#there are people who haven't even come up with a project title yet because this is a 4+ year undertaking so there's no need to rush | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

xomakara · 6 months

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Exploration

SUMMARY | When you stepped into an adult store looking for new toys, you didn’t expect to step out of one with your office crush, Jungwoo. PAIRINGS | Jungwoo/Fem!Reader GENRE | smut, unprotected sex, oral sex (both male and female giving/receiving), dirty talk, sex toys RATING | Mature LENGTH | 3,696 words AUTHOR’S NOTE | Here’s one for you Jungwoo stans. I really couldn’t think of another title but oh well LOL. Enjoy!

You did not go into that shop intending on having sex, and certainly not having sex with the kind of big cock stud you just met. You went in to pick up a couple of new dildos, maybe a few porn movies, but you never imagined running into Kim Jungwoo, a colleague at the company you worked at.

Jungwoo was widely admired in the office. He was well liked, funny, a great worker, always there when you needed him, and incredibly good looking. Everyone talked about how he looked, but no one really knew anything about him outside of work. Everyone knew he had a 4 year old son that he clearly loved very much, and everyone also knew he was single.

You knew he wasn’t married because he was upfront about it, saying he wasn’t ready to commit yet. When asked if he was seeing anyone, he would smile and shake his head. There were rumors going around the office that he was gay, and that he had been briefly involved with another guy while in college, but no one really knew what had happened between them or why they broke up.

You only ever heard stories like this from co-workers who felt jealous of Jungwoo, as he was well off financially and got to do pretty much whatever he wanted. It seemed to be part of his appeal; you saw it all the time, people trying to get close to him, asking him out for drinks after work. Some would even come on to him right in front of you! He seemed to enjoy the attention, though, flirting back sometimes, giving people compliments or friendly nods.

But you were sure he was straight, as you had seen him around other women plenty of times. In fact, he made a point of being extra friendly whenever he ran into any of your female friends. He was respectful and sweet, not trying anything, just making conversation. It wasn’t until tonight that you realized just how close to Jungwoo you actually are.

After a day of training for a project you two were working on together, you walked down the street to an adult toy store near your apartment. The plan was to grab a few videos, maybe try something different in bed, as well as some anal lube and vibrators. But when you entered the store, your plans changed.

Your first stop was a section of toys labeled “For Her Pleasure Only.” This is where you usually stopped, picking out things that looked interesting. But tonight, as you picked up a few items, you noticed a few men staring at you. At first you thought it might have been due to you wearing an outfit that showed a lot of skin, but soon you began to wonder.

You were annoyed by their leers and were about to lash out at them but you felt a muscular arm wrapped around your waist. "Did you find what you wanted, babe?"

You turned to see who had grabbed you and was stunned to see that it was none other than the object of your office crush, Jungwoo. You noticed that the other men looked away immediately, embarrassed. "I…uhm..not yet."

"Ah. Well...let's look for something together."

As you stood there in disbelief, you began to notice that the other men in the store had backed off, leaving you alone with Jungwoo.

"Finally they backed off." Jungwoo said, taking his hand off of your shoulder. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Why are you here?" You asked him instead.

"Well, I live a few blocks from here." Jungwoo answered. "And I needed to pick up some supplies before heading home."

"You live around here?" You said, impressed. "I'm surprised we haven't run into each other before."

"I don't leave my house much these days." Jungwoo laughed. "My son and work take up most of my time, so I tend to stay at home. Are you here alone? You should be with your husband or boyfriend when you come to these stores. There are creeps around."

"Ah..." You bit your bottom lip. "I'm single. And I'm just looking for some stuff for myself since I obviously don't have anyone at home waiting for me."

"Oh...well then..." Jungwoo looked you over. "So, what kind of stuff are you looking for?"

As you tried to think of something sexy to say, Jungwoo interrupted you. "Come on, I know you want to look. What's stopping you?"

Suddenly, it hit you. Why was he here, shopping at an adult store with you? It was almost as if he knew you were checking him out, as if you two had planned this beforehand. You couldn't help but feel your cheeks flush with embarrassment as you remembered his hand resting on your bare hip earlier.

Your eyes drifted down to his crotch, which was bulging through his jeans. As you watched him shift slightly, you could make out the outline of his hard cock pressing against his zipper. His breath caught in his throat as you continued to stare at his crotch. It wasn't long before your curiosity got the best of you.

"So...are you interested in me?" You finally blurted out, feeling a little bolder now.

Jungwoo chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose you can say that. I mean, I've definitely had those kinds of thoughts. We work together, you know? We spend a lot of time talking, laughing, joking around, you know? It's hard not to notice someone like you."

You blushed. Was he flirting with you?!

He must have realized your confusion because he added, "I know what guys at work think of you. I guess I'm the same way. Maybe not quite so obvious, but you definitely turn me on."

"Wow..." You whispered, unable to believe your ears. "Are you serious?"

"Damn straight I am." He smirked, walking closer towards you. "Let's just say I like watching you walk around the office in those skirts."

"That's crazy!" You laughed nervously. "No one has said anything like that to me before."

"Have you really never noticed how hot you are?" He smirked again. "Maybe you're not used to guys thinking that about you."

"What do you mean?" You gasped, completely taken aback by what he was suggesting. "This is a strange conversation for us to be having."

"Maybe it is, but then again this is a strange place for us to meet outside of the office, isn't it?" He winked.

You suddenly became aware of the fact that you still hadn't looked away from his crotch, and realized what you had been doing. Your face burned red as you looked away, wondering if he noticed.

"I…" You started to say, but trailed off as Jungwoo placed his hands on your shoulders, pushing you gently towards the vibrators and dildos.

You looked back up to see him holding the biggest dildo you'd ever seen. "Um...what about this one?"

You stared at the huge thing, unsure if you wanted it. "It looks too big." You replied.

"Nonsense." Jungwoo shook his head. He grabbed your hand and placed it on this clothed crotch. "This is a good size to stretch you out so that you can take on the real deal later."

You bit your bottom lip, eyes darting back to the front of his pants.

"That's why I like you." He smiled, as he watched you. "You're adventurous enough to give it a shot, aren't you?"

You nodded quickly. "Yeah...yeah I think I am."

"Good girl." Jungwoo leaned forward and kissed you lightly on the lips. "Now, let's check out these movies, shall we?"

You nodded slowly, a grin growing on your face. "Yes sir."

He pulled your arm and led you towards the movie section. After grabbing a few movies, you headed towards the checkout counter. Jungwoo paid for everything without a word, smiling politely at the cashier.

Once he was finished paying, Jungwoo moved to stand behind you. "So, where are we going now?" He asked.

"Uh..." You took a deep breath. "My apartment. It's nearby."

He put his arm around your waist once again. "Perfect."

As you followed him out of the store, Jungwoo let go of your arm and tucked it under his arm. He held onto it tightly, turning your body so that your breasts were pressed up against his chest. With his free hand, he squeezed your ass cheek, causing you to shiver with pleasure.

"Mmmmmm...you're getting awfully horny, aren't you?" Jungwoo smirked.

"Mmmmmm..." You moaned. "Maybe it's the fact that you're practically groping me in public?"

"Maybe." He chuckled. "Or maybe it's just that I've been imagining fucking you for the past hour."

"Oh god." You breathed, not able to resist his charm anymore. "You have no idea how badly I need you."

With his hand still holding yours firmly, Jungwoo guided you across the parking lot and down the sidewalk. Once you reached your apartment building, he released your hand and helped you climb the stairs. As you opened the door, he pushed you inside.

"I've been dying to fuck you ever since we met." He groaned, lowering his mouth to yours.

His kiss was intense, and you were shocked to discover how talented he was at kissing. His tongue swirled inside your mouth, exploring every inch, as his other hand explored the curves of your body. Before you could respond, he pulled back, breathing heavily.

You gazed at him, surprised by his sudden retreat. Did he just reject your advances? Before you could ask him about it, Jungwoo dropped his bag and pinned you against the wall, slipping his hands underneath your shirt, cupping your tits. You moaned as he began to squeeze your nipples between his fingers, biting your lower lip to keep from moaning out loud.

"So sensitive." He growled, as he worked your nipple into a rock-hard peak. "Goddamnit, I can't wait to get you naked."

Before you could answer, Jungwoo gripped the hem of your shirt and lifted it over your head. His eyes widened as he surveyed your bare body.

"You're so beautiful." He sighed, reaching out and running his hands down your stomach. He paused briefly at your navel, massaging it lightly, causing you to gasp softly. "Is this okay?"

You trembled with desire, overwhelmed by his passion. “Yes…”

“Touch yourself for me, baby.” He urged, helping you get your pants and panties off. “Do whatever feels good. Use any of the toys we bought if you want. Just touch yourself for me.”

His words sent a thrill through your entire body, causing you to shake uncontrollably. Before you knew it, you had reached into the bag of toys that you bought and pulled out the small black vibrating bullet.

Slowly, you brought it to your clit, sliding it in between your lips. The cool silicone sent waves of pleasure radiating throughout your body, making your pussy throb. When it finally slipped inside, it brushed against your swollen g-spot, sending chills throughout your entire body.

“Tell me how good that feels.” He demanded.

You moaned as you ran the vibrator up and down your wet slit, circling your clit as well. “It feels amazing…so good…”

“Keep going. Do whatever you want with that toy. I wanna hear you moan for me.”

As you continued to tease your clit, squeezing your muscles, you could feel the familiar tightening of your body. A low guttural moan escaped your lips as you cried out, falling over the edge of climax. The pulsing vibrations filled your pussy as you came all over the toy, forcing you to clamp your thighs shut in an attempt to hold back another orgasm.

After a minute, you began to relax, letting go of your grip on the toy as your orgasm subsided. Jungwoo watched you carefully as you regained control of your breathing, mesmerized by the sight of you riding the high of climax. He couldn't believe how incredible you looked as you fell apart right there on the floor.

Without warning, Jungwoo dropped to his knees, positioning himself between your legs. With a wicked smirk, he grasped your hips and positioned them directly above his head. He spread your pussy open with his hands, licking his lips as he stared at your dripping pussy.

“Oh god…” You gasped, feeling lightheaded at the site of him staring at your pussy. “Why are you doing that?”

He smiled. “Because I want to taste you. Because I've been dreaming about tasting you all day.”

With that, he buried his face between your legs, sticking his tongue out and dipping it inside your moist slit. The pleasure almost caused you to come again as he teased your clit with his tongue, nibbling on it lightly. He continued this until you were shaking with pleasure.

"You taste amazing." He panted, looking up at you. "You're such a dirty girl. So naughty."

"Fuck…that feels good." You moaned, unable to help yourself.

“But first, I want to eat your pussy some more. Then I want to fuck you so hard that you scream my name.” He whispered, taking a slow lick up your inner thigh.

You felt like you were going to die from the delicious sensations. “Please…oh god…do it. Fuck me. Eat me. Fill me with your cum. I want you to fuck me so bad.”

Jungwoo sucked on your clit harder, moaning as he devoured you. Finally, after several minutes, you screamed out as an orgasm ripped through your body. Your body shook violently as you struggled to maintain your balance, letting out muffled cries as the pleasure kept shooting through your body.

Finally, the tremors died down, leaving you weak and breathless. Jungwoo didn't stop sucking on your clit however; instead he increased the pressure of his tongue, coaxing another powerful climax from you.

Jungwoo licked his lips, panting. “Oh god…baby…I love how dirty you get when you cum. That was so damn sexy.”

You ran your fingers through his hair as he looked up at you. "Jungwoo...let me return the favor. Let me suck your cock before you fuck me."

His eyes lit up, as he nodded vigorously. "Are you sure?"

"God yes!" You cried. "Let me suck your cock. Please."

The look of lust in his eyes caused a chill to run down your spine. "Go ahead."

