#I don't think that I actually did ever hit send on the other attempts but I keep taking naps so maybe I did then forgot

[pyreflydust]

I recognize that a lot of this is just being a lesbian in my 30s who developed an entire mental illness specifically around going to church around the time puberty started (because I had a not then processed crush on the friend who was already going to said church) but younger lgbt+ people acting like the world immoral has some kind of concrete definition as if most people who condemn ~immorality~ aren't talking about us makes me so fucking uncomfortable. It's good and cool to have morals, but morals are relative and if you say shit like "I won't draw anything immoral" as if that's supposed to have an understood definition I'm just going to process it as "queers belong in hell"

[sherifftillman]

I Want Your Video

Pairing: Eddie Munson x f!Reader

Genre: smut

Tags: Stranger Things (series), 18+ (minors DNI), modern!au, unprotected sex (don't try this at home), oral (f receiving), fingering, heavy dirty talk, p in v, pulling out, overstimulation, mentions of anal, filming a sex tape, mentions of reader being cheated on

Summary: You had to make your ex pay for what he did, to you and his former fellow Hellfire party member. There's only one person that can truly help you with that.

Word count: 3.7k

A/N: Good news, gang! Turns out, I actually do remember how to write anything other than Busy Streets and Busy Lives!

Waving at Wayne as his car passes yours on his way out of the trailer park puts your mind at ease. That's one potential barrier out of the way. The other is whether or not your potential other party agrees to your little plan.

You didn't participate too much in your ex's Hellfire Club stuff because campaign time was campaign time only, and unless you were summoned to stand in for someone, you weren't a part of this story's main adventuring party. Nonetheless, you'd developed your own camaraderie with the group - especially the only regular female player. 

Which is why it was all the more heartbreaking to see the screenshots of your then-boyfriend's attempts to slide into her DMs. Watching him gaslight her into believing that she was misreading his messages as being flirtatious, despite them definitely being so, hurts enough. Your heart sinks to the floor when you see the photos he'd sent. You know pretty well what his own dick looks like and that's definitely what he sent her. Completely unsolicited. Judging by the timestamp and the sheets beneath him, he even took those while you were asleep next to him.

You needed to make him regret doing that for the rest of his pathetic little life. You needed to hit him where it would hurt most.

And so, you knock three times on Eddie Munson's door. He greets you warmly, but there's an air of sympathy to him. "Hey. Um, I just want you to know, right off the bat, that shitbag's never, ever setting foot near the table again. Next session, his character's getting killed off in the most humiliating way I can come up with, and I totally get if you don't want to, but we'd need a full-time stand-in -"

"I didn't come here to talk D&D, Eddie," you cut him off, and his brow furrows.

"Well, if it's emotional support you're after, then I'm sorry, sweetheart, I'm not of any use there."

"Not that, either," you shake your head. "I - I don't want anything to do with that asswipe ever again, but I still wanna make him pay." You start pacing the expanse across Eddie's living space. "I mean, sure, I dumped his ass, but he'll feel no remorse from that, he didn't care enough about me to stay loyal. I need to really stick a dent in his pride. I need it to come from someone he really admires." You look at Eddie hopefully.

He shrugs, "Sure, I'll teach that bastard a lesson. What do you have in mind?"

You take a deep breath in. "Well, if he's going to send dick pics without remorse… I was thinking… You and I go one better and send him a - a video. If that's okay with you."

Eddie feels as though all his Christmases have come at once. He'd always found it tough tearing his eyes away from you with your boyfriend mere feet away. He wanted to sucker-punch the sense back into him when he'd learned what your ex had done. But this? So much better.

Rubbing his jaw, Eddie nods. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, we can do that." He gestures for you to follow him to his room, which you do. "My phone, or yours?"

You contemplate, "Yours. It'll sting more coming from you."

Eddie nods, setting his phone on a surface close to the bed and setting up the right angle. "So, clothes already off, clothes on? Anything definitely off the table, or on it?"

"Clothes off, I want it to pack a punch the moment he hits play," you direct, and Eddie nods, throwing his shirt off. You knew there was more ink beyond his forearms, you'd seen little peekaboo moments of the artwork adorning his body, but seeing them all out in the open, as though he's an open sketchbook,  captivates you. He's obviously watching you stare at each one as he smugly swivels himself around to show you all of them at all angles. You continue, "Um, how do you feel about… Not wearing - I promise, the video will stop before any completion happens, I'm not here to get knocked up or anything," you quickly explain, to Eddie's amusement.

"Yeah, I'll fuck you raw." Something about the way he casually purrs that as a smirk tugs at the left corner of his lips sends a buzz through your nervous system that settles at your core. "Anything else?"

"Um… He never really liked… Going dow-"

"Oh my god, of course he didn't," Eddie interrupts. "But he'd have you -?" You nod. "Disgraceful."

"And even though I would always ask him to, he wouldn’t talk dirty to me. So maybe if he saw that in action?"

"Oh, fuck yes, doll, you are speaking my language," Eddie grins. "We talking praise, degrading, narration? How rough do you want me?"

"Honestly, go nuts. I'm all good for all of it. In terms of the talk… I'm good with any as long as it's not humiliating me, but the more possessive, the better." 

"Hmmm, you better get those clothes off and that camera started, baby, or else I might get ahead of myself." Eddie shuffles out of his jeans and palms himself over his boxers as he watches you strip to your underwear with great intent. 

You both silently agree to strip down your last layer at the same time, getting all of the awkwardness out of the way. You're in awe of his cock, stood of its own accord even before he starts stroking himself at the sight of you. You chew your lower lip as you watch in fascination and he grins, "You gonna at least hit record before I end up coming all over my hand?"

You hop onto Eddie's bed, feet swinging above the floor as you ask, "Where do you want me, Mr Director?"

Eddie glances over at his phone screen, smirks, and taps it before striding over to you, pulling you into position by your legs, and throwing one over his shoulder. Pushing the other one out, you realise to get a good angle of it for the camera, he sweeps his hair to one side and makes quick work of snaking his tongue inside of you. 

Your fingers card through his hair and grip tightly, and he hums with approval against your core as his nose nuzzles at your clit. "Is that good, baby?" he purrs between licks, and you nod. He surfaces, shaking his head. "Use your words, sweet thing."

