three-song run nestled within Fatboy's set that was pretty damn killer, and it consisted of the following tunes, which were all pretty popular in the UK at the time:

Scanty Sandwich's "Because of You," a big beat banger that samples a young Michael Jackson and sounds like something that Fatboy Slim might've *cooked* up himself 😅;

"Born Slippy";

And my favorite downtempo track of all time, the Groove Armada classic, "At the River," which samples an old Patti Page tune and comes with some soul-piercing trombone on it too 😌.

So if you haven't clicked play at the top of this post, or you still haven't figured it out yet, what Fatboy Slim did with this section of his mix is he paired those heavenly synths from "Born Slippy" with the chugging snare-end of "Because of You," giving the opening part of this Underworld classic a great dimension of bounciness that it hadn't really had before. Fatboy raises the BPM on "Born Slippy" to make it match to those drums—and he's ticked those up a tad as well—and then after fading out of the Scanty Sandwich track and fucking around with the effects, he waits until a stacked-up drum part from "Born Slippy" arrives, in order to completely and effectively counterbalance it with the opening bars from the maximally relaxational "At the River," which had never had that level of percussion intermingle with it before either.

Fatboy Slim's probably not the greatest DJ in the world, but what he did with this mass-appealing trio of UK electronic tunes on this otherwise underwhelming mix of his from all the way back at the turn of the millennium definitely deserves more credit and attention than it's received over the years. Pretty nifty little section here, I think, with two great songs bleeding into and out of one of the most remarkable tracks of the entire 90s, "Born Slippy" 😋.

[lulubelle814]

Regards, Loki - Chapter 38

Master List

After being inundated with dozens of texts from her small group of friends, Louisa met up with them that following morning.  

From the very second she stepped into the cafe, they pulled her to a table near the counter and started pelting her with so many questions that she couldn't tell who asked what. 

“What was he like? “

“Was he handsome?“

“Is he a good dancer?”

“Did you kiss?”

“What was he wearing?”

“What did he do when he saw you?”

She waved her hands to cut them off.  “Holy crap guys. Give me a second to breathe.”  Brad got up and made her a cup of hot chocolate with homemade whipped cream and placed it on the table in front of her. 

“Now spill,” He said.  “We need details, lady!”

She spent the next 20 minutes telling them bits and pieces: what the event looked like, all the movie props set up, the music, the dancing, and (yes)  the kissing.  “It was like being in a fairy tale.*

All three had dreamy looks on their faces, trying to imagine it. Cora realized something.  “Did you not take pictures?  Please tell me you took at least one or two pictures!”

“I got one picture.” She pulled out her phone and showed them a selfie of her with the Ludo prop. 

While they were happy to see ‘a’ picture, it's not what they were anticipating. She shrugged. “It was really hard to not just get lost in it, but I did.*

She then told them what happened when she made it into the ballroom. “When I spotted him, he was on the other side of the room, and of course I got over there as fast as I could.*  everyone nodded, eager to hear more. 

“When I got there, I couldn't find him. I turned around, and there he was, right where I'd just been. He made his way across, cutting across the dance floor. It's like there was something just pulling us together.”

Chad and Cora gasped. “Like a fairytale,” Brad chimed in. 

Louisa continued. ‘He just held out his hand. I placed mine in his, and he took me out to the floor where we danced for I don't know how long until ....”

Her story was interrupted by the chime of someone coming in the front door.  Chad got up to help them, instructing the group not to say anything without him and then returned to the table once he finished ringing up their customer so that Louisa could continue her story.

“I don’t mean to interrupt……..okay, well I do, but if this guy ends up being some sort of scam artist or a jerk, I’m gonna kick his ass.”  Brad and Cora agreed.  No one was opposed to kicking the crap out of someone who messed with their Louisa.  She’d already been through more than enough.  She doesn’t deserve to get hurt again.

Chad winked. “There’s always hall pass.  But I get…….”

“Eye candy privilege.  Yes, I know.”  Everyone laughed.  “Deal.”  Louisa knew it wouldn’t come to that, though.  She was entirely smitten with her Lok……James.  ‘I gotta remember he actually has a name,’ she thought to herself.

Cora snatched her phone and started looking at the messages, hoping to get the name of this mystery man only to find he was still listed as Loki in her contacts.  “Does this guy have a name?  If his real name is Loki, I’m gonna laugh, but I have a feeling that’s not actually his name.”

“James,” Louisa replied.