Jungwoo stood up and began undoing his belt. Once it was undone, he undid his zipper, pulling his pants and underwear down to his ankles. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and threw it off. He stepped out of his clothes, allowing you to stare at his muscular form. You saw his balls hanging beneath his dick, his thick shaft curving downward slightly. He was so incredibly gorgeous.

Jungwoo walked over to the couch and sat down, spreading his legs so that they were wide open.

"Suck it, baby." He encouraged, opening his eyes.

Taking his cock into your mouth, you swirl your tongue around his shaft while you slid your hand up and down his length. You licked the underside of his cock, tickling his balls, teasing him with each stroke.

Jungwoo moaned loudly, digging his fingers into your hair as you pleasured him. He closed his eyes, moaning quietly as you slid your tongue up and down his hard cock. His arousal was evident, causing his cock to swell even larger in your mouth.

"Mmmnnn." You hummed, bringing your mouth to the tip of his cock. You flicked your tongue over the soft skin, stimulating his sweet spot. Jungwoo gasped, his body shuddering with ecstasy. He grabbed the back of your head, holding you in place as he began to thrust his hips.

With his hips bucking rapidly, you bobbed your head faster and faster, covering more and more of his cock with each stroke. Soon enough, you had wrapped your lips around the base of his shaft and sucked it deeply into your mouth, eliciting a throaty moan from him.

"Do you like that?" You breathlessly asked, licking the tip of his cock with your tongue.

"Yes…" He grunted. "Yeah…yeah…yes."

You brought your mouth back to his cock, swirling your tongue around his soft skin. At this point, you were giving him one hell of a blowjob. His cock felt amazing in your mouth. It was warm and hard, and you felt like you could do nothing but please him.

"Fuck, swallow my cum, baby." He moaned, grabbing your head.

Tightening your grip on his cock, you quickly swallowed every drop of his cum. After he finished coming, you gave his cock one last kiss, allowing his hot seed to coat your tongue. When you released his cock, it was glistening with your saliva and his cum.

"Jesus fucking christ..." He moaned, laying back on the couch, resting his arms behind his head.

Reaching out, you touched his chest gently, causing him to turn his head toward you. You leaned forward and kissed him softly, trailing your tongue along his lips.

"Did you enjoy that?" You asked, smiling seductively.

Jungwoo groaned, as he slowly moved his hands down to your ass. He gripped your cheeks, pulling your body closer to his. "You have no idea what you do to me, Y/N."

Grabbing your waist, he began to grind against you, sliding his hard cock against your dripping pussy. "That feels so good."

Your legs began to shake, trembling as he pressed himself against you. "I need to be inside of you." He groaned, moving his hips.

Jungwoo pushed his hardness inside of you, burying himself deep within your tight warmth. Your walls gripped his cock tightly, welcoming him. It felt amazing. He felt incredible. You couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh as he began to pump his hips, fucking you deeper and deeper with each thrust.

He bit your neck, nipping it softly, causing goosebumps to cover your entire body. Every time he did this, you felt as though your insides would explode. It sent shivers throughout your body, causing your heart to race.

"You're so fucking tight, Y/N." He moaned, gripping your ass tighter.

"Ahh…god Jungwoo." You whimpered, your walls contracting around him. "This is so good."

He squeezed your ass cheeks tightly, grinding against you roughly. "Look at me, Y/N. Look at how much I'm enjoying this."

His words sent shivers throughout your body. Suddenly, his lips met yours, tongues intertwined as he fucked you hard and fast. "Tell me what you want, Y/N. Tell me how much you want me to fuck you."

Gripping his ass harder, you clenched your teeth as you tried to focus on his voice. "I want you to fuck me so hard that I forget everything but you."

With that, Jungwoo slammed his hips into you, slamming you onto his cock as hard as he possibly could. It was enough to make you scream out loud, moaning his name. The sensation was so intense, that you wanted to cry out. As soon as the word left your lips, Jungwoo began to increase the pace of his thrusts, thrusting himself deeper and deeper inside of you.

He stopped kissing you, his mouth remaining pressed firmly against your neck. “Do you like that, baby? Does my cock feel good? Is it filling you up nicely?”

Wrapping your legs around his waist, you dug your nails into his back, moaning loudly. "Fuck…god Jungwoo. This feels so good."

Your body trembled, shaking violently as Jungwoo's relentless thrusts became too much to bear. "Ahh…I can't take it anymore! Jungwoo...oh god!"

He held your hips tightly, ramming himself as deep as possible, his moans becoming louder and louder as you began to scream his name over and over again.

"Come for me, Y/N." He growled, pushing you harder against his hips.

"Jungwoo!" You cried, as your pussy contracted around his cock, milking him dry. You heard him grunt as he came inside of you, coating your insides with his hot load.

After a few moments, you felt him begin to pull out of you, releasing you from his grip. A small amount of his seed remained trapped inside of you, seeping out of your hole and running down your thighs.

"Y/N, you okay? Did I hurt you?" He asked, leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead.

You smiled softly, pressing your face into his chest. "I loved it. And no, you didn't hurt me. I just need a minute to catch my breath."

"Are you sure?" He asked, cupping your cheek.

"Absolutely." You assured him, pressing your lips to his chest.

"I'm glad." He said, rubbing your arm. "I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did."

Smiling widely, you hugged him tightly. "I did. It was better than I ever imagined it would be."

"We should definitely do this again sometime." He whispered, wrapping his arms around you.

"Are you saying that you want to keep seeing me?" You asked him. "What will our coworkers think at work if they see us together?"

Jungwoo smirked. "If we're being honest here, I've been wanting to date you since day one."

Shocked by his words, you raised your eyebrows. "I never realized that you felt that way."

Jungwoo pulled you close, wrapping his arms around you once more. "Don't worry, Y/N. We'll figure something out. For now, I just want to spend some quality time with you."

Your body relaxed as he continued to hold you. "That sounds perfect."

Jungwoo cleared his throat, breaking the silence between the two of you. "Speaking of spending time with you, I really don't want to go back home tonight."

"What about your son? Won't he be worried about where you are?"

"He's with my parents tonight." Jungwoo told you. "Besides, there's no way in hell I'm leaving you alone tonight after all that happened."

A small smile spread across your face. "You want to stay the night?"

"Absolutely." He answered, bringing his hand up to caress your cheek. "If that's alright with you."

Smiling brightly, you nodded. "It's more than alright with me."

#nct #nct stories #nct fanfic #nct imagines #nct 127 #nct dojaejung #nct smut #jungwoo #kim jungwoo #nct jungwoo #jungwoo smut

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microcosmicheart · 3 months

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What Is It Time To Let Go Of? + Advice

A little tough love ahead.

1 2 3 4

Pile 1

For you Pile 1, it’s time to let go of your current position.

I see you here holding tightly to something you have worked extremely hard to gain. Could be a job or title at work. You may have started on a shakier foundation or at a disadvantage while working towards this thing.

Yet now, you’re here, you love it and it’s yours, but you're starting to crave more and don't know what to do with yourself. You may not even be completely aware of your craving for more and in turn, you're harming others by doing what you know best: protecting your territory.

It’s time to let go of this. It’s okay to want and work for more.

Advice

Your advice is literally to leave this all behind. Set your sights on something new. Understand it's okay to fall out of love with people, places and things.

If you're scared, remember you were scared when you first started and you made it anyway.

I love you, Godspeed

Pile 2

Pile 2 listen and listen well.

It's time for you to stop using mfs.

You have MAJOR control issues and paired with your genius mind, you set things up to have it all running “smoothly”. You may use your attractiveness or overall likeability to have others do things for you.

You also may have a crazy unforgiveness streak. Like you may be the type of person to take a grudge to the grave and this is another thing you need to let go of.

Advice

For your advice, I’m going to speak candidly.

You need to learn how to turn your gift of manipulation into something helpful, not only for others and for the fact that you're harming people when you use them, but especially for yourself. Turn your sights inward.

“Using your powers for good” if you will.

You're literally receiving this message because you’re ready to be made aware of it if you haven't already, but if you know about it this may be your ‘final warning’.

You have a beautiful mind, big aspirations and amazing gifts. You do NOT have to be a bitch to get what you want!

I love you. Fix it.

Pile 3

My beloved pile 3 🙁

At first I was very 🤨 towards your pile because the message didn't seem to want to come through but I see now that it’s being obstructed. Willful ignorance if you will.

I'm going to be straight up with you and tell you: that mentor/coach? They're using you and you know it.

WAIT DONT LEAVE YET HEAR ME OUT.

I know, I get it, I really do. This sport, this club, this group has given you a major opportunity and still is! You’ve also grown to love your teammates and may even look up to this mentor/coach, but it's time to let this cycle of your story go.

For some of you, you may even view this mentor/coach as a stand-in for an important figure who was and is currently supposed to be in your life, but that figure made their choice or had it made for them and they're not here.

But I'd like to remind you that keeping someone around who you've noticed is using you or keeping you from opportunities and telling yourself they're ‘doing it for your own good’ aint it. (It's also a form of settling.)

Advice

Your advice is literally to let this die. It's time to let it go.

I'm sensing you have offers and opportunities elsewhere and just haven't taken them. Let me remind you, if you're good at it here, you'll still be good at it there. (Also, don't worry about it being a Heat to Cavaliers situation. Lebron is ALRIGHT.)

I love you, please do what you need to do, and I can't wait to see you on tv!

Pile 4

PILE 4 COME HERE.

You are entirely too old to be acting the way you are and you KNOW it. It's time for you to get a grip and let all that childish shit go.

I'm talking about the lack of responsibility, them mean ass “jokes”, and the shit you're messing with others for that are just projections of your own personal wounds.

What is up with you? And be fuckin honest. Is it fear of adulthood? Fear of leaving your home behind? Are you afraid you won’t have as much fun if you act your age?

Whatever it is think about it. Sit with it.

Advice

Your advice? GET YO ASS UP!

Listen to me when I say, being stuck at 13,14,15 when you’re 36? Not cool.

And on the flipside, if you had that much fun as a kid, imagine everything and everyone out there waiting for you! People that have had the same problem and that are going to conquer it just like you are.

(Also, some of yall is stessin yo momma out fr 💀)

Get yo shit together my love. Fr.

#pick an image #pick a pile #pick a picture #pick a card #oracle reading #pac reading #pac #general reading #tarot reading

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agirlwholovesrockstars · 22 days

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smile idiot, I love you

☆ EDDIE MUNSON'S MASTERLIST ☆

❣ AGATHA'S MAIN PAGE ❣

• Summary : you called Eddie because you've been so down lately nothing brightens you up whatever you try to do but he only leads you to disappointment

• Word Count : mini fics for a reason hehe

• Warnings : 18+ Bestfriend!Eddie Munson x FEM!reader, cursing, reader and Eddie are both (20), use of y/n, self-doubt, overthinking, worrying about the future, just a dash of personal family problems, slight allusions to su*cide, not feeling good enough, Eddie can be a real idiot on this lol, reader is just really having a bad week and she needs someone to comfort her, that's it

• What to Expect : friends to lovers, angst and fluff

• Note To Reader : I'm trying to write more as I can here! so, I hope you'll appreciate it! 🥺🫶🏻✨ also I kinda projecting myself on this fic :')) I just wish there's someone like Eddie in my highschool life, but the problem is I am Eddie in highschool 😭

• Author Note : actually, the fic title itself has a history on my middle school days, it's what I quote to my crush for over (10 years 👀) HELP HAHAHA yeah I still do have a crush on that specific person until now anyways enough about me, I just realized that little phrase is so perfect for Eddie hehe

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You're now entering adulthood

Well, a young adult

Sooner or later, you'll be 21 and feeling like you haven't accomplished anything yet

You feel young but also at the same time you feel old

You know it is wrong to be worrying about your future because you're ignoring what you're having right now

You can't lie to yourself for it, you're grateful and thankful for all the blessings that come into your life

You got healed by all of things that scarred and traumatized you, the things that made you feel insecure about your looks and from all of the people who betrayed you before?