You swallow hard. "Y-yeah, so good."

"Mmm, that's my good girl, doing as she's told, c'mere," he grips your thighs tightly as he laps back and forth at your clit. You sit yourself up at an angle to watch him yourself, the way he looks so lustfully as he goes to town on you. He blindly holds his hand up to you, wiggling two fingers specifically, and you take his wrist to aim them into your mouth. He moans as you suckle and lick his fingers, "Oh, fuck yeah, such an obedient little slut. Taste so good, and so good with your mouth, fuck, I can't wait to wear you around my fucking cock."

You whine, "Please?"

He chuckles, "Patience, sweetheart. I've a feeling you need to get stretched out before you can take me."

"You're so big," you moan wistfully as you fall back onto your elbows, and you feel Eddie's toothy grin press against you as he angles himself enough to slide two long fingers inside of you. He wraps his lips around your clit and sucks as he pumps his fingers in and out of you. Your hand grips his hair tighter and he moans delightfully around you. "Fuck, Eddie, feel so good, I can't - I need to -"

Eddie resurfaces to rest his head against your thigh, gently sinking his fingers into you and stretching them apart before pulling them out to do the same thing over and over again. "So soon, baby?" he croons. "Getting your sweet little cunt eaten gets you this fired up?" You nod, and while Eddie wants to scold you again for not speaking, he's enamoured by the face you make when you're turned on. Eyes half-lidded, lips shiny and just-parted, chest heaving. He hasn't even played with your tits, yet. Fuck, he's barely gotten started with you and you're already a mess under his hand. 

"Please?" is all you can think to say as his fingers curl inside you, making you mewl out loudly.

"Fussy girl wants to come already?" he asks in that crooning voice again, and you nod. Eddie pulls away from you entirely, grinning at your despair, and gets up to straddle you from behind, pressing an oddly gentle kiss to your forehead as he does so. Once he's sat with his legs draped either side of you and his chest flush against your back, he takes one of your breasts into his hand to massage it as the other hand reaches down to rub fast, deliberate circles against your clit. His lips press kisses all along your throat as you cry out for him. His voice is low, breathy, but still loud enough to be recorded as he asks, "Fuck, yes, who do you belong to, huh?"

"You, Eddie," you moan, turning your head to try and face him as you say it, feeling your orgasm start to build faster than you've ever been able to muster yourself.

"Mmm, and who does this pussy belong to?" he asks before sucking a big, dark bruise onto the base of your neck. He feels your neck start to crane again and hums an uh-uh against your skin, pulling his head up to purr into your ear, "Don't tell me, baby." He pulls his hand away from teasing at your nipples to squeeze your cheeks between his thumb and fingers, pushing your face around until you're facing his phone. "Tell him."

You look down the camera lens, moaning as Eddie sucks on your earlobe, the hand on your face now sliding down to wrap around your throat as the fingers on your clit work it faster. "It's all - shit, my pussy's all yours, Eddie. No- Nobody else makes it feel - this good, not even me, please," you falter into a plea at the end as you feel the crescendo looming.

"Damn right she belongs to me, and she wants me so bad, doesn't she?" His hand leaves your clit momentarily to dip down and coat his fingers in your thick juices. When he brings them up to your lips, the hand that had been so gently pushing against the pressure points in your throat falls to resume working your clit as you once again suck on his fingers. "Look at her, she's crying out for me, so desperate for it, can't wait to - to squeeze herself all over my thick cock as I fuck you the way you deserve, right? The way I've wanted to since I first saw you?" You make a small noise of intrigue around his fingers and Eddie chuckles, "That's right, sweetheart, but that's not why we're here, is it? We're here so you can come for me without me even needing to be inside you, aren't we? You're gonna show him what you really look like when you're satisfied, aren’t you?"

Still looking at Eddie's phone, your walls clench over absolutely nothing as your climax finally washes over you. Eddie continues to kiss and suck across your neck as he slows his attack on your clit and pushes the fingers in your mouth gently in and out as they muffle your moans.

"Fuck, yes, baby," he groans into your ear, "that was incredible."

Pulling down on his wrists until his fingers leave your mouth with a satisfying pop that you really hope the mic picked up, you lean back against Eddie and reach up to play with his hair. "Wanna watch me suck you off, now?" You ask with a coy grin.

Eddie bites his lip, "Any other time, absolutely. But right now, I need you sat on my dick and facing me so I can watch that pretty little face of yours as I make you cum over and over again. Why should he get all the fun of seeing that, huh?"

You squirm as you move yourself around to straddle him, pressing your forehead to his and mumbling, "You really ought to keep the dirty talk more believable, you know."

He frowns as his arms slide up and down your sides, cradling you, "You doubt my talents, sweetheart? You wound me."

"It takes an awful lot for me to get there, usually," you admit quietly, "even once."

"And look at you now," he smirks at the same volume. "Ready for me?" he asks as he reaches between you both to angle his cock away from where it rests against his torso. You nod eagerly, hovering up onto your knees and moving with him. Slightly louder, he grins, "I didn't hear you, ba- oh my fuck," he groans out as you sink down onto him without warning. "Oh, fussy girl can't wait, huh? God, you're fucking loving this dick, arent you, baby, huh?" he croons as he watches your face contort with pleasure as you lower yourself further and further until you're sat with him fully inside you.

With his arms wrapped tightly around you, and your hands on his shoulders to keep you in place, he leans in to kiss you openly, his tongue instantly seeking yours. You grind yourself against him while he's buried in you, moaning into the kiss at the feeling. "Fu-uuuck, Eddie," you moan. "Tell - tell me more - first time you saw -"

"Mmm, the first time I saw you?" he asks, reaching down between you again to rub your clit in gentle circles. "You walked in with him. Wearing a cute little dress, but you had a shirt on under it so I missed out on these," he gropes at your breasts. "Hmm, but fuck, I wanted you to stay. Wanted that cute little mouth sucking me off while he played just across the table. Wanted to feel that cute little ass of yours as I bent you over the table and fucking railed you."

You whine, "You wou- you'd fuck my ass?"