Everyone oooooo’d and ahhhh’d.  “That’s a nice, solid name.  What does he look like?  Because you failed epically at taking any pictures so we could judge him.”

A smile spread across her face just thinking about that.  “He’s definitely tall.  At least 6’2”, maybe a little taller,  Dirty blond hair.  You can’t see it just looking at him, but he’s strong.  I could feel the muscles in his arms.  He’s gotta work out or something.  And his hands?  There’s some calluses.  He does some work with his hands, but they’re warm.”

It’s obvious that she’s, at minimum, twitterpated over this man.  Everyone let out a wistful sigh until an abrupt, very loud shriek came out of Chad causing everyone in the cafe to wince and cover their ears.

“What?  What the hell caused you to make that ungodly sound?”  Cora rubbed her ears, chad’s shrieking causing them to ring.

He responded in a stage whisper.  “It’s him!”

“Him who?”

“IT’S HALL PASS!” 

Since their backs were turned to the door, Cora and Louisa started to turn around to see who it was before Chad told them not to look.  He didn’t want it to be obvious.  Rather than let Brad take his turn, Chad scrambled to the counter as hall pass entered.  By the time he got up to the counter to order, Chad already had his usual ready.  Hall pass picked it up and turned around.  Spotting Louisa, he smiled and walked over to her quickly with his long legs.  When he reached her table, he bent over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.  “Good morning, darling.”

Chad shrieked again, watching his hall pass make a pass at Louisa. So he marched over there to tell him off.  How dare he just go up to someone, especially Louisa, and force affection?  Before he could say anything, Louisa gestured to the empty seat next to her.  

“Everyone, this is James.  James, this is……well, everyone.”  She pointed to each person, giving both their real names as well as the names she used in their texted  messaging.  Chad shrieked again.  “Chad!  You have to stop making that ungodly sound.  Use your words!”

Chad stage whispered, pointing at James.  “Hall pass.”  Her eyes went wide, looking over to James before laughing.  James looked between her and Chad, very confused.

“Apparently, you’re Chad’s hall pass,” she told him and explained what that meant.  Once he understood, he laughed as well.  “I’m sorry Chad, but I’m completely taken by this woman right here.”

Chad looked back to Louisa.  “You’d better keep up your end of the bargain.”  Everyone else was confused except for Louisa who laughed yet again.  She had to explain this to James.  “Chad told me that if Loki ended up being a complete ass that he would set me up with his hall pass as long as he got ogling privileges.”  James laughed.  

Cora pointed a stern finger at James.  “Just so you know.  If you hurt her, we’ll make you disappear.”

“Duly noted. I wouldn't expect anything less.”  In fact, James was glad to hear it.  It was a testament to the strong friendship between them.

Louisa tugs his sleeve.  “Do you have some pictures from last night? This lot were kinda mad that I didn't really take any.”

He pulled out his phone. The board received a link to pictures taken by the photographers hired for the event.  Clicking on the link, he handed the phone to her friends to browse through them. 

There were a large number of pictures, but at one point, there were quite a few pictures featuring him and Louisa. Granted, James hadn't looked at them yet. So he was just as surprised to see so many where he and Louisa became the subject of one of the photographers. These pictures made it evident how much these two were smitten with each other from the moment they finally laid eyes on each other.

Taglist: @huntress-artemiss @jaidenhawke

[reelvibes91]

Top 10 Movies of 2023

10. The Creator - It had a really poignant message about how far we can take technology. Can we replicate the human experience but have it be placed in a human body. It raises the questions about what the future of warfare will look like. Add in some of the most stunning visuals that have been seen in a sci-fi movie, and the final product leaves you in a debate. One that does not have a wrong answer.

9. Scream 6- Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera return as the Carpenter sisters, and this film takes the franchise to a new location. Changing up the scenery allowed for fresh thrills to be infused into this series and created a new level of tension. It was a very solid entry as it developed the legacy characters more and continued to give depth to the new core 4. Very good movie.

8. Talk to Me- One of the most original horror films that has been released in a long time. It plays on themes of loss, the supernatural, what happens after death and contact with the world beyond our own. It is well made, well acted and completely immerses you in this unique premise. This is a gem among other films that thankfully makes the list due to other films being pushed back beyond 2023.

7. The Killer- Fassbender is a revelation in this stylish action thriller. It may have a simple plot but sometimes all you need to do is breathe fresh life into something that has been done before. Fincher relies on the fast talking narrative and multiple set pieces to beautifully craft this story that plays out before us. It works and excels because you connect with the story and want to see how it plays out.