Your past self will still be self-loathing, low-esteem and still keep holding grudges

But now, you made peace with that like truthfully

You have never been more so comfortable and confident in your whole life after all of the things that happened back in when you we're 14

You seriously just can't help that you're like stuck in the middle didn't know which road or path that you will take over

Many people say that is okay if you don't have anything yet, is it that much more exciting?

But sometimes the fear comes first on you like you think about it a lot

What if this is it?

What if this is who you will be with all of your life?

College life, finding and looking for a job, trying anything you possibly can to earn money for your needs

It's all coming too fast it's like what they say, "Take a good care of treasuring your moments while still in your teens because time moves speedily"

It's true, you feel like you just had your 18 birthday yesterday and now all of the sudden you woke up and now you're 20

You're reaching your 20's and can't help but also worrying about your relationship status

Your family and everyone who is close to you are expecting you to be married

"Snap out of it!" You vocally told yourself to shut up your running mind

You close the door behind you

But before you take the stairs heading to your bedroom, you want to talk about how you feel with your parents

The moment you're about to open the sliding doors in the backyard, you overheard your parents arguing with each other

You frown and slumped your shoulders

You decided against it, so, you grip tightly on your bag and walk upstairs to your bedroom

You closed the door, you pressed your back on it and sliding down to sit on the carpeted floors of your bedroom and then threw your bag on your chair and you deeply sighed

You facepalmed yourself as your mind goes running a muck

You glanced at the telephone on your bedside table

Should you call Eddie?

Nah, he doesn't even want to be a part of your problem, you don't want to be a burden

The time when you get comfortable around Eddie, it feels like you can tell many things to him and he won't even judge you for it

The thing is that, you both haven't crossed that line in the level of friendship

You haven't showed your side of vulnerability and of course, he hasn't seen you sad like this

There's a splash of embarrassing feeling that is crawling under your skin and also you know you will regret opening up to him because you aren't used to it anymore

You used to be vocal about how you really feel to some of your friends

But since one of them betrayed you

Used your personal problems against you and shamed you for it, told somebody else about it and it saddens you and angers you

It changed everything, now, it's so hard to trust everybody for you

Ever since you and Eddie started your friendship, you've been itching to give him a glimpse of you that sometimes your life isn't happy-go-lucky most of the time

You can keep it to yourself, you know sometimes it isn't right to cling on somebody if you feel like this, you need to help yourself too

But now, you need it, you need someone else to listen

The muffled noises outside of your room, you could them more clearly behind the closed door, they still have the same heated argument, you think they went inside now

Your stomach grumbles, you really don't want to go down there while they're still having a fit but you sigh as you stand up and twist the doorknob open

They're in the living room as you headed towards the kitchen

You saw the plate that your mom prepared for you, you take it and grab a bottle of apple juice as you went back to your room quietly

"Hey, young lady!" Your dad shouted out to you as he loudly stomps, you flinched on the middle of the stairs

"Just leave her alone!"

"Why do you go to your room all the time, huh?!? Why don't you just eat in the dining table where you supposed to be?!?"

You hang your head low, you didn't speak but you can feel your heart racing

"Look at your kid! Our child is misbehaving and treating a lot of matters with disrespect"

"She is not acting like that-"

"She doesn't even talk to her parents!"

You still went on your bedroom finally but your tears are now clouding your vision as you placed your food at the small table in front of your bed

You glanced at the phone again and this time you didn't even hesitated, you dialed his telephone number as you collected yourself first and keep your breathing lowly

You're still sniffling and your tears still running down on your cheeks

You're too overwhelmed with everything

Your heart is about to explode of how much is going on right now, you feel like he doesn't gonna pick up the phone until few minutes later

"Hello?"

His voice lightens you up the moment you heard it

You cleared your throat "Eddie?" Your winced at your voice croaked

"Hey there, sweetheart!" He doesn't even notice how small your voice is

You mustered up and plastered a fake smile as if he can see you behind the phone

"Uh- I'm good, Eddie"

You can see him how he nods behind the phone as he spoke again "I miss you by the way"

Your eyes went wide to his words despite at how disastrous you look, your cheeks bloom in red

He missed you like a friend, right? Not the other way around?

"W-what?!?"

"I said I miss you!" He chuckles and it shoots more butterflies into your stomach at the sound of it

You squeezed your shut as your lips tug into a small smile as you wipe the residue tears from your face as you take a deep breath

You ignore the thrilling feeling that you're having right now as you ask him straight away

"Can you come over?" Your voice cracks as your eyes start to dart everywhere and hoping that he'll do it

You didn't even care if you sounded so weak at this point

You could hear him shuffling and making rustling sounds

You furrow your brows "Eddie, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting ready to come over" you can hear the keys to his van jingling

But before you can protest he said before he hanged up

"See you later, sweetheart"

"Are you sure-" the line went off as you stare at the phone with excited smile on your face

You freshen up and went in with your comfy sleepwear, you wore a strapped lavender top and short as you pull a cream cardigan sweater

You saw him parked in front of your house as you jogged towards the front door

Thank goodness, your parents are asleep they would never hear him coming

You unlocked and swing the door open before he can ring the doorbell

Your favorite smile of his appears as he saw you, he didn't even think twice of you hugging you

He also didn't noticed your lost eyes and your feeling blue expression

He lets himself inside as you manage to give him a smile

You told him to keep his voice low as you tell him your parents are asleep but he does his antics as always as you let out a genuine giggle

His eyes softens as he heard that a lot of times you hang out together

You both sat down on the couch as goes on with his usual rambling about his band and his D&D campaign

It's almost 8pm and you haven't told him what's the reason why he is here

Maybe, he thought that you called him to catch up with the things that you both missed out on for not bonding for the last 2 weeks

"E-Eddie" you tried to get his attention

But he still so very phased with his story to you

"The crowd goes crazy-"

"Eddie!"

He abruptly stops when your voice gets higher than before as you throw your hands up

His eyes goes a lot more bigger to your unusual behavior as he started to shift on his seat

"I'm sorry" you softly say as you look at him briefly on his eyes

"Eddie, I need to talk to you"

"Yeah, we're doing it aren't we? and you just rudely interrupted me"

"That's not-"

He cuts you off and you really don't want to get mad on you only one bestfriend who seems oblivious to what are you dealing now

"Can you recall of what I just said?" He exaggerated his words and becomes more dramatic

"You aren't even listening!" He runs his palms down playfully on his face

You're in disbelief

You tried to mask your shocked expression as you tried to chuckle

Does he even see the longing and need in your eyes?

Does he even know how low you are at the moment?

Or are you maybe picked the wrong person to talk to?

Maybe, you should've asked Max to come over instead of him

He feels that you're oddly quiet as he stopped talking again as he looked at you

He saw an unreadable expression on your face as he tries to understand it

That's the only time when he feels like something is wrong and off about this

He can feel how the atmosphere changed seconds later, he can feel the tension rising up in the air

You start to twiddle with your thumbs as you look down again

"Eddie, I called you to come over because I really need to talk to you"

"Yeah, we haven't seen each other for 2 weeks"

He's right at some points at that but not tonight, you incredulously laugh at him

"I-Isn't that the reason why I am in here?" He is confused as he tries to search for your face as you raised your head slowly

You look right back at him and that's where it hit him

The unreadable expression that he saw earlier, he can see it clearly now

He can see how hurt you look and how upset you are, his words caught up in his throat

That's where he finally realized that you're not doing any good ever since the call that you both had earlier

He feels like he's about to puke from his dumb actions

He can feel the bile forming up on his esophagus as he breath suddenly shudders at the sight of you

"I asked you to come here because I thought you will listen" you paused as you smile sadly at him

"It turns you're insensitive" you scoff as you went in the front door

He wants to hold your hand and ask for forgiveness but you ignore his words as you push him not too hard only for him to get him out of your house

Not giving him another word or a chance to let him talk as you already slammed the door closed as you start running up at the stairs as you let the tears fall

The phone rings is what made Eddie wake up

He groaned and he saw what time it is and now his head is like about to pop how achy it is

He only slept for 2 in a half hours

Did he ruin the friendship?

Is it over?

Did he lost the potential to have something more than friends with you?

His eyes went glassy as the events of last night replays back on his head as he massages his forehead as he picks up the phone

"Hello?" He sounds groggy but the person behind the other line is getting impatient with him

"It's about damn time!" Max's voice made him winced at it

"O-Oh hey, red- what-"

"Eddie, I think you need to check on her"

"Why?"

"Don't ask me questions just get in here!"

"That's my fault-"

"I knew it that you're the cause of it-" she takes a deep breath to calm down

"I-I'm just worried for her, Eddie- she isn't like this, she would've picked up the phone right now but she didn't, I can't contact her and I am literally here on her porch and I feel like she's keeping me away and ignoring me"

Eddie feels like a shit, there's this huge mega ton of weight fell down to his chest as he couldn't even take the guilt of his chest

"So, please, come here and I think you're the only one who can get to her"

"What makes you say that"

"Because, Eddie she has feelings for you"

He frozed and look back at the telephone as if she can see his reaction but he felt the eye roll that she did when Eddie went silent for a bit

"Oh, don't celebrate yet, you haven't talked to her"

"She may not say it to me but I can tell how the way she acts around you, you made her feel welcomed and that's hard for her, Eddie so don't take it by the heart if she goes sometimes harsh on you"

"Nah, red, thanks- I think I deserved the words that she thrown at me last night"

"What's the update?" He says as he watches the red headed girl getting panicked

Max paced back and forth on your front porch with her arms crossed

"There's none and I'm starting to feel unwell now"

Eddie stares at your front door as he thinks "Did you try to open the door?"

She shakes her head "No, I haven't- and also how can you be so calm?!?"

Eddie shushes her "Just be cool"

"I can't be cool" Max whisper-shouts at him as they quietly went inside

They call your name but no response and they look at each other with such suspense in the room and the fear of your state as the longer the silent increases

They climb up the stairs heading towards your bedroom

Eddie pressed the side of his face on the closed door and he hears a faint sound of a running water like a shower is open on your bathroom

He swivel his head quickly at Max as he told him what he heard and Max tenses as she tries to not jump into conclusions

Eddie opens the door to your bedroom only to find your bed is empty and hasn't properly placed back on its order

Your blinds are slightly open, the bathroom door is not fully closed and the light is on

They're starting to get nervous

Eddie spoke your name quietly again as he places his palms against the door as he pushes it further to open it

Max's heart breaks into half when she saw you sitting in the corner of your shower, you're still in your pajamas and it's now wet from the running water while you're crying horribly but the sight of you being somehow okay gives her a relief

She travels her eyes to your sink bunch of tissues everywhere and the weight is off with her chest as you didn't try to do anything

She knew that you have tendencies to do that and she always looks out for you even though you only give her an idea of what you truly felt, you don't elaborate it that much but just by one word, she knows

She just knows

You saw them both together standing in front of your bathroom doorframe that made you cover your face with your hands

Eddie is much more disheartened than last night seeing you like that is a punch to the gut

"I'll leave you to it, I'll stay downstairs" Max whispers to him as she gave him an encouraging smile as she left you both together as he closes the bedroom door

Eddie is determined to fix everything that he should've done last night

He makes his way over to you, you haven't seen him yet when he crouches down to hold you by his side, you flinched and gasp by his touch

Your knit your brows together at him as you eyes went everywhere on his face, he smiles at you and you mirrored his small gesture as he opens his arms as you went with it

He didn't even care if he gets wet like you

The water is now seeping through his clothes and his hair is getting damp but still he doesn't care

You hold onto to him like it was your last breath and that drives him to held you close to him

He rests his chin on the top of your head as you breathe heavily against his chest

"I'm so sorry" He says as his voice wavered as you pulled your brows together as you remove yourself off of him as you look at him in the eyes

"What- Eddie? I should be the one who is sorry because that is so selfish of me, I spoiled the night, you we're excited to tell me everything what I've missed from last 2 weeks and I'm just so self-centered not thinking about you first-"

He shook his head at you as he holds your hand you let him intertwined your fingers to him

"No, don't blame yourself, sweetheart- it's me, I am truly sorry about last night, I wish I could go back and redo the shitty thing that I did to you because I should've known, I should've known because I'm your bestfriend but I wanted to let you know that I do care about you so much, so much that I didn't get to sleep enough today I always think about you and please, please don't ever have doubts talking to me about the stuff that it's nagging with you because you can always be real to me"

You swallow the lump in your throat as you stare at him completely appalled to his words

His chest tightens, is he forgiven or not?