Eddie lets out his loudest moan yet, bucking up further into you. "Fuck, I didn't mean that, but if you'd let me, baby, any day of the fucking week. But I gotta take care of my pussy first, don't I? She's being so good to me," he purrs as he fucks you deeper. "I think - we've put on enough of a show, don't you?" he asks as he blindly reaches for his phone, angling it at both of your faces. "I don't think he deserves to watch you come over my dick. Say goodbye, sweetheart."

You look at the camera, smile coyly and turn to Eddie to lean in and bite his lower lip, both of you chorusing low chuckles to each other as he cranes his phone around to hit the stop button.

Reality crashes down on you as you realise it's all over now. That video was the reason you showed up. That was what he agreed to do. He notices your hesitation as he throws his phone aside and quickly swings you both around so that you now lay beneath him. You'd been so focused on making a good sex tape, you had barely paid attention to Eddie himself until now. Eyes blown black, his hair and his guitar pick chain dangling between the two of you, a light sheen of sweat showing against his dark ink. But by far the hottest thing of all about him was the sheer, primal hunger in his gaze.

"I hope you didn't think we were done yet, princess," he coos. "Now I get to really focus on you."

Not letting his gaze leave yours, he aims his cock inside of you once again, taking your hands in his and interlocking your fingers before fucking into you deeply.

Your back arches as he fills you, and you moan his name, to his delight. Before long, you're begging and whining again, your fingers clenching tighter against his. "Gonna come for me, baby? Fuck, tell me again, who owns you?"

"You - you do, Eddie," you moan, your hips squirming beneath him.

"Damn right, I do. Just like I said, I'll make you come over and over again. Do it, baby, come for me."

That euphoric feeling returns, but tenfold as you feel yourself tighten around his member. He slides it in and out of you gently as you work through your climax, but it's short lived as he climbs further onto the bed to line himself up with your chest, wrapping a wide, rough hand around his cock as he pumps it, sending warm spurts of thick cum flying against your breasts as he throws his head back and moans gutturally.

Looking down at yourself, then back up at him, you ask, exhausted, "G'me y'r phone, please."

He slowly hands it to you, confused, and you get up to kneel on the bed right in front of him, taking one of his hands and holding it up to your throat until he gets the hint to hold onto it himself, and then doing the same for the other arm, guiding it between your legs.

You swipe onto his camera, flip it to the front one, and set the phone down so that it only starts showing from your nose downwards, making sure that the bruises on your neck, and the cum on your chest aren't obscured. Setting a timer, you smile slyly as one photo takes. You take another with you biting your lip, and Eddie gets in on making sure you take one where he's kissing your neck amongst the hickey.

But Eddie lets go of your throat for a moment to switch the camera back to video mode, mutter in your ear, "You keep this right here, 'kay, baby?" and hit record right as the hand between your legs once again starts rubbing your clit with a lot more fervor than before.

Just as the timer starts recording, Eddie's grip around your throat tightens and you cry out silently, just about managing to squeak out a, "S-so - sensi- so much."

"I know it's sensitive, baby, that just means it'll be quick," Eddie promises, keeping his lips close to your ear, still in shot of the camera. "But I promised you, didn't I?" He drags two fingers across your drenched thighs, "After you already came for me, I promised it would happen again," he wipes one finger against your lower lip, "and again," he adds as he wipes the other there, too.

You groan, "Fuck, don't know - 'f I c'n take-"

Eddie shushes you, "Of course you can, baby. Your pussy's mine now, remember? And I already know her so well. Fuck, I can't wait to give you so much more. Did you mean it, sweetheart, when you asked me to fuck you in the ass someday?" You nod desperately, whining and keening against his touches. "Good, because I most certainly plan on having a lot of fun with my new cocksleeve. Have you be my new favourite after-gig tradition, where I get to go offstage and fill all your holes." You squirm against him, grinding your bare ass against him. "Mmm, afraid I'm not quite the free-use fucktoy you are, doll, that's not gonna work on me just yet," he drawls.

"Ple-ease, need to  need, fuck -"

"What's that, baby? You need to come again? Oh, but I thought it was so hard to get you there. Remember that when I send you this video and you watch it back, okay, sweetheart? Remember who makes you feel this good. Remember who fucking owns you."

"'s you, Eddie, fuck, I'm -" you scream out in ecstasy as a third orgasm travels entirely across your nervous system, filling your entire body with a high like you've never experienced before. With a grin, Eddie leans over to once again stop his recording and gently lay you down onto his bed. 

"Stay right here, okay, doll? Gonna get you all cleaned up."

You nod, mumbling, "Don't think - I can go anywhere else anyway."

Eddie chuckles under his breath, moving to kiss your forehead and then your lips before making his way to the bathroom.

He returns moments later with several warm, damp washcloths and fresh towels, and takes great care in mopping up your thighs and your chest, in major contrast from the Eddie you'd just experienced.

Once you're clean, he lays himself to curl up next to you on the bed and pull you in to spoon him, pulling his pillows down to where the two of you lay in the centre of the bed so he could place one under your head. You hum in happiness as he presses kisses to your shoulder. "You were fucking amazing, back there, sweetheart. A goddamn natural."

"Having such a good co-star certainly helped," you smirk back. 

"An', y'know. I don't want to put any pressure on you, 'cause what you're going through is a whole thing, but you know most of that was just talk for the camera, and that I see you as way more than a fucktoy, right?"

You pout, "So I'm not gonna be?"

He chuckles, kissing between your shoulder blades. "I didn't say that, did I? Just that… This is casual, and awesome, but I don't want you to think that I only did this to have sex. I did it to have it with you. And I'm down to be… Friends with benefits, fuck buddies, a rebound, whatever it is you need. 'Kay?"

You squeeze his arm around you a little tighter in thanks. You know you're certainly not ready for any kind of relationship again just yet. But who's to say that you can't have fun in the meantime? Maybe this goes further. Maybe it doesn't. All you know is, as you watch with glee as you watch Eddie send the first video to your ex, and then set his favourite of the photos you took as his home screen, you definitely made the right choice tonight.

[spiderlyla]

Miguel-hugs anon (or not anymore) here hehe, lemme hit you with another random scenario I have in mind with him (I dreamt about it actually😩)

Noticing that Miguels hands are cold and trying to warm them up by taking them in yours but noticing that you can't even cover them because his hands are HUGE (idk why that makes me so soft???)