6. The Super Mario Bros- This film sat atop the list for a long while but ultimately found itself bumped down. It is such a fun experience for anyone who grew up with the games and a delight to share with the younger generation. This is the single movie from this year that has played the most in my household. It holds so much Nostalgia and brings such a smile to my face.

5. Air- Ben Affleck brings this story to life in such a compelling manner. For anyone who followed MJs career this story is not new. For those who have forgotten MJ used this platform to become the single most recognized athlete of all time. This story, this deal and how it played out changed the landscape of the name, image, likeness game. The Air Jordan symbol is truly iconic and now this film will fully cement that legacy within cinema. Absolutely the kind of film we need more of.

4. Oppenheimer- When Nolan's career is said and done there will be so many achievements we can look back upon. This one will be considered the most important due to the historical nature of it. The way Nolan paints the picture of how this all came to be is a crowning achievement in film making and could likely win the director a slew of awards. Nolan knows how to make a stunning film while getting the most out of his cast and he was some amazing talent to choose from here. 

3. Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse- Miles Morales is my favorite Spider-Man and this movie continues to showcase all the reasons why he is a phenomenal character. The sequel also added more layers to how the multiversal aspect of it all works. Easily some of the best animation we have ever seen. This film is on the short list for best picture at the Oscars and definitely deserves all the praise it is getting. 

2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem - No kid grew up in the 80s and 90s without knowing who the Ninja Turtles are. Now we have them present for the next generation and what a treat it was. There was so much story and world building in just over 90 minutes. You could feel the chemistry among the actors as well as they brought the brothers to life. The animation was once again on point, and the stellar cast overall helped bring the classic characters to life. This is the TMNT movie we have been needing for the last decade or more.

1 Killers of the Flower Moon- This 3.5 hour long Martin Scorsese epic told probably the most heartbreaking story of the year. What we see in this movie is the death and betrayal of the Osage people. Led by Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone this is the type of story that needs to be told to help educate people on the past. The Osage murders were about greed and corruption. Scorsese continues to make films with bold statements and that will help preserve the truth about history. 

[wrecking-sequels]

[Wreck-It Star]

"Nine feet tall, weighs 643 pounds, with freakishly huge hands and spiky hair, saved the whole arcade once.. That Ralph?" The president of Sugar Rush sat there, on one of the square trees, dangling her legs like the innocent angel she was supposed to be.

"Yes, that Ralph." Replied the blonde warrior as she rolled her eyes. "Nah, never heard of him." That definitely wasn't an innocent angel. Cammy just raised a brow, clearly not amused, and the candy girl apparently surrendered. "Uff.. Bigfoot's not here, I'm waiting for him myself. Say, whatcya need him for, anyway?" The muscular woman mimicked a few blows in the air, as if a player was controlling her. "I like to train after-hours and Ralph's a great sparring partner, no one can take a hit like he does!"

Vanellope couldn't deny it made sense. "Sooo basically you need a punching bag, I see. Listen, he's surely at Tapper's, I'd follow ya but they're baking pies." She pointed at the building behind them. "Bring him back in one piece, 'kay?" White gave a thumbs up, and in no time she was on the exit cart thanks to one of her epic jumps. It seemed she couldn't stand still for long. "Off to find my target! See you around."

About a minute since the train disappeared into the wire for Game Central Station, Ralph's head popped out the front door of Felix' apartment. "She gone?" Vanellope sneered and glicthed her way down to the grass, hands in her kangaroo pocket as usual. "Yeah yeah, coast is clear, Captain Scaredy Pants. But now you owe me one."

It wasn't until after taking a couple more looks towards the exit of the game, that Wreck-It came out of hiding and focused on his answer. "You wouldn't make fun of me if you had a round with her." True. "Really Ralph? A beast like you is scared of some Street Fighter chick?" Countered Von Schweetz, seriously amused by all this.

"Well DUH, you have no idea what her legs can do!" Man, just the memory had his neck hurt. "Your fault, you shouldn't have-" He didn't even let her finish. "Oh no! No no no! I agreed to block her moves ONCE, and she took the liberty to unleash combos on me ever since!" Poor guy. "Eh, maybe it's Cammy's way to say I like ya big boy." Winked the candy girl, only to see in response a gigantic hand waving dismissively.

"Almost forgot, on my way here I met the folks of Dance Dance Revolution kinda begging for us to join their saturday night party yet again." She then added with a lower enthusiasm. Her interest was lost weeks prior, upon beating all possible scores. "Oh and the hedgehog says he lost the ring you signed him, wants a new one.."