You watch how the water falls to him so perfectly and it's tempting to place your lips onto his, you didn't even thinking about it anymore

You already did

You breath hitches of your sudden action, the cold water seems to be so cold to you as you watch his cheeks turns to a tinge pink

He gave you a look that you don't seem to understand as he cups your cheeks as he returns the kiss

You yelp on the bathroom floor as you both started making out with each other with ragged breaths

He deepens it as he hold you by the waist as you held the back of his neck to pull him much more closer if that's possible

He felt your lips stopped moving as he looks back at you

Are you thinking that this is a mistake?

"Did I do something wrong?" It's a comedy to watch his face turns pale when you suddenly become quiet

"Smile idiot, I love you" you chuckle at him as you saw his shoulders relaxed as he takes a double look at you and what you just said to him

"You love me?!" He points to himself

You nod at him excitedly as you sheepishly smile

"Aww, I love you too, sweetheart- I can't fucking believe this" you giggled when he pulled you to give you another kiss

Max bangs the door that you two stop at what you're both doing

"You two better not get hanky panky in there!"

You both get dried up as you let him use your dad's old clothes

While Max is ordering pizza for lunch, you and Eddie are on the sofa, he's sitting while you're resting on his lap as he drew relaxing circles on your legs as his another hand caressing your head as you continue talking to him

He is attentive and looking at you intently

You told him everything and you see the way his shoulders slump and his eyes flashes with sympathy

"You're the strongest person that I know and I am proud of you, I really do" he kisses your cheek and you smile

"But you gotta remember that life isn't a race, this is not about who is going to be first one to be successful, there are a lot of people who don't know what their plans for their life yet and that is okay, don't you ever worry for the future and we are still young, there's so so sooooo many things to look forward to, there's so many great memories that haven't happened yet, just enjoy life and I swear on my Munson's doctrine that I don't care about what other people think of me and I'm just going to do what I want, what I love and enjoy and importantly what I like to do the most"

You giggled to his antics that never fails to make you feel happy and he soothes him

"I just get so overwhelmed with everything sometimes" you say as you avert gaze somewhere else

"That's normal, darling, because you're a human and you're not a robot" he boops your nose as you giggled again

"Do you think that I could do anything?"

"I think you're able to do amazing things and just set your mind to it"

"Thank you" you say to him, you feel a lot more better now

"Just trust me, you'll be fine" he says as he gently pats your thigh

"Okay, I started to get feel sick here because you two won't stop getting off with your hands with each other" she playfully throws up as you and Eddie both laugh

Eddie's eyes sparks mischief as he fires back at Max "Oh, she told me that you harboring feelings on me"

You cheeks went rosy as you glare at her, Eddie laughs at the look of betrayal in your expression

"Max!"

The doorbell rings as she ignores your imply as you she claps her hands together "Pizza!"

Eddie carefully removes your legs as he starts to help Max with the pizza

You watch them both as they get excited to bring everything at the coffee table and searching for a good film VHS

See, this is what you wanted

This is what you needed

Eddie is right, you'll be okay

As long as you have them and you evaluating your mentality and your physicality as you grew older and learn from every eventful happenings of your life and breaking free through your fears and letting yourself out there in your comfort zone, you will be proud of yourself more than ever

Because you know your story is not over

It's only just the beginning

#eddie munson #stranger things 4 #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson angst #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x female reader #eddie x fem!reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson supremacy #agirwholovesrockstarsfics

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salute-desire · 2 months

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Haiieee :3

Yea they all apply to me, explanations for my case below the cut if anyone somehow cares

So funny story. This Just recently happened. Xday (3 copies) -> Sugoroku (just Ibara, max copy) -> SS Fin on EN (Nagisa 3 copies) -> Absolute (in the process of max uncap, currently 3 copies). Am I still alive? Yeah. Am I miserable as fuck? Very.

Fragment without being obsessed over Bogie Time is like an angel without its wing. I was NOISY as fuck about Bogie Time for like 6 months until it drops on EN, I was fixating on optimising the grind for max uncap so much that I ended up in the top 20 by the end of it

If anyone dares to ask Fragment about anything related to gameplay, they will get a nearly incomprehensible essay on said specific topic. This has happened I-can't-count-with-my-fingers times

Big fan of Alkaloid but do I look like I will still be alive if I have to produce 14 characters. (Glances at Phantom Airship being the current EN event)

...Unfortunately I'm somewhat of an ENGstarrie (Tomatoes are thrown at me) I made my account during Bigbang and I somehow haven't missed a single event so... Yeha...

Remember point 3? Yeah those essays are made on the spot. I internalised them too hard.

...So I made a spreadsheet counting the total number of cards for each idol for personal use and currently planning to start a project by the end of this week to find out if live skills on DLFS are true RNG or if your performance during the prod. course determines the range of RNG. Yeah that sounds incomprehensible

DID YOU KNOW EVE FUCKING HATE ME? NOW YOU KNOW! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I BEG THEM TO COME HOME AND YET THEY FUCKING DON'T. REMEMBER THE GUESSING GAME FOR 8TH ANNIV? YEAH THEY REFUSE TO LET ME GET ANY TITLE DURING THAT. ADAM WERE MUCH MORE TOLERABLE, GENEROUS EVEN (ignoring LNY Nagisa that dodged like 100 pulls.). DID YOU KNOW THAT OUT OF 4 SERVERS I'VE PLAYED, THEY'VE COME HOME THROUGH GACHA IN NONE. NOW YOU KNOW! NOW YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I HAVE TO FUCKING SUFFER IF I WANT EVERY SINGLE MEMBERS OF EDEN TO HAVE REMOTELY CLOSE NUMBER OF CARDS BECAUSE THE ONLY FUCKING WAY FOR ME TO GET THEIR CARDS IS THROUGH EVENTS. NOW YOU KNOW WHY SOMETIMES I JUST CALL MYSELF AN ADAMP BECAUSE EVE FUCKING HATE MY GUTS AND WANT ME DEAD

The only 3 other times I've seen someone else have the same hc as me are searching on Twitter dot com and the specific disorder tag on Tumblr. Good news is good to know there are people out there who agree on me about NPD Hiyori and Ibara. Bad news is that's it?

I have nothing to say other than I'm mentally ill and have dedicated too much time on this fuckass game.

#enstars #As you can see I'm more of the type to munch on gameplay more #Don't get me wrong I do care about the story I'm just more autistic over math and systems and mechanics in games

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thegayhimbo · 7 months

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Stranger Things Suspicious Minds Review

WARNING: The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the book, as well as Stranger Things Season 4!

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out my other Stranger Things Reviews! Like, Reblog, and let me know what your thoughts are in the comment section! :)

Stranger Things Six

Stranger Things Halloween Special

Stranger Things The Other Side

Stranger Things Zombie Boys

Stranger Things The Bully

Stranger Things Winter Special

Stranger Things Tomb of Ybwen

Stranger Things Into The Fire

Stranger Things Science Camp

Stranger Things “The Game Master” and “Erica’s Quest”

Stranger Things and Dungeons and Dragons

Stranger Things Kamchatka

Stranger Things Erica The Great

Stranger Things “Creature Feature” and “Summer Special”

Synopsis: The year is 1969, and Dr. Martin Brenner has set up his base of operations at Hawkins Lab. Having brought along a five year old Kali/Eight to keep her contained while her powers develop, Brenner begins recruiting new tests subject for the MKULTRA Project in the hopes of finding others with potential. When college student Terry Ives hears about the experiment, she becomes intrigued and signs up for the program, believing it to be extremely important in shaping the course of history. However, as she starts spending more time on the project, she begins to realize the Lab and Dr. Brenner are not what they seem.........

Observations:

This is going to be a longer review compared to my other ones because I had a lot to say about the book, the show's mythology, and certain theories I have that might come to fruition in season 5. This will be split into four parts (which are titled below), so heads up on that! :)

Last year, when season 4 premiered, I ordered all the Stranger Things tie-in materials that were out at the time, and this was the first book in the series I read. I wanted to know more about the experiments Terry Ives was put through which would eventually lead to her conceiving Eleven, as well as what methods Dr. Brenner used to create human beings with extraordinary powers. To the book's credit, it (somewhat) answers those questions, but also leaves others vague or ambiguous. I couldn't tell if that's because Netflix and Random House Books planned for there to be more sequels to Suspicious Minds. If that was the case, it's probably a moot point now considering the direction the Duffer Brothers went in season 4.

The question I'm sure people are going to ask is whether or not this book is canon, and the honest answer is I don't know. The book was written by Gwenda Bond, and in her acknowledgements, she gives credit to "creative consultant" Paul Dichter for notes and advice. Paul Dichter is a writer who's been on the show since season 1, so there was someone from the writing team who oversaw this novel as it developed. The problem though is 1.) There is a continuity snarl in the book that contradicts information stated on the show, and 2.) The direction the Duffer Brothers took in season 4 begs the question of whether Gwenda Bond or even Paul Dichter had all the information about the show's mythology (such as Henry/One/Vecna and his relationship with Brenner, or Colonel Sullivan and the factions in the U.S. government opposed to the MKULTRA Project).

Because of these factors, I'm looking at this book more as an analysis of what it can tell us about the thought process behind the writers when it came to crafting the show's mythology and certain characters.

Part 1: The Upside Down's connection to the test subjects of Hawkins Lab.

Back in my review of Stranger Things Six, I proposed a theory that the abilities special kids like El, Kali, and Henry/One/Vecna had were connected to the Upside Down. Whether or not some force from the Upside Down gives them their powers remains to be seen, but both supplementary materials and even the show have implied there's a link between the two. Out of all the places Vecna could have been banished to by El, it comes off as too much of a coincidence that she sent him to the Upside Down once she fully tapped into her powers. It's even doubtful El knew what she was doing in that moment when she dissolved him like that. She wanted Henry/One/Vecna gone, but nothing indicates she had any foreknowledge of the Upside Down, or that she consciously sent him to that dimension.

That's not even getting into how she made contact with the Demogorgon in season 1 despite never seeing it before and not knowing what it was, or how her powers went haywire once she did and ripped open a gate between the two worlds.

In Suspicious Minds, Terry befriends another test subject named Alice Johnson, a mechanic who has a love for fixing machines as well as taking them apart and rebuilding them. When she's given psychedelics and administered electroshocks as part of the experiment, she begins having visions of the Upside Down and the Demogorgon:

Eventually, these visions show Alice parts of the future, such as Eleven being under Dr. Brenner's control and Terry Ives's eventual fate of being caught and administered repeated electroshocks by Brenner until she was reduced to the current state she's in on the show.

A lot of this is similar to what Francine/Six went through in her comic debut: She repeatedly had visions of the Demogorgon in the Upside Down, and even saw glimpses of future events as they played out:

The major difference between Francine/Six and Alice is that Six was shown to be psychic way before Dr. Brenner met her, whereas Alice only began to develop psychic abilities when she started taking acid and was given electroshocks.