Or the other way around, him taking your hands into his and they're so big and warm and AGHSHGDGS

(I don't know if this is ooc tbh blame my dreams if it is)

Btw I hope it's okay if I keep sending these little scenarios!

gn!reader × miguel o'hara (fluff turned spicy at the end)

after having his dna spliced up with that of the spider, miguel's hands never seemed to be warm.

ever.

even if it was the hottest day of the year, his hands remained as cold as ice.

you liked having his cool palms around your skin whenever it was summer, their temperature perfect for cooling you down on hot days.

but during winters, it was an entirely different story.

miguel never complained about this, seemingly getting used to his body temperature being all over the place, but you felt bad that he had to walk around with such cold hands.

you've made him some gloves so he could keep his hands warm, but they didn't help his case all that much.

and when you heard him ranting once about how it's stings whenever he has to hold something, that his fingertips sore from the cold, you knew you had to do something about it

"tsk—can't fuckin' hold anything—" he tossed the book he had picked up on the table, and sat down beside you. he rubbed his hands together, in an attempt to warm them up enough.

"miggy, did you take your rapture shot this week?" you sighed, usually it helped keep his temperature regulated. that is if it didn't slip his mind.

the guilty look on his face answered your question for you.

you sighed, putting your phone aside and gently grabbing his wrists. confused, he moved with you, staring at you quizzically.

"what are you doing—" you shushed him, gently placing your warm palms over his freezing cold skin.

you couldn't even hold them properly, struggling to cover his finger tips. miguel's hands were much bigger and heavier than yours, always filling you with some sense of security when he wrapped them around you.

"baby—" he chuckled, "what the shock are you doing?" his tone wasn't mocking, rather in awe of your little gesture.

"trying to warm you up, is it working?"

he didn't have the heart to tell you it wasn't really doing anything, so he just smiled.

"you're too sweet, amor." he took your hands in his, and gently brought your fingers to his lips, kissing them. "they're doing something for sure."

"mm, I can't even cover them with my own. too big." you chuckled, rubbing your hands with one of his in between them.

"hm. maybe having them in between your hands isn't the solution." he moved, taking his free hand and trailing up your thigh till he reached the hem of your sweatshirt.

"oh yeah, what are you suggesting then?" you chuckled, feeling his hand glide up your shirt till it reached your waist. his fingers wrapped around your body, their coldness evaporating against your warmed-up skin.

"I think you know what I'm suggesting."

[ohbo-ohno]

well now i can't stop thinking about reader in a depressive episode bc she's trapped in the apartment refusing to leave the bed or check her phone for texts and the only thing ghost and soap can do is helplessly watch through the cameras..or managing to accidentally hurt herself somehow in an escape attempt and ghost sends a text berating her for it but soap can see he's actually very afraid.. angst potential here off the charts ngl

ugh i looooove good angst. my favorite romance trope is second-chance because there's very little i love more than a man fucking up and begging for forgiveness.

putting a read more here bc im gonna talk about depression and thats a pretty big cw <3

it would be very difficult to not get depressed when they're both gone for days at a time. you'd go from being in their presence 24/7, constant attention, to just nothing for days on end. especially with the presence of the collar and chain at your throat? it would all throw you into a not-quite-person headspace, and that's not great when you're all alone :(

early on you don't like to interact with them. johnny spams you with texts - funny memes, stupid things people have said, things he wants to do when he's back with you - and you ignore him out of spite (except he can see you lunge for the phone every time it buzzes, and from certain camera angels he can see the way you smile when he tells you about something embarrassing simon did). simon doesn't text much at all, that's not a specific to you thing though he's just like that, so he's almost exclusively texting you little scolding messages. smirks when he sees you scowl and pout through the camera :(

they'd be really worried once you stop getting out of bed. even when you're scared of them, there's still a fire there yk? they don't want you to change as a person, they just want to keep you. when you start to give up a little, it would send them into a bit of a tailspin.

johnny worries first (he hadn't noticed first, but he worries first). he sends you a text and you don't move to look at it, which he's never seen happen unless you're asleep or two far away from the phone to hear it. so he spams you, does that thing where he sends one letter at a time so your phone is just making an endless buzzing noise. his heart lodges in his throat when you just roll onto your other side, not even looking at it or shoving it onto the floor.

simon has to stay calm, because johnny's freaking out. he's very worried about you too, but he can't be showing that with the way that johnny's hands shake as he shoves the camera app into his face.

they can't just leave, they've got a contract they've signed promising to complete x y and z, or else they'd be on their way back when you only leave the bed once in 24 hours and it's to use the bathroom. they're snippy and pushy, rude to everyone and each other because they can't help you.

the next morning you get out of bed. ghost shakes soap awake, a rare desperation in his movements as he forces him to look at your shuffling form on the little phones screen.

you're very slow moving, stiff from your day in bed and slow from exhaustion and hunger. you trip over the chain, go sprawling to the ground with a cry that echoes like a gunshot out of simon's phone speakers. you curl up, hands cradling the knee your weight fell on, and you don't get back up.

simon and johnny are gone, immediately. they break contract and just about every traffic law ever written to get back to you, tearing up the stairs at a full sprint like there's a fire on their heels.

you're still on the floor when they get there, haven't moved an inch from where you first fell (which they know, at least one of them has had his eyes on the cameras since you hit the floor). johnny wants to take you to a hospital, but simon manages to talk him down a bit when they see that your knee is only red and a little scraped.

the real problem is in your head. you don't bother reacting much when they burst in, just sort of lay limp and let them do what they want. like a doll.

johnny's cupping your face, squeezing a little too tight and making eye contact with you. he looks frantic. "lovie? c'mon, talk to me. what's wrong, huh?"

simon's stroking over your body with hands that shake, just enough for you to notice. he's leaned against the back of the couch, you between his legs and your back against his chest, legs caged by his.

"give her a second, johnny," simon rumbles, petting up and down your arms in a soothing and consistent movement. "she's alright. just gotta..." he cuts himself off for a moment, swallowing down the lingering panic in his throat. "just need a little love, huh sweetheart? little love and attention, and you'll be okay."

they slowly coax your mind back to your body, steady movements that don't jar or (for once) don't push any of your boundaries. they're warm, murmuring soft praises and kind words.

you cry when you fully come back to yourself, overcome with how comforted you truly feel. you shouldn't. they've kidnapped you, they keep you chained to the fucking floor like a dog when they leave you.

but they're so warm, and so soft. johnny's mumbling into your neck all the things he likes about you (pretty face, soft skin, perfect size, sweetest eyes, cutest expressions) and simon is breathing heavy and deep in your ear, guiding your breathing with his as it grows heavier and heavier.

that night is the first night you cuddle into them. you need them, even if they've forced it to be that way. you can't change it now.