"It's hysterical, maybe I liked it better when everyone avoided me." Chuckled the goliath, even tho of course he didn't mean it, no one would miss days of loneliness and rejection. There, his tiny bff showed a genuine grin. "Quit whinin. You are on top of the world like a true hero, Ralphie. "

She wasn't wrong. A lot had changed for Ralph since that fateful day of near apocalypse, four years earlier. The guy was now quite a renowned personality. He could still remember the thrill down his spine when those same eyes that had passed over him for thirty decades finally gave him a curious glance. "Don't get me wrong, I like the attention, but there's this thing called 'me time', you know?" Celebrity life..

"Ay, enough chit-chat, my dear hobo. Let's go check out that new game they plugged in!" Van interrupted. "Sorry kid, I'm not moving." Oh he didn't just say such a thing in front of her. "What?? You wanna hide from blondie until the end of time?" His answer came quick. "I told you yesterday, some of the guys from bad-anon are coming over."

"Aww come on!! I wanna see what it's like!" Her best buddy simply shrugged before heading to the courtyard where he would set the table for the meeting. "Go for it." The little girl hesitated, but after a heavy snort, she followed good old Stinkbrain. "Is that Satan guy gonna come?" Of course that was her favorite of the bunch. "It's Satèn."

[gideonthefirst]

3, 17, and i'll re-ask 16 to get whatever other one you meant!

3. What were your top five books of the year?

WAHOO! I like this one it's made me realize that I actually loved way more books this year than I was giving credit to. Let's say:

5. We Have Always Live in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. Loved loved loved this one it's turned me into a big #ShirleyHead and also (along with Hill House) is responsible for some other takes I've had about books this year which I'll expound on later.

4. Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes on a Tribe Called Quest by Hanif Abdurraqib. Nobody's doing it like him. Only music writer I've ever read who is actually capable of communicating the music itself just over text, loves the things he writes about so strongly that it makes you as the reader love them too, beautiful beautiful collection and piece of work. A Little Devil in America would be on here too but I'm limiting myself to one book per author to resolve both this and the Nabokov problem.

3. When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb. First book I finished in 2023 and one of my all-time favorites :] It's so smart and so lovingly written and so complex and doing such fun things with religion and history and gender and also it's a fun and excellently-paced read. Recommend without qualification

2. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. Well. It's Lolita innit

1. Stephen Florida by Gabe Habash. Would I argue that Stephen Florida is "better" than Lolita? Who knows. Depends on the day. But I did love it more than any other book I've read in recent memory. The most directly invested I've been in a story in a long time, spent huge stretches of it being so stressed out about multiple things at once that I had to pause every five pages to catch my breath. Stunning depiction of a deeply unlikable character who you still want to win an unwinnable situation. Hostile to any attempt of a reader to figure out what it "means" or is "saying". Fantastic commitment to character voice. Perfect ending that had me totally motionless and speechless for maybe ten minutes. Have never in my life been more disappointed to find out that an author hasn’t written anything else. Man. Nobody is doing it like that.

16. What was the most overhyped book of this year?

Sob really funny of Sarah to get Annihilation and you to get The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. This wasn’t my first answer because it certainly is less broadly overhyped than Annihilation but I haven’t heard a single other person have negative feelings about it and I’m baffled by this. It fell into such a constant and repetitive trap of overexplaining things to me, both exposition and description of things that were supposed to be scary, and it drove me nuts. It being the year of Ms. Shirley Jackson certainly did not help, since she really has the perfect balance of how much to describe something to keep it scary, which isn’t super fair to Mr. Jones but it’s true regardless. Plus I thought how it treated women was really strange (derogatory), which I would have cared about much less in a better book but in this one really stuck out and weakened it further. And overall I just did not at all really understand what it was trying to do, which could be on me but I’m certainly too annoying to admit it, the pacing did not work for me at All and it just. Ugh. Didn’t like it!!

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

I was kind of shocked by how much I liked Where Are Your Boys Tonight? but I have already talked about that one. So let’s go with The Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb. It wasn’t like life changing or anything but it was a much more fun read than I was expecting since last attempt I made I bounced off the narration style immediately. But despite its many many concessions to the great weaknesses of epic fantasy I still intend to read the sequel and I especially love how Hobb engages with, uh, pain and sickness and disability and how she refuses to let them fade away and seems to really understand the extent to which pain and extended sickness alter people. I’m so so so excited to get to the torture because of this