This conundrum between characters who were born with special gifts and characters who had their gifts unlocked later in life is something that plays out on the show: Henry/One/Vecna was established as different from other kids growing up, but it wasn't until he moved into the Creel House at the age of 12 that he discovered his abilities. Whether or not something in the house caused his powers to activate or if he just discovered them naturally remains to be seen. Terry wasn't able to remote-view into the void until she began taking LSD during the experiments, and would use that to communicate with Kali in the book and El in season 2 when she came to visit her mother for the first time. El was born with her abilities as a result of the experiments and acid trips Terry went through while she was pregnant.

The idea suggested on the show and by supplementary materials is that psychedelics like LSD and Acid unlock something in the brain, allowing certain individuals to access psychokinetic abilities. However, it's unclear if the implication is supposed to be that the majority of humans have psychological inhibitors that prevent them from having those abilities, or if it all depends on the individual having those abilities at all.

In the book, there are two other test subjects, Gloria and Ken, who undergo similar experiments at the lab, and they don't have the same visions of the Upside Down Alice has, nor are they able to remote view like Terry can. While Ken claims to be psychic, it has more to do with certain feelings he gets about individuals, and when something happens to them. Case in point: He knows about Andrew's death before he's ever informed about it:

However, he doesn't have visions of the future or the Upside Down the same way Alice does. And as Brenner notes later on, the results of the experiments with Ken were lackluster by his standards:

That's not even getting into the other participants at the beginning of the novel (prisoners, insane patients, potheads, and draft dodgers) who were given the same experimental treatments and never showed the results Alice and Terry did. Based on that, the development of psychokinetic abilities likely has a lot to do with the person in question rather than the psychedelics themselves. Brenner even proposes a theory that a mind starting out as a blank slate and not corrupted by outside influences plays a major role in an individual developing certain abilities. It's a big reason why he allows Terry to continue coming back to the lab for experiments despite knowing she's pregnant at the time, and despite the trouble she causes him:

It's also why he keeps Kali/Eight separate from other people besides him:

That's all well and good, but that doesn't do much to explain Henry/One/Vecna's situation, and why his powers were dormant for 12 years before they suddenly weren't. They haven't established him taking psychedelics as a kid to unlock his abilities, and his angry, nihilistic rant to El at the lab conveys he was well exposed to the world around him and wasn't "a blank slate" in the same way El or even Kali were.

This is why I lean heavily on the theory of the Upside Down being connected to the abilities certain individuals have. Some kind of force or presence in that dimension acting as an influence on people without them realizing it, which could explain how they get those powers. I would even argue the LSD/acid acts as a tunnel between the Upside Down and the human mind via telekinetic energy. It's something the comic Stranger Things Kamchatka also touches upon when Dr. Orlov created a device that harnesses telekinetic energy to bridge this world with "someplace else:"

On a semi-related note, it's interesting that every time Vecna established a psychic connection with his victims before killing them, he would do it while held up in the air by vines attached to his back:

The implication I drew from this is that said vines in Vecna's back acted as a way for him to draw power from the Upside Down. In other words, the nature of the Upside Down amplifies his abilities. For now, I'm leaning on the theory that the Upside Down is the original source of his power, and that some force from it reached Henry as a kid all those years ago at the Creel House, which activated those abilities.

Part 2: The Characters

Getting back to the book, the synopsis speaks for itself: It's a prequel centered around Terry Ives (El's mother) during her time at the Lab with Dr. Brenner, and the experiments she was subjected to that led to the creation of Eleven. While there, she befriends several other test subjects: Alice Johnson, a mechanic who (as I described before) begins having visions of the Upside Down and the future once she's given LSD and electroshocks during the experiments. Gloria Flowers, a black college student with a love for the X-Men comics who's forced to join the project to get credits for her classes. And Ken, a self-proclaimed psychic who's later revealed to be gay. All four of them form a fellowship similar to the one in The Lord of the Rings (which is something referenced in-universe by the characters themselves) as they begin to question the nature and ethics of the experiments they're undergoing.

From the way the group is written here, it's clear they're meant to invoke the Party from the show. Ken for instance has a lot of similarities to Will in his sexual orientation and having some elements of being psychic and getting certain feelings at different moments (though in Will's case, it's usually when Vecna/The Mind Flayer is active). Lucas has many similarities to Gloria in being the pragmatic member of the group and having to deal with racism directed at them because of who they are. Alice is similar to Dustin in their natural curiosity about how things work. And finally, Terry has similarities to Mike in their desire to protect the people they love and being the ones to lead the group forward in pursuit of a goal.

The book also introduces Terry's boyfriend, Andrew Rich, who's revealed to be El's true biological father. Andrew is a product of the counterculture movement of the 1960s, both in his opposition to the war in Vietnam, his (valid) distrust of the government, and his willingness to participate in events such as Woodstock and protests about social issues. The book describes him as being rich enough to afford his apartment, and Terry at one point notes he's a little spoiled because of his parents money and his expectation that it will bail him out of any trouble he gets into. Despite this, he isn't entitled or mean-spirited. He's 100% supportive of Terry, and he's shown to genuinely believe in the causes he protests for. All of which makes his fate heartbreaking later on.

If you thought Brenner was a monster for what he did to Terry Ives years later, this book makes his actions even worse. Not only did he steal El as a baby and had Terry's brain fried when she tried (and failed) to get her back, but he's also responsible for the death of Andrew. After Andrew gets in trouble at the University for protesting against the Vietnam War, Brenner specifically pulls strings in the government to get Andrew's lottery number drawn so that he's sent to the front lines in Vietnam to be killed. All of which is done to get Terry back under Brenner's control. And sadly, it works.

On top of that, Brenner's behavior in this book is straight-up psychopathic with traces of narcissism. I don't mean this the way internet users like to throw those words around to describe people they don't like, but in the actual diagnostic sense: He has no empathy for anyone, not even Kali/Eight whom he views as a lab rat and not as a five year old girl with wants and needs. He has zero issues firing people just for questioning him, or because they react in a way that irritates him. He has no moment of consciousness about pushing the boundaries of his experiments, and his reaction to possibly getting someone killed is to note the loss of potential rather than feel any guilt over his actions. He lacks remorse, he's ruthless in his pursuit of his goals, he makes impulsive decisions based on the results it will get him and doesn't give a damn about the collateral damage he causes, he's definitely power-hungry, expects nothing but respect and unquestioning loyalty from others regardless of whether or not he deserves it, and from what little we do see of his personal life, he appears to have no close relationships. Everyone is a pawn to him.

And to the people out there who keep insisting that Brenner loved the kids under his care............he didn't. His interactions with Kali/Eight in this book are proof of that. Not only is he abusive towards her (including depriving her of sleep when he finds out she's been keeping secrets from him), but his internal thoughts about her make it very clear that he does not empathize with Kali, and only indulges her on occasion to keep her under his thumb.

On a related note, this is why I take issue with Brenner apologists in the fandom who buy into the excuses he makes to El in season 4 when she confronts him about his past sins. For all the posturing he makes about caring for the special kids in his care, the truth is it was ALWAYS about him and what he wanted. He saw a potential weapon when he met Henry/One/Vecna, used him to replicate other kids with similar abilities, and was not above abusing and gaslighting them to get results. Vecna was right on the money when he said that it was all about control for Brenner. Even in the book, he displays this attitude, which rightfully disgusts Terry:

This is why I also don't agree with people who insist Brenner was redeemed in season 4. He wasn't. He never takes any responsibility for the damage he causes, and keeps insisting everything he did was justified when it wasn't. Even his dying breath is used trying to guilt-trip El into absolving him for his behavior by begging her to "understand." That is NOT redemption. And based on how El refuses to absolve Brenner as he's dying, she feels the same way. There are some things you can't be forgiven for.

Kali/Eight is also present here. She's 5 years old when this story takes place, and Brenner has kept her isolated from the other kids (and test subjects) because he wants her powers to develop more. One day, during her experiments at the lab, Terry accidentally finds Kali while roaming the halls, and after befriending her, Kali becomes a main factor in why Terry and her friends keep returning to the Lab despite knowing that Brenner is bad news: They think Kali's being held against her will by Brenner and are trying to find a way to help her escape.

If you've seen the first 2 seasons, you know EXACTLY how that's going to go.

The tragedy with Kali's character is, because of how young she is, she doesn't fully comprehend the situation around her. On some level, she's aware that Brenner is dishonest, and a big source of contention between them for most of the book is her being upset with Brenner because he keeps promising to give her a friend to play with and doesn't deliver (he only fulfills that promise at the end once he's kidnapped El, and it's not out of the pure goodness of his heart). Unfortunately, because Brenner is the parent figure she knows at that time, she still refers to him as "Papa," and goes along with what he wants because she doesn't know any better. She also isn't able to keep her visits with Terry a secret, which Brenner is quick to find out about from Kali and use to manipulate both her and Terry going forward.

This all adds new context to the scene in "The Lost Sister" when Kali is persuading El to kill Ray Carroll, the orderly responsible for torturing Kali when she was a child and frying Terry's brain with electroshocks on Brenner's orders. She isn't just pressuring El out of a desire for revenge, but also because she holds herself responsible for El and Terry's current predicament. She isn't at fault for what happened (the blame is 100% on Brenner), but she still feels like she is.

I said this before in my review of Into the Fire, but I sincerely hope the Duffer Brothers bring Kali back for season 5 and give her story a proper conclusion. There was a lot left in the air the night El left Kali behind to return to Hawkins, and it would be cathartic if both of them got closure, and if Kali was able to let go of her anger towards those who wronged her and maybe find companionship and familial love from El. My biggest worry is that, because of how badly she's hurting and because she's still lashing out from the wrongs done to her, she might be susceptible to Vecna's manipulations, especially if he tries to recruit her and use her against El. I have hope she won't descend into the same darkness Vecna has, and that she can find a way to heal, but we'll have to wait and see.

Part 3: The Ending

The last 50 pages of this book were rough to get through. It's not that they were badly written, but when you've seen the show, you know exactly what's going to happen: Kali isn't going to be rescued from the lab, Terry is going to give birth to El and have her stolen by Brenner, and Terry will spent the next several years fruitlessly trying to get El back before Brenner subjects her to a fate worse than death. The only victory Terry manages to achieve at all is faking Alice's death and helping her escape to Canada so Brenner can't use her in further experiments. It's like the writers realized it would be too much of a Downer Ending unless Terry got some way of sticking it to Brenner, so they gave her that moment as compensation. Unfortunately, it still doesn't make the ending any less depressing.

On top of that, one of the aspects that bothers me is, for all the camaraderie shown between Terry and her friends............we never see them again. There's no mention on the show about Gloria or Ken or Alice and if they're still fighting against Brenner or if they know about what happened to Terry. Did Brenner have them hunted down and silenced? Are they still alive? We're never given an answer, and it's likely we might not get one unless they write a sequel to this book. I remember a while back I had a conversation with @pusheen1802 and @lavandulaphoenix about the possibility of a spin-off focusing on Terry's friends, but that remains to be seen, and the spin-offs they have announced don't seem to be centered on that.

And this brings me to how Suspicious Minds ties in with the show....

Part 4: Canon and Continuity on Stranger Things

I said at the beginning of this review that there was a continuity snarl that I couldn't ignore, and that has to do with the year El was born.

The main plot takes place between July 1969 and June 1970 (with an epilogue on November 1970). According to the book, Terry got pregnant in November 1969, and she later gave birth to El in June 1970 after Brenner unknowingly gives Terry a special dose to cause her to give birth earlier than usual. Based on this, it would mean El would have been 13 by the time the first season of Stranger Things starts.

However, on the show, it's specifically stated that El was 12 years old when Becky is telling Hopper and Joyce about the circumstances behind Terry's supposed miscarriage.