[demxters]

elle dear, how are you? i saw you opened blurb requests so what about jake holding his girl’s hand in public and doing pda with her for the first around his friend and they’re both just genuinely happy/enjoying the beginning of the relationship?

lyra

—𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐇 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑

jake seresin x gn!reader

wc: 595

warning(s): none i don't think

find on ao3 here!

a/n: ty for sending this in lyra, i love it and ily. i hope i did this one justice!! <3 got hit by the writing bug this morning and thought i’d attempt to get back into some writing after disappearing for a bit…. i hope everyone is well and i’m sending lots of love!!!!

(ik i said i wasn’t writing on here anymore but i felt guilty for all the blurbs in my inbox so depending on how i feel after this maybe we’ll come back?)

There's a familiar tug in his chest that coincides with the one on his fingers. The lovesick smile on his face hasn't faltered since you walked into The Hard Deck with your fingers laced with his. As the two of you approached the group of aviators huddled in their same booth in the back of the bar, he expected the usual unravel of your fingers from his as you took your spot beside Phoenix.

This time, however, your hand never left his. In fact, it stayed tightly clasped with his own. He loosened his hold on you just a tad when he took his seat beside you, giving you the option to release him if you chose. His actions were only met with the tightening of your fingers around his. You glanced up at him with a small smile that made him freeze on the spot. The way you grabbed onto his hand like it was your lifeline made his heart burst with adoration.

Affection between you and Jake wasn't unfamiliar territory. Public affection on the other hand, was something neither of you had discussed. Your relationship was new. The feelings you elicited in each other was new. He had everything to lose when it came to you. So he let you take the lead. It didn't matter how badly he wanted to hold you close and smother you in kisses in front of his friends. He swallowed that urge to keep you comfortable. To make sure you felt safe.

Which is why he almost couldn't believe his eyes when you failed to let him go as the night went on. Your hand never strayed too far from his and when it did, you had at least some part of your body touching his. Once the initial shock faded from his system, he finally began to reciprocate your actions.

It started with a subtle thumb rubbing gently circles upon your intertwined hands. Then, he was tugging your legs onto his lap under the table, shifting your body to face his ever so slightly.

You fell completely into him, tucking yourself into the crook of his neck right where you belonged while only half listening to your friends' never ending banter.

The two of you felt lighter than you ever have before, being in the comfort of each other's arms despite the public setting. Neither of you really cared that the bar was bustling tonight and that everyone could see you.

You were the only one Jake could see.

Your friends noticed the second the two of you sat down. The dopey smiles never left your faces even as they shifted the topic to things like politics and climate change just to see how you'd react. But the two of you would only nod with those same looks on your faces and silently agree with every point that was made. It was clear to them that neither of you were listening, too caught up in one another to even think about anything else.

They didn't take your absentmindedness to heart. They were actually quite amused by how something as simple as you was able to calm down the usually rambunctious Hangman.

He softly brushes his lips to the top of your forehead in response to the ones on the side of his neck and smiles down at you. All other noise is drowned out as you look up at him with stars in your eyes. This, he realizes, is what he wants to hold onto forever. Just you and him, right here and unabashedly in love.

tgm! taglist: @joaquinwhorres @harrycherrylove @smoothdogsgirl @t-nd-rfoot @dempy @ollyoxenfrees @potato-girl99981 @averyhotchner @2guysonascooter @loveforaugust @blue-aconite @fandom-life-12 @stiles-banshees @iamdannyday @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @bradshawseresinbabe @breezemood @emorychase @eli2447 @angelbabyange @finelytaylored @pono-pura-vida @hecate-steps-on-me

[jesterwriting]

Hi jesteeer! Congrats on the 100 followers dear!! Surely a thing to celebrate /gen

Today I come with an idea, I don't know if you are familiar with dangerously yours(its an old radio show? idk how to explain in english my badd ://) but there is one dialogue that always destroys me from the inside, and I just put crocodile's face on it, it goes like

Crocodile: [Name], I offer you the three things most dear to me: My heart, my country and my dream.

What if this is part of Crocy confession, when he pops the question if they want to marry him? I just really love him as a tottaly devoted and head over heels w reader, almost like Gomez, ya feel me? Anyway, sorry for the ramble, if this inspires you, please take my offering🤲🤲🤲💞💞

♠️-Anon.

pairing: crocodile x gn!reader

contents: angst, breakups, hurt no comfort, still crocodile is absolutely smitten with you

word count: 1.2k words

note: hiiiiiii. okay. listen. this went in a completely opposite direction than i intended because i was trying to think of a scenario where crocodile would say those words, but i dont think he would offer to give up his dream if he thought he could have both his lover and his dream. it’d have to be a one or the other situation. i had to put him in a Situation. thus came the angst train. i fully intended for something sweet and sappy, i really did :( HOWEVER! i do have ideas for a part two that has a happy ending hehe. sorry this is kind of painful, i hope you enjoy all the same <33 if you dont like this, you can send the request in again and ill do something actually sweet, i promise! again im really sorry for the direction this took, inspiration hit me like a brick

playlist: kingdom’s edge - christopher larkin

Through tears, you stuffed your suitcase full of whatever you could get your hands on, purposely leaving out anything he gave you. Not that beautiful necklace he gently clasped around your neck, not those clothes he had tailor made to fit you, and certainly not the rings he slipped onto your fingers when he wanted to spoil you. You wanted nothing to do with him— nothing to do with Crocodile again. Not for the rest of your life, not ever.

Your breathing hitched when a photo of you fluttered from the breast pocket of Crocodile’s dress shirt you tore from the hanger and threw to the ground. It was the size of your palm, an image of you smiling warmly at the camera. You remembered when it was taken: a year ago when you first came to Alabasta. Everything felt so new then. It was your first time on the Grand Line, ecstatic for the promise of adventure that waited around every corner. At first you planned on leaving as soon as you came, but Alabasta enamored you, with its sprawling cities and beautiful sands. Yes, it had its issues, but what country didn’t? You decided that, despite everything, you would make it your home.