From Season 1, Episode 6 "The Monster:"

Becky: I don't think you guys understand. Terry miscarried in the third trimester. She keeps all of this up. Been doing it for 12 years. [sigh] Terry, uh, pretends like Jane is real--like she's gonna come home someday.

If El was 12 years old, that would mean she would have to have been born in 1971. Even if we're being generous and rounding the numbers, she still would have to be 13 if she was born in 1970.

Some people might call this a small nitpick, but it's one that bothers me. I've come to accept that the Duffer Brother and the writing team for Stranger Things may not be so great with numbers and dates (*cough* Will's Birthday *cough*), but oversights like this make me question whether this book can count as canon because of that.

Then there's everything to do with Henry/One/Vecna. It's pretty clear based on how the book was written that Gwenda Bond (and likely Paul Dichter) were kept in the dark by the Duffer Brothers about One's importance to Brenner and Hawkins Lab. There is no instance in the book where Brenner ever thinks or talks about One despite him being the reason the MKULTRA program took off like it did. His inner dialogue is focused on how Kali/Eight has been the only test subject who has shown powerful abilities, and how all the other kids at the lab were "ordinary so far." Based on what's revealed in season 4, we know this isn't true. Henry/One/Vecna had powers by the time he fell into Brenner's care, and had already used them to murder his mother and sister. Brenner also knew that Henry/One/Vecna was dangerous enough that he had to be controlled, which is why he placed the soteria chip in Vecna to keep his abilities suppressed.

And I get for the purposes of the twist in season 4 why the Duffer Brothers withheld information about Henry/One/Vecna, but it unfortunately creates a plot-hole in the book when Brenner is acting like Kali/Eight is the only child who's demonstrated powers thus far.

Final Thoughts:

Usually, I give a recommendation about whether or not someone should check out a Stranger Things Tie-In, but in this case, I'm not sure how to proceed.

The book itself is well-written, and it gives interesting insight into the thought process behind the mythology of the show. It also fleshes out Terry and Brenner's characters while allowing the audience to see the circumstances behind the experiments at Hawkins Lab. However, for the reasons I've just described, I can't 100% claim this book is canon.

I hope this review has given a general overview about the book, and I hope it helps people to decide whether they want to read it or not. For what it's worth, I'm glad I did.

Coming Soon: Stranger Things Runaway Max

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boobachu · 5 months

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Rewatched Sonic Prime

and the finale of season two basically upped the ante to where the story is either going to have a really good ending or be so bad it brings the entire series down. (Kind of a long-ass post with spoilers if for some reason you haven't felt to binge the almost seven hours of show yet.)

This moment right here completely changed the tone from "Sonic broke the universe and needs to fix it" towards "If Sonic succeeds, he would be committing multiple omnicide"

Sonic Prime Sonic could earn the title "World's most genocidal hedgehog" and that's really interesting.

Now, this is what has been a very basic "modern marvel" "robot chicken"-ass story, I mean very interesting characterization but otherwise very cookie cutter.

Which, I mean, we got a whole season to explore it, but Sonic immediately defaults to his pussy-ass "FRIENDSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!11!!" but kind of the core of the story has been "Sonic's worldview is wrong"

Even though nothing too terrible has happened to him (beyond everyone he knew and loved and could ever know and love potentially being killed forever) it's very clear that the basic message is that Sonic's happy-go-lucky attitude needs to change, but so far we haven't seen what it needs to change into.

So basically

I think Sonic Prime is going to A) Have no fucking idea how to fix this problem it imposed on itself by stating the fact that Nine isn't Tails, and you're going to have to kill three people to bring back your little brother

So it just "Whatever! I don't care! We restored Status Quo without killing entire universes!"

or B) as stated before, Sonic Prime goes down as the Sonic canon that commits genocide across space and time to restore his parody of how news journalists who haven't played since Sonic the Hedgehog 2 react to seeing a human in a Sonic game.

or C) which is the least likely, they make some damn good writing that somehow preserves the new universes without it feeling like a handwave.

Honestly the B option could also be "Nine, Mangy and Sails fuse into Tails who has memories off all three" but that is also unlikely because it has the implications of every single being across the universe becoming plural or something. At least I don't think that's an obvious route to take.

People are concerned about Nine being a villain, and he's definitely going to be an antagonist, but I absolutely do not see how wanting to stop someone from wiping out countless worlds to save his own is a villainous trait.

Maybe they'd have the grim project turn out to destroy the other worlds, but that would come out of nowhere and would be kinda dumb to do the "dooming the multiverse through hubris" twice.

Tho it'd also be kinda interesting if the grim project turns out to be basically Eggmanland except Tails.

Like I'm not expecting the final episode of Sonic Prime to be the gang having a party while Sonic sits in the shadows going "I have become death, destroyer of worlds... literally!" and Shadow's like "You did what you had to do. I won't say more because the memory is punishment enough." and then he teleports away leaving Sonic to stand alone in uncomfortable silence while the party is heard in the background and then it cuts to black for the doofiest ass theme song to play over the credits.

It's more Sonic Prime has the potential to be in a Sonic lore iceberg as "Sonic canonically has more blood on his hands than anyone in fiction or reality"

Which is interesting.

#Sonic Prime #Nine Sonic Prime

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raccoon-eyed-rebel · 10 months

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✨If you get this, someone thinks you are awesome!✨

✨Send this anon to 10 blogs that make you happy when you see them on your dash ✨

Hi anon, anon, anon, anon, anon, and anon. I hope you'll forgive me that I'm just gonna answer this once - but with a li'l twist!

I love that people took time out of their lives to tell me they think I'm awesome; I think they're all awesome, too! Now instead of answering this six times and then sending this on to 10 people anonymously... I'm gonna call out the people I was gonna send this to publicly! With a little bonus...

It has to be @geralts-yenn! I couldn't call myself her rodent bestie if I didn't have this number 1 spot reserved for her. Now, first this bitch wonderful person writes me Ray of Sunshine, a modern-day Melot AU wet dream filled with bikers and beaches and sex, but she also hit us with anahita - a Napoleon smutfic so hot you'll be sweating like a whore in church before you're even through the first paragraph. Go read that. You're welcome.

Next, we've got my co-Dutchie @keanureevesisbae, who is busy with her own projects instead of fanfics nowadays. Still: Go read endeavors and thank me later. Or, if you're into a little RPF and want to live life vicariously through sugarbaby Becky there's also sugar sugar, which is very nice as well... (I just want a man to come take me shopping, okay?)

@deandoesthingstome is an amazing writer, I am often jealous of her way with words, and she is one of the kindest people I know on here. Go read Holiday Angel. It has everything. A luxurious mansion to mentally vacay in for a bit, gentle!Dom!August, forbidden fruit romance. It's a long one, but so, so worth it... Another good one? Why, of course! Hall Pass. Just read it. She also deserves a shoutout to being one of the most supportive readers in this entire fandom

They haven't been on here long, but my tumblrverse would already be so incomplete without @ellethespaceunicorn! Not only did they write Treat Me Like A Slut, which has August just the way we like him; dominant and deep inside you, they also found it necessary to write Make That Kitty Purr. And I agree. It was necessary. Nevermind that my babyboy Mikey gets hurt, I'll forgive Elle for that because this shit was so fucking good.

Next up we've got @peyton-warren, who only recently returned from a little Tumblr hiatus, and I thus haven't spoken that much just yet, but the drabble Arresting and Arrested should be enough to get you to take a look at the rest of her masterlist.

Go check out @mayloma, creator of Behind The Curtain, which has a lovely August and some anal action - which means I'm always game! She's also very sweet. I know I haven't read much of her stuff, but if I ever get my act together and get reading again, Yenn assured me there's some Sy to check out here.

It's no secret I don't particularly like my Sy's in the military, which makes it all the more impressive that @sillyrabbit81 wrote one that I did fall head over heels in love with! He's in Even if you don't mean it, and if you haven't read that, go do it now. And I do mean that. Then, perhaps my all-time favorite fic so far has to be The Fallen Wolves Brotherhood. Maybe I should elaborate on that, probably, but instead I'm just gonna say: Bikers. Proceed with caution, because when that next chapter hits, you're gonna have to pause Criminal Minds. I'm also going to leave the link to Prying here, because it's so fucking dirty it melts my brain a little every time I re-read it.

Now, we all love seeing @angryschnauzer on our dashes, keeping things horny on main and yeeting the occasional fic into the dark void that is this hellsite. For instance Cuddles and Snuggles, an unholy combination of Mike and Charles - something that had never even crossed my mind - and a guest appearance from sugardaddy August. Mad perfection. Now my next rec for her may be a little odd, because she makes it very clear that it's a crack fic; Full Mast. I'm a sucker for everything pirate - and so is reader... just check out Part 2...

@poledancingdinos amazed me with You've got me hooked, which has stripping and sex work and Sy, who is great. I think I read this entire (or almost entire?) series in a single night while I was in bed. Couldn't stop... She's also responsible for Soundtrack of Debauchery, which I still haven't finished, because my ADHD has been a bitch, but I started it, and it was very good!!!

#10

And last but not least: @littlefreya. I'm fairly sure there are still things on her massive masterlist I haven't read, and a lot of which I read in my pre- and early fandom tumblr days, and haven't reblogged (for which I apologize, by the way). The sheer vastness of her masterlist makes it a bit tricky to pick, but let's go for some delightful dark fics; The Devil's Tongue and Destroyer of Angels

SO: The challenge. If you're on this list (or if you're not on this list, this is an open invitation to everyone!) rec some fics! Write an essay, like this one, or don't. Toss a few names and some titles in a list and be done with it, that's fine. Recommend one, or ten, or twenty authors. Hell; Recommend yourself! Recommend your favorite artist, link some art! Spread the love!

#anon ask #anon positivity #spread the love #fandom is community #I woke up with an unexpected amount of energy today #fic rec #not mine #author rec list

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kokoskwark · 4 months

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hi evy! i hope you're well. 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 18, 24 and 30 for the end of year fic asks? <3

hi honeeyyy <333 I'm doing well! hope you're well too :D

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again?

Yes there are a few things I'm doing newly! I wrote an actors fic for the first time, I wrote two fics focusing on dancing, and I liked that a lot! I also am writing a pirates fic right now, with seungin as a pairing which I haven't done yet in a full fic, and idk if I will write them again any time soon, but maybe yes! Who knows!

2. How many fics did you work on this year? (They don’t have to be finished or published!)

I published 15 fics this year, update my drabble collection, and I am writing another one right now! I also worked on a mermaid x alien fic but that didn't really work out the way I wanted to I abandoned that djnfkfdnhkj

3. What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer?

Tough question! I guess I learned even more that I like writing new things! I learned more to not really care about engagement as long as I'm having fun writing, and to really cherish people who read and comment on my works!!!

10. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

I loved working on everything, but I guess the happiest I was working on Can't you feel how much I love you? Because I had already planned that I'd write this one (it's a sort of part 2) and I loved exploring Jeongin and Felix as demigods, and of course I could really let everything out and self-project on ace Jeongin jdhfngkjfnh

11. What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

The most satisfying to finish I guess was Break a leg, not your heart because it was my longest work this year (42k)!

18. What was the hardest fic to title?

Titles are my nemesis in general and I don't really remember which ones I struggled with... Maybe A thread that joins together? It's a soulmate fic so the title does reflect that, but it was difficult to come up with kjfdnhkfjg

24. What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

I don't reallllyyy remember anything in particular, only that I meant to write more enemies to lovers-ish in Finding each other's rhythm but the enemies part didn't really work out which was fine (and kind of expected from me tbh haha), and it didn't really change the story, it only made it so that it didn't have to be too long dkjnhk

30. What’s something that you want to write in 2024?

I don't have anything in particular, but I always want to write new things! I'm participating in bingos on twitter so that will be no problem and I'm excited for it hehe!

thank you for asking honey <333

#ask #oh-my-chocolate

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princesscolumbia · 2 months

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Smokin' Hot

Was having an absolutely miserable night last night, so even though I was not planning on posting this one until Monday, I felt like I needed a win so I finished it up early and shot it off into the universe. I'll be posting the next chapter of Double Isekai tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Oh, and if you haven't read the two previous stories in this series (don't worry, they're one-shots), here's the links:

The Joketsuzokunichuaan Saga

Description:

What if there was a "Spring of Drowned Warrior Woman?" And what if the Amazon tribeswomen were obligate impression procreators instead of just having a silly law about marrying outsider men who managed to defeat them?

Notes:

And, most importantly, what if you could write such a series without it being squicky 'bad end' fetish porn?

Like a Cat in Heat

Dragon's Lair

Summary:

Kasumi doesn't want to remember

Notes:

This one is...different from the other two entries in this series. If you know me at all, except for certain themes (Celestia is always Sunset's mom somehow, Ranma is always at least NB, if not transfemme, context is king, etc.) I don't like repeating things. Considering I already "repeated" Ranma's curse with Herb for "Dragon's Lair," I didn't want to give someone in the Phoenix tribe a Joketsuzokuniichuan curse and call it a day. A good part of this fic's story and structure can be laid at the feet of Tamsyn Muir and the way she told an absolutely batshit insane, totally off the wall, MAGNIFICENTLY managed Harrow the Ninth. If you haven't read The Locked Tomb yet, you won't have any idea what I'm talking about. If you have, you'll see exactly what I mean fairly quickly.

Preview below the cut:

"This," said Ku Lon to the gathered Saotome-Tendo families, "Is Plum. Yes, like the fruit. Her family have been serving as guides for Jusenkyo for as long as records of the springs have been kept. She took over from her father a couple of years ago and has been doing a far sight better a job than he did...and she's also exceptionally brave."

"Plum not know who to trust. Just know Ku Lon and Xian Pu good to Plum when mother die. So Plum come here when Jusenkyo start to dry up."

Kasumi fidgeted as surreptitiously as she could under the restaurant table. She knew she didn't really have a place at these discussions. She wasn't a martial artist, she wasn't bonded to or wed to one of the Joketsuzoku, and she didn't have any dragon blood in her family line. She was here because she was the 'matriarch,' for whatever that title was worth, of the Tendo family and so honor demanded she attend. She at least had the reassuring company of Hiroshi and Daisuke seated with her at the same table, today wearing some rather silly maid costumes in their female forms. The three of them had bonded over the fact that they had the least ability to do anything for anyone in this rarified atmosphere of condensed power and martial skill.

"Wait, the springs're drying up?" Ranma gaped, "Aint they been around for, like, thousands of years?"

Plum nodded, "Springs guarded by Joketsuzoku, kept clean by Musk, and fed by spring in Mount Phoenix. Three tribes, three legs of stool, is balancing act."

Ku Lon spoke up when confused looks spread through the non-natives to the Juusendo region, "While we don't have records of the origin of Jusenkyo, the legends of our peoples tell of the Amazons, the Musk, and the Phoenix working together in a sort of...mutually assured destruction peace treaty. The Musk would master the springs themselves, the Phoenix keeping the source of the springs safe, and the Joketsuzoku keeping the outside world from discovering the secrets of the springs. And in the middle of it all," she pointed with her cane to Plum, "The guides, only there to observe and to keep wandering visitors safe and direct them to the Joketsuzoku."

"Four months ago we got word of some serious troop movements among the Musk," Nabiki almost unconsciously put her hand on Jian's knee with a gentle squeeze, "They were positioning units in concerning ways, but once it was clear that the Joketsuzoku weren't the target, Ku Lon and I decided to take a 'wait and see' approach. We expected that if this was unprovoked Musk aggression, then the Phoenix Tribe would send someone to the Joketsuzoku to ask for help, part of the balance of power in the region. But instead...?"

"We got silence," interjected Ku Lon. "We, that is, the village sent emissaries, but they were turned away before they even got to the foot of the mountain. We then sent peace envoys to the Musk to see if they were acting on some sort of aggression from the Phoenix people, but our warriors were attacked without provocation. Fortunately, no loss of life, or else this would be a drastically different kind of meeting."

The Elder Emeritus sighed and sipped at her tea, "At least we have an idea why the Musk reacted now, if the Phoenix are interfering with the flow of the water from Juusendo, then the Musk, who use the springs regularly for their...barbaric purposes, would have noticed first. Why they didn't come to us..."

"Because my father is a fool," snapped Jianren. "He believes that men, and specifically the Beast Warriors of the Musk, are all that anyone needs for true power. He will see this as a personal attack against him, specifically, and everyone else is complicit in the crimes he imagines are being committed against him."

"Idiotic old lizard," grumbled Ku Lon, "What is more distressing is the news that the Kaisufuu has been found." At the expected blank looks, she explained, "There are two artifacts that were created to work in tandem with the Springs of Jusenkyo. The Chiisuiton, or Locking Ladle, and the Kaisufuu, or Pot of Liberation. When a silly young prince," Ku Lon nudged Jianren gently with the head of her staff, "So foolishly thought the best way to acclimate himself to the sight of a naked woman was to use his people's traditions to make a mistress of a monkey," Jian had turned beet red and was clasping her free hand over her eyes, her other hand held by an impishly smiling Nabiki, "He, now she, fell victim to the Locking Ladle, which was then lost when Ha Bu fled rather than deal with the ongoing shame of being a princess in a land where women were considered to be barely above animals."

"Legend said that the two artifacts will point the way to each other," Jian interjected, "I thought to take the ladle and pail with me to find the kettle, but then I was ambushed by some highwaymen in the deep backwoods of China. I overpowered them, but the pail and ladle were lost in the battle. That...that was the moment I swore off my birth name and became Jianren."

Kasumi watched as Nabiki leaned into her wife and the two cuddled for a bit. To her left, Hiroshi and Daisuke looked on as well, satisfied smiles like book-ends on their faces.

"Given the kettle was lost centuries ago," continued Ku Lon when it became clear that Jian wasn't going to say anything further, "It is only reasonable to conclude that the pail and ladle were recovered somehow and then used to track down the Kaisufuu. If only one artifact was the possession of either the Phoenix or the Musk, it would be bad. But given the Musk have been behaving defensively and the Phoenix have halted the flow of the springs, we have to assume that the Phoenix tribe has both artifacts and are preparing to use them for some reason we cannot know without more information."

The more experienced warriors, politicians, and martial artists began speculating, though it was clear they were going to be talking in circles. Kasumi looked over to the other two girls at the table and reached out, clasping Hiroshi's hand, "You don't have to do it, you know."

They both turned to her with confusion etched on their faces. In a bit of the puckish karmic humor Jusenkyo was known for among those who studied the magics of the springs, where Daisuke had the more common dark black hair of most Japanese men and Hiroshi had lighter, shaggier brown, almost blond hair as a man, as women their hair colors were nearly exactly reversed, though Daisuke's girl-form hair was closer to dirty blond than light brown. They had similar builds to each other, which had led to some interesting clothing swaps on occasion. Of course, they both had a masculine sense of feminine modesty, which is to say nearly non-existent, a fact for which Nabiki and Jianren had taken shameless advantage of over the years.

"What're you talking about, Kas-chan?" asked Daisuke innocently.

Kasumi just swept Hiroshi's hand into a two-handed grip and bore into the part-time woman's eyes with her own, "You know Jian is capable of taking care of herself, even against her father. Please, you know how much it will hurt Jianren, and Daisuke and Nabiki will be heartbroken."

The two boys-turned-girls looked at each other with sad, defeated expressions. "C'mon, Kas-chan," drolled Hiroshi as she turned to the older woman, "You know that's not how this conversation went."

(Read the whole thing on AO3)

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magpies4nights · 2 months

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(Title is a joke don’t take this seriously (please don't go to Ecuador)) GASA4AM COSPLAY MEET UP AT 0°47'03.1"S 91°00'09.9"W 1:00 PM ECT, BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!!!! (dev log #10)

Hi guys. I haven't died yet, for the people who are waiting on my downfall. It felt like I was dying because I was sick! yippee! I mean, I still am, but I can walk around mask free because it's basically just a little itchiness in my windpipe, but compared to last week Friday (I felt so sick I couldn't even get out of bed without the help of my parents dragging me out or even lift my head for that matter), I feel great. With how sick I was, I kinda didn't get to work on the fan game as I hoped I could. Of course, I could have requested to have a break from classes, but I think they wouldn't be so lenient without a covid test and I'm sure it would have been negative. I also had to do homework on top of having a sniffly nose and walking around like I was hit by a car. You know heavy machinery? I had to deal with that with fogged up glasses. My mom apparently said that her dad lost part of his finger to a table saw, and I thought I was going to have history repeat itself, although hopefully that doesn't mean the 90's are making a come back. The only good thing that may have happened was the MTV shows, Humongous Entertainment games and the Parappa series. And before you argue with me, Nirvana started in the 80's, and Titanic (1999) is not a good movie. Rose didn't love Jack, she basically kills him in the end because there WAS enough room on that door. Everyone who says she didn't kill him is a Rose apologist/j

Anyways, no more depressing shit for now. I’m almost done with the locations. At last. I have one more to do and then it's everyone else’s sprites and maybe rework Xandra’s because there are some animation errors in her sprites such as her ears disappearing when she walks. So yeah, next week when I finally have down time and feel better I can work on them. With the way things are going I'll probably have to update y'all the week after my birthday (which is late March. You guys will know when I change my bio from 20 to 21 (whopee I get to finally drink *shudders*)), because good god, classes are also going real hard on me. Midterm on the 6th? No thank you. Not after that essay you made us write which I practically had several panic attacks because I thought that piece of shit was going to fail me. If you're asking if I failed, no, surprisingly it got me a 100. I don't know if the teacher gave me pity points but somehow she said my clarity and my content was great which is surprising because there is no way someone who is practically having a panic attack and is really sleep deprived could ever do that (me when I was writing that).

I’ll be honest, the bottom floor for the house was a nightmare because there would be times when I had to figure out how the hell it would do the thing I wanted it to do based on Xandra’s location.

Anyways, music time. For possibly the last time for dev blogs for this project:

WATER BOWL💧🥣 WATER- 🗣️ WATER- 🗣️WATER- 🗣️WATER BOWL💧🥣🗣️ W-W-W-W-WATER ✨𝓫𝓸𝔀𝓵✨ (I was sick (and I still am) when I made that song)

(I guess there's now 2 songs with vocals)

Oh yeah I also drew up some stuff to make up for Valentine’s Day because I think it’s funny. And also it’s to cope with the pain of when my parents said go to bed and I was sick and bored and I couldn't lift my head up.

I also drew up something which was an old concept I had with Priyah, where instead of just pestering Xandra she did it to everyone by disguising herself as an erson (specifically as a holiday erson) and since there was no valentines verson in GASA4AM that I knew of I decided maybe she could pretend to be one of them.

(Translation because I know my handwriting is horrendous: Hi guys I’m Valentine’s Verson but you can call me Val. I’m like your 4th cousin. (These guys don’t look convinced))

Trust me you will recognize her in that Valentine’s version/Val disguise once you smack her glasses on her and take the lipstick off.

#gasa4sc #gasa4 #fan game #fan character #fanmade music #Scaperat

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voyageofthenautilus · 2 years

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Voyage of the Nautilus: Why this book?

With the Nautilus soon to begin its voyage (coming to an email inbox near you!), it’s time to address a few questions that participants in this book club may have. The first being: why this book in particular? What did the mods of this blog see in it?