If there was one thing you loved more than Crocodile, it was this country, and he was killing it.

Right under your nose. The “hero” of Alabasta was destroying everything right under your fucking nose. The thought made you sick. You were under no illusions that Crocodile was a good man. You knew what happened to the handsy men who bothered you in the casino, or to those who attempted to scam you under your boyfriend’s watchful gaze. He was possessive and cruel, but still, you loved him. All of his rough edges seemed to disappear when it came to you. The way he touched you, gentle and reverent in the night, to his rare smiles only you got to see. When you loved, it was with everything you had, and you thought you could handle Crocodile at his worst; that you could carry his burdens alongside him.

But not this. Never this.

You slammed your suitcase shut. It was hard to see through your tears, sniffling sporadically as you wrestled to zip the bag closed. So caught up in your desperation, you didn’t hear the door close until it was too late.

“You’re leaving.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. The scent of Crocodile’s cigar filled the room, and you fought to keep from basking in its familiarity.

Everything hurt. You wanted this to all be a bad dream so you could bury your face in Crocodile’s chest and let him hold you until you fell asleep. You wanted everything to go back to normal, and some traitorous part of you wished, deep down, you never found out what exactly Baroque Works was.

Worst of all, you wanted to forgive him. It pulled at your heart, tugged at your tongue, made fat tears roll down your cheeks, and you hated it.

“Yeah. I’m leaving.” You hastily wiped away your face clean before you faced him — though you were sure your eyes were still red — and hefted your suitcase off the ground. It was heavy. You let the weight ground you.

Crocodile didn’t move from in front of the door. “It’s amusing how you think I’d let you.”

“Well, you can’t fucking keep me here. I’d make your life a living hell, I promise you.” With your back on one arm, you stomped past him and towards the door. Crocodile didn’t move an inch, staring down at you like you were no more than a petulant child.

“Stop being a brat and unpack.”

You glared up at him. “I’m serious. I’m leaving, and you can’t stop me. Now move.”

Of course, Crocodile didn’t move. You both knew he wouldn’t, but you weren’t staying here a second longer either. Letting out a heavy sigh, you stormed around him and threw open the door. To your surprise, he made no moves to grab you, remaining still as a statue as you marched to the elevator that would take you out of his goddamned penthouse.

You pressed the button, and still, Crocodile stayed in place. Unable to see his expression, you couldn’t begin to read him, nor did you want to. It was over. Whatever you had with him was done. Swallowing the lump in your throat, you choked on a m sob as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open.

“I’ll give it up.”

You froze. “What?”

“I’ll give it up. Everything. As long as you stay.”

When you turned, he was right behind you, expression the same as always. Hard and unforgiving. The only sign of any emotional lapse was the way his Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed, waiting for you to make your decision. When you didn’t respond, Crocodile spoke again. You tried not to think about the slight waver that interrupted his smooth words.

“I offer you the three things most dear to me: my heart, my country, and my dream. I’ll give up everything if it means you’ll stay by my side. Stay, Y/N.”

You dropped your bag and took his hand in yours. Crocodile’s fingers played with your own as you ran your thumb over each of his rings. “I can’t ask you to do that.”

Crocodile furrowed his brow. “Don’t make me ask again.”

That was the closest you would ever get to hearing the warlord beg. You let his hand drop.

“It would be better for everyone for you to give up your dream, but how could I ever ask you to do that? I love you. I’ve known you're not a good person for a long time, and I thought I was okay with that. But to ask you to give everything up, change the very foundations of who you are just so I can stay? I can’t. Even at the expense of everyone else, I can’t.” Picking up your suitcase, you turned your back to him. “You’ve made me a worse person.”

As you walked through the elevator doors and pressed the button for the lobby, all you were met with was silence. Your last glimpse of Crocodile’s face broke your heart. Instead of the stony façade he had managed to keep the entire night, he looked completely and utterly lost.

You left Alabasta that night.

It wasn’t until three weeks later, when you read that Crocodile had been arrested, did you realize that horrible pit in your gut was regret.

[just-my-type-x]

Colby and y/n are best friends and are alone in the house. Someone breaks in and Colby protects her, which makes y/n run in his arms and kiss him when everything is settled

If You Weren't Here

Colby puts his plate in the sink and grabs a water bottle from the fridge, before sitting back at the kitchen table. I take one more bite of food and copy his action, but instead of water, i take the already opened bottle of champagne from the night before.

"Oooh, spoiling yourself, i like it", Colby chuckles when i take a sip of the alcohol from the glass. I smile at him.

"It's the least i deserve after a whole week of taking care of your house while you were gone. Did you meet any beautiful ghosts? Just so i know if my work here is worth it", we laugh and i hug him from behind his chair, my head on his shoulder. He puts a hand on my wrist and we zone out for a bit, taking in the moment. "I missed you, Colbs"

"I missed you too, kiddo. It feels good to be back.", he smiles up at me and i scrunch my nose, pinching his cheeks. Whoever sees us might think we're dating, but it's actually how our friendship works. Since we've met, the constant teasing between us drew us closer and i'm here for it. We went together to prom, we were each other's new years eve kiss when we were 15, all of this for fun and, as friends, we've done all the crazy things together. Colby was the first to always find out if i have a problem, he was even the first one to find out about my first ever boyfriend. Hell, he was even the first one to meet him before i took him to my parents. Same way with him and his unsuccessful relationships. At some point, i was really surprised we hung out with the same girl from the day before. Long story short, Colby and i have always had each other's backs, no matter the situation; he even took me with them in LA when they moved.

"I'm gonna go upstairs and work on my project. If you want, you can come stay in my room.", i offer while exiting the kitchen

"I still have to edit for the channel. I'll come by when i take a break tho. We talk like we're not in the same house either way", he rolls his eyes and i roll mine too

"Sorry for being needy for your attention and presence", i show him the middle finger before going up the stairs in my room

"Can you be needy for something else too?", Colby's right behind me and i feel a wide smirk appearing on his face. I fake gasp and continue my way to the bedroom

"Robert, your naughtiness is unbearable", i say in a British accent and we both laugh at my poor attempt, but at least i can still make him laugh after so many years of me being around him. He pulls me into a hug right before he enters his room. "Chill, it's not like we're in the same house anyway", i mock him and Colby chuckles. After an eternity, i finally get to my room and start working on a college project.