Mod Blue: My father gave me a copy of Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Seas for Christmas when I was twelve years old. I don’t know why he chose this book for me, but I’m very glad he did, because I ended up loving it. I’m sure a lot of the more technical parts went over my head, but the characters engrossed me, especially the enigmatic Captain Nemo. I also found the book appealing simply for the fact that it took place on a ship in the ocean, as I’ve always been very drawn to the ocean. Over the years I’ve revisited the book and gained an even deeper love for its thrilling plot and, once again, the endearing characters and their habits and interactions. I even have one of the chapter titles tattooed on me, that’s how much I love it! When I saw that Dracula Daily had become such a big hit on tumblr and that people were making memes and writing meta about this work of classic literature, it made me wish to have that experience with my favorite work of classic literature. Then, when I saw that other people had been inspired to create similar email book clubs, I floated the idea on my main blog. With my friend Mod Pluto’s encouragement, this project was born. I can’t wait for it to get started and to see what other people have to say about a book that is so beloved to me!

Mod Pluto: I, Mod Pluto, first read Jules Verne when I was given Around the World in 80 Days for my 8th birthday. I liked it a lot and began borrowing Jules Verne books from my local library, but somehow didn't make it to 20 Thousand Leagues until my early teens. Perhaps controversially, I did enjoy the chapters that were just lists of fish. I remember falling in love with Captain Nemo and, haven't yet have read the book as an adult, I'm a bit afraid of what that will say about my tastes at that stage in life. I'm looking forward to rediscovering the book with all of you! :)

To those who have read the book: What were your first impressions of it? And to those who haven't and will be experiencing the story for the first time through our newsletter: What are you most looking forward to?

#Voyage of the Nautilus #Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea #Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas #Jules Verne #20000 Leagues Under the Sea #Captain Nemo #was one of the fictional loves of both of our lives apparently #did anyone else out there feel the same?

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darklight-owl · 11 months

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3,5,7,10,11,16,22 and 13,you said 3 years but what has changed since nice then?

EEEEEE tysm for the ask!!

3.) any recurring images/elements?

I'm not really that good at using motifs tbh, but I have a lot of scattered feathers deliberately placed in a few scenes. Smoke as well, even though I haven't illustrated any of those yet. I'll leave the interpretation to the readers :]

5.) pick a theme song for the tv adaptation.

Laplace's Angel by Will Wood! (this has been the theme song from before my Will Wood phase started, it's just got very similar themes)

7.) how would you describe the relationships between the characters in the story within eight words or less?

Not friends, just people sharing the same pain.

10.) if your story is titled, why did you choose that title?

It was always going to be called after whatever I named the organization. I had this idea of a kind of cultish group of assassins who worshipped a god of hunting. Since all the characters are animals hunting is pretty much just murder in this world, after all. My placeholder name for it was Artemis' Children, but I wanted to create my own mythology since I know virtually nothing about irl myths. the name Ullyca (and Ramedin while we're on it) was a result of me mashing words together at 1am until it sounded right. (I think it sounds cool though)

11.) give a general summary of the plot/world/characters.

Set in a world populated by several species of anthropomorphic animals, a serval named Umbra finds herself covered in blood, a body at her feet. With no memory of what happened, yet desperate to keep her involvement in this event from coming to light, she winds up making a deal with an organization of hitmen known as the Children of Ullyca, and by the time she realizes she's in over her head, it's too late to turn back.

16.) imagine the entire story takes place but in the meantime the characters all also have tumblr. what kind of (terrible) tumblr posts would happen?

Ahhhahahaha yk I'm pretty sure Fier has a tumblr (if anyone in this series does it's them) but for the other ones I'm absolutely sure Amala would be blazing Umbra's vent posts all the time, Hadron would do nothing except rb the worst takes known to mankind, Rena would have a bait account and Uriel just uses his to promote his fanfiction. Not sure what Kan would use his for, but something tells me he keeps getting blocked because he never made a profile and everyone thinks he's a bot.

22.) you have been given unlimited funds to make two adaptations of some sort, however you cannot make any other adaptations of any other sort. which two formats do you choose?

Ohhhh this is a tough one. I've always thought CoU would make for a banger animated series but for the second adaptation? Maybe a novel. I would have really loved for it to be a novel (even if the comic medium does fit better)

13.) how long have you been working on this project? what has changed from the outset?

SO much has changed in the past three years. Hell, not even joking this thing started as a bunch of Beastars ocs until I realized they didn't have anything to do with Beastars anymore and I was just a furry. Now, aside from the anthros and the canniballism, they have absolutely nothing in common.

The architecture has changed, it used to be just normal human cities but somewhere between the original chapters and the Call to Action entry I changed the buildings to use more natural elements like trees and cliffsides. I still struggle with it (a lot) but I love how lively and a little wild it looks.

Some designs have also changed, the uniforms used to all be plain dark grey jumpsuits but now all of them have their own unique design for each character for different purposes (Kan's uniform has armor plates, Rena's is a wetsuit, etc.) Out of all the characters, Kan has changed the most physically. I didn't know how to make the "grizzled war veteran" look I wanted so he just kinda looked... weird. Also he didn't have any scars which I later realized was stupid, he's been an assassin for 20 years.

Speaking of characters, Umbra's character has changed a LOT. She used to be the definition of an edgelord, a cold hearted killer with no remorse. However that was boring as shit and I thought it would make for a more compelling story if she really didn't WANT to join the CoU but was pressured into it.

I used to post pages on Instagram (i know, ew) but I realized the story was very disorganized and stopped to work on the script. I'm remaking the first chapter bc my art has... definitely improved. This is 2021 vs. 2023:

I know they say don't redraw old pages but... I think you get why I started over in this case lol

#ask #ask game #mutuals #Jess / njess22194 #children of ullyca

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suna1suna1 · 9 months

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WIP Wednesday Game

Original post with rules below!

Here's how it works:

Post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We're posting progress here. If you haven't made any, go make some and come back to post.

After you've posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file.

That's it! You can invite others to join in or just post.

All of these except for Sweets and Secrets are fics I haven't posted yet because I've started them in the background. They haven't been my main priority, but I thought I would bring them a little bit out into the light anyway, since two of them are Shadamy related, and Ik a lot of the people who see my posts are Shadamy shippers lol

Project Shadow AI au

Shadamy week 2023 fics

Boom Sonadow Dark Gaia thing

Sweets and Secrets

Here's a snippet from Sweets and Secrets this week! ^^

Amy woke up to someone knocking on her front door. She sat up, rubbing her eyes with a yawn, then checked the time on her phone. It was about an hour before she usually got up to get ready for work. She frowned, then threw back the blankets and got up, grabbing a robe and putting it on as she walked to her door.

When she opened it, she was surprised to find another gift basket on her porch. Shadow hadn’t been leaving her gifts for a few days now, not since before their first date. She picked it up and looked around, wondering if she could catch a glimpse of Shadow before he disappeared. Of course I missed him, she thought with dismay. I dilly-dallied a little, and he’s still pretty fast.

Even despite her disappointment though, she couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of Shadow panicking and running away after knocking on the door. Even if that wasn’t exactly the case, she’d been noticing just how awkward he really was now. It didn’t seem too far out of the realm of possibility. Especially after last night’s texts.

#fanfic wips #wip wednesday #wip #work in progress #shadamy #sonadow #pls send asks #sonic fanfic

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zeenimf · 10 months

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Music tags!

I got a couple music related tags the past few days so I thought I'd combine them all into this post! First we're combining the 10 song ask from @vcaudley with the soundtrack tag from @ink-flavored intooo 10 soundtrack songs! I already have made three soundtracks before, as well as for all my other wips so I'll be mostly picking from there. I'll keep this limited to Phei of the Wind because that's the project I'm trying to finish right now. It's getting pretty long AND there's a second tag game below the cut so that's why I've added that cut. I've also added some lyrics from each ! If they have lyrics that is, and translated the non-english ones. I hope you find some new music to love <3

Tin Can Ride - Gregory and the Hawk

This list will feature a lot of songs about people being out of place and I feel like this song slots in nicely. It's soft yet hides a certain sorrow behind that sweet demeanor. If it weren't so nigh, time you'd be screaming out If it weren't your kid, you would give into doubt But these days you're trying to quit, like those smiles that he fooled you with

Lost - scntfc

This one is from the soundtrack to the game Oxenfree, where a character hears this play. It's the sound of their mother, singing them to bed as they search for them. Phei features a similar journey where she searches for her mother she knows to be gone, but she can't help but try. Regardless, just listening to it makes me cry too so...

Surely Someday - Fukuharu Miho

I think this song is just hauntingly beautiful, both the lyrics and the way it's presented. It's once again, about meeting someone out of reach. Seeing a pattern here?

Faults I deemed correct it was you who made me realise that what is right can shine through too

ekki hugsa - Ólafur Arnalds

The title translates to 'don't think' and that's a lesson I've taken so much from. It's not specifically related to the novel (although perhaps it is), but it is mostly how it taught me to just go for it. Don't think too much about what could happen, what others may think and so forth. Just write from the heart and all will be well.

We'll be Gone - Douwe Bow

Another one of my favourites. Shit I'm getting emotional just writing about them. ANYWAY. The harmonies combined with the lyrics are just breathtaking. I won't go into too much detail as to why it fits so well, you'll figure that one out eventually when you read it~!

Say goodbye little darling to the darkness When we go we can leave the light on 'Cause tonight, the night will be harmless And tomorrow when they find us we'll be gone

jikan ga nai - Kirinji

This one slots in nicely next to ekki hugsa. It's a song about how life is too short to limit yourself to anything. Even though scalians live quite long lives, and Phei is the youngest of them all she has to live for herself. Luckily cloudbreak provides exactly that opportunity.

It look like I've lost sight of the important things Let me tell you about everything I've seen

Starman - David Bowie

There isn't much difference between an alien holding secrets of the cosmos and a little bird whose people have been forgotten is there? Also everyone needs more David Bowie in their lives.

There's a starman waiting in the sky He'd like to come and meet us But he think he'll blow ours minds

King and Lionheart - Of Monsters and Men

If you haven't heard the arrangment they made for their concert at Vatnagarðar you have to stop what you're doing and listen. It's just magical. Songs like this (and also Starman and We'll be Gone) are songs that made me pick up the guitar as an instrument so they'll always be special to me. The lyrics match really quite well to the state of the world in Phei of the Wind. Lots of ghosts that have been haunting under the ocean and coming up.

Howling ghosts, they reappear In mountains that are stacked with fear But you're a king and I'm a lionheart And as the world comes to an end I'll be here to hold your hand 'Cause you're my king and I'm your lionheart

Árbakkinn - Ólafur Arnalds and Einar Georg Einarsson

Two Ólafur songs on my posts? Who would have thought. The poem read at the beginning is written by a very kind man who lived in same town as I did when I lived in Iceland, and is an ode to a nearby creek. The way the piece builds up is magnificent, and the way it links nature to the human heart is quite central to the meaning of it all in Phei of the Wind.

From ancient fire Sound from the ground I hear the noise In my heart

inochi no namae - Hisaishi Jō

To finish it off I'd like to add Hirohashi Makiko's arrangment of the song from Miyazaki's Spirited Away. If there is one piano composition that catches the bright and light yet slightly melancholic sense of Phei of the Wind, this is it. Perfection, really.

And then as promised, the other tag game from @jasperygrace to link one piece to every main character! Luckily the story only really has three, so the post won't get too much longer. Picking just one was hard but I'm happy with my choices ^^

Phei Sageblossom Voyager - Birdy

If the wind is on my side I might leave tonight I hate to disappoint you, but I've always been this way And I know you need me here, but I know that I won't stay

Aspen Oceaan - Racoon

An ocean to flee into Never having to be jealous Love to clear your heart An ocean, how great would it be

Noahk a life - Ōnuki Taeko & Sakamoto Ryūichi

Let's only protect the things I don't want to let go.

And that was all! If you've made it this far you have my heart <33 And please do one of these tags yourself! I'd love to talk about the music related to your projects either through a mention or a dm, so please tag me if you do!!

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