A few hours go by and when i'm close to finish my assignment, a loud noise is heard from downstairs and then the shattering of glass sends goosebumps all over my body. I stumble to get to the door, afraid that Colby might have hurt himself. As i'm about to exit the room in a heartbeat, i see Colby in the doorframe, probably thinking the same thing i did, that something happened to me. i walk fast by his side and hug him, both relieved that nothing happened to either of us. Our faces are both white, as we hear loud boots stepping on the living room floor.

"Stay behind me", Colby whispers and moves me behind his back. I grab him by the waist.

"No..", i say worried and stop him in his tracks, my voice shaky and my hands visibly shaking on his body. He turns around fast and grabs my hands in his, kissing them. My cheeks heat up, but a wave of emotions hits me and i struggle not to cry or panic even more. My head is filled with thoughts about all the things that can happen to Colby if something goes wrong. "I don't want anything to happen to you, Colby.", i whisper again when he starts walking down the stairs, holding one of my hands in his.

"Everything's gonna be ok, ok?", he looks back at me and i manage to nod my head, squeezing his hand. "Just in case, i love you"

"No, you don't. Please shut up."

We walk past the glass doors that lead to the pool and garden, one of the glass door being shattered to the ground, pieces of glass everywhere, reaching us on the small hallway towards the living room. Right before the corner, we see an average size man, dressed in all black, looking for a way to take the TV off the wall.

"That's not yours man", Colby speaks loudly, my heart sinking in my stomach, scared of what's gonna happen next. The man turns to us in a second and he starts walking fast towards us. Colby pushes me somewhere down the hallway. "Call 911", and rushes to punch the man in the face as hard as he can. I take my phone out, thankful to be addicted to carrying it everwhere with me. I say the address twice to make sure they got it right and asked for the police. As i want to try and help Colby out with the robber, i see the man hitting him hard in the stomach, causing him to drop in one knee from the pain. I hurry to push him on the floor and i'm lucky enough to have enough force to get him on the ground. I kick him twice in the knees and i feel Colby's arms around me, taking me away from the man who was already trying to get up. "Please go outside, you can't have anything happen because of me", his eyes and the tone of his voice beg me to get out of there, but i shake my head.

"So cute", the robber's thick voice is heard and he almost punches Colby in the face again

"On your knees! Now!", a man screams from behind me and Colby is quick to take me further from the living room, both of us going outside with the other policeman who entered the house.

We give our statements, turns out this man tried to break into our house twice more, based on our security cameras. The police leaves the house, the robber cuffed in the backseat of their car, looking defeated. I turn around to see Colby looking at the shattered glass door, shaking his head.

"Who's gonna fix this door at 6PM? We can't sleep without a door. Someone got inside the house WITH A DOOR, imagine without one. Let alone the stray cats-"

"Colby"

"They're gonna get inside-"

"Colby!", i say his name a little louder

"What", he turns around to face me. I five into the feeling of the moment and run straight to him, jumping in his arms. He holds me so tight that i feel out of breath, his heart beating very fast because of all the emotions he's feeling at once. "Fuck, i'm so happy you don't have a scratch on your skin", he whispers and tightens the grip even more. I pull away from him gently and when i meet his red eyes, i cup his face and smash my lips on his. The sudden contact between us feels weird, yet very awaited. His hands run down my back and stop on the small of my back, pulling me towards his body. His hungry lips brush against mine, teeth biting on my bottom lip.

"I love you, too, Colby. I always did, but now i know how i loved you.", i confess and i see his eyes sparkling. "Never do this again. I don't know what i would've done if i lost you", i bury my head in his chest, my emotions getting a hold of me, tears leaving stains on his t-shirt.

"That's the same reason i protected you.", he kisses the top of my head. oh fuck, God, y/n, i love you so much", Colby chuckles. "It feels so good saying it", I chuckle at his words and look up to kiss him again.

"I never thought i needed this again", i hug him one more time

"Yeah, same", Colby's wide smile lights up the whole house and i shake my head, smiling incontrollably. "Wait till my mom finds out, she's gonna be the happiest"

"Same", i laugh. "But, for real, let's fix this"

"Oh, yeah. We don't want no cat babies tomorrow on the couch"

"i hope alive babies, tho"

"Yeah, those too"

"Colbyyyy"

[lysblack]

Gortash's Coronation Ball

Alright, I'm getting close to reaching Baldur's Gate and Gortash's Coronation in the fanfic I'm writing.

So, following up on THIS post... We're attending the Ball, folks!

Brainstorming ideas right now, but since I plan on temporarily allying Tav with Gortash (him being Lawful Evil as Bane commands and actually seeing Tav as an equal in his plans to dominate everything is really too nice not to be played with), at least some of the party is attending the Ball we were robbed of.

Obviously Tav's gonna be there, Astarion couldn't be kept away from such a fancy event even if Tav wanted to and Nere's coming along because he'd see that as the most terrible scorn to bring the vampire spawn and not him at this point in their relationship.

Everybody looking sideways on Drow Tav and Nere, voices of this weird group of people being heroes or threats to Baldur's Gate, they're obviously suspicious but strangely charming and by the end of the night they end up getting hit on multiple times (I'm considering an intercourse with Tav and Gortash just for funsies and to really test their collaboration but who knows, we'll see).

BUT: what about Wyll? Him being extremely uncomfortable with his new appearance, having to mingle with the nobility who's known him for ages but now eyes him with suspicion, distrust and even disgust.

Karlach? Her trying her best not to fall for Gortash's previous teasing and insults. Feeling really out of her element, painfully aware of her own big size and inability to properly dance even if she'd really like to enjoy the music and her new fancy attire that she's equally embarassed wearing but also secretly really likes. Dresses and fancy parties aren't her thing so why is she caring so much- and suddenly she sees Wyll's uneasiness and I don't know who asks first but now they're dancing together having fun and nobody else exists in the room anymore.

Gale panicking after a while and sending his magic copy to talk to people in his place. Every guest finds it funny and exotic, but Astarion knows it's a defence mechanism and goes to check on their Waterdeep wizard, finding him hiding on a secluded balcony talking to Tara the Tressym. Astarion suggesting he should take Tara inside, everybody loves cats and she'll give him even more points with the crowd while being his emotional support.

Shadowheart, still in her faith crysis, hair freshly dyed white, wearing the most beautiful dress that shines like a starred night. Did she ever go to a party? She doesn't remember, but probably not. She does not know the steps, doesn't know how to smalltalk. Tav notice and he twirls her around the ballroom until she laughs - is it the first time Tav has heard her laughter?

Honestly for the others I can't really see Lae'zel being interested in going to such a waste-of-time thing, Halsin being comfortable in dressing up and mingling with fake/posh people and Jaheira suffering through an entire night of being cornered into smalltalking with admirers of her past adventures.

The whole feeling will be a lot like the "Wicked eyes and wicked hearts" quest in DA:Inquisition.

There'll be romance, intrigue and probably an attempted murder or so, because what fun is a party without at least a couple deaths?

I'm also seriously thinking of adding Cazador to the guest list. Him seeing Astarion surrounded by people and still not understanding shit about them being friends and not pawns/accessories, underestimating the threat that such a close group (almost family now) actually poses to his Ascension plan.

Also thinking about everybody's fancy attires, pinterest is my salvation and curse.

[junoswrlld]

ᓚᗢCHAP 6 — BOO

summary: Kai, one of your closest friends, invites you as a plus one to one of his best friend's birthday party. but the bday boy is kinda cute…can you steal his heart?

this isn't proofread so like it might be a lil silly

going to the library with beomgyu. you'll totally be okay, just don't say anything stupid, or make him uncomfortable, or somehow embarrass him, or- well, who am I kidding, just play it cool. like you totally don't have the biggest crush on him.

walking down the seemingly endless hallways toward the library has your heart racing. "It's the school library, and there are probably gonna be people there, so we'll have to be a little quiet, right? Or will that just make things really awkward,,, oh em gee what am I even doing" you think. what are you doing? going to a semi-private place with your new crush? did he wanna talk about something specific? What's even happening? you'd think that after talking on the phone for four hours you'd be cool with meeting him in person, but if anything it might be worse since you were so comfortable on the call and are so nervous in person, he might think your just a nervous wreck and never wanna talk to you again but let's be for real, he's down bad.

nearing the library is one of the most nerve-wracking things you've ever done- well not really you're just meeting a boy, but still!! you're nervous and there's only a few more turns till you're at the library. "Should I turn around? pretend this never happened?" you think. "no that's stupid. I just need to suck it up"

the two large doors to the school library now only ten feet away. taking a step forward you remember what Minji told you, "I'll bring you a drink and check up on you" She always knew what to do, and how to calm you down.

as you grab the door handle and only creek the door open a tiny bit, you fully expect Beomgyu to already be in there waiting for you, but there's no one. closing the door behind you as you walk in, shyly looking around for him.

"BOO" Beomgyu grabs onto your shoulders from behind in an attempt to scare you, and it works.

"Are you crazy?! you scared the shit outa me, man!" Turning around to look the psycho in the eyes, you find yourself calming down after actually seeing him in person.

he giggles at your reaction, not expecting you to actually get scared "Oh my god y/n, we're in a library~ You shouldn't be yelling." he jokes. "There's so many people here," he said sarcastically, playfully hitting your arm.

a little stunned by the sudden contact makes you freeze for a moment, Beomgyu already acting like you two are so close making you a bit nervous again. "Oh whatever gyu" you replied in a joking manner. "Did you just wanna scare me or are you actually gonna show me your "awesome spot" hmm?"

"Oh yeah! I kinda forgot about that to be honest, I just want to hang out with you" he admitted as he started leading the way, reaching his hand out for you to hold on to. you reluctantly take his hand in yours, looking away from him, trying not to look at him.

An hour or so later you and beomgyu are now sitting together, shoulders touching, and sitting in Beomgyu's favorite place in the library, The both of you are just talking about your interests, and the books the two of you have read. you both are 10x more comfortable with each other, laughing at each other's jokes and talking about how certain books make you both feel.

"oh! Did you read Prince of Song and Sea? it's like the little mermaid from Prince Eric's perspective. I think you would totally like it." you exclaim, putting your hand on his shoulder and looking him directly in the eyes.

"You will have to send me the link to buy that y/n! it sounds so fun," he replies, putting his hand on yours.

you watch as he suddenly Is looking behind you, You turn around, following his eye line, and then see Minji standing behind you, drink in hand. "Hey y/n! hi beomgyu! what are y'all doing?" she says, handing you your drink.

"Hi, Minji! we're just talking about books n' stuff know?" you tell her as beomgyu nods in agreement. "Well sorry Beomgyu but I'm gonna have to steal her from you real quick," she tells him. "We have a lot of studying to do" a lie, but she didn't care, just wanted to gossip and have you tell her about everything that happened. you look at beomgyu and nod, also wanting to talk about him.

"Aw really? well, I'll see you at my birthday party yeah?" he asks as you stand up. "Of course! I'll see you then, Bye!" You wave at him, smiling widely as you walk away with Minji.

once you and Minji are far enough for him to not hear you she immediately starts asking questions. "Tell me everything that happened y/n! Was it good? I could hear you two giggling from the front door, so y'all must be getting along right?" she rambles on in a loudish tone.

"Jeez Minji I'll tell you everything, I promise," you say as you both walk out of the library, both giggling and excited to talk about boys together.

previous chapter -- masterlist -- next chapter

taglist (always open): @heyanonymous123 @wccycc @beomomb @sweetheartsaku @woncheecks @gyuszie @kaewonie @flowerbe0m @tocupid @imsiriuslyreal @starsforbeomgyu @moa4lifeee @jype2papi @destairea @stqrrian

[a-student-out-of-time]

PSA TIME WITH MOD BUBBLES

//I’ve talked a lot about DRDT, and that’s because I’m honestly so blown away by how good it is and how talented the dev is as a creator. At no point have I ever meant to imply that my interpretation of DRDT or the outcome of the story is the only correct one, I’ve only been speculating on it based on the evidence in the text.

//And while I complain a lot about works from creators like LINUJ, that’s only because of writing decisions that either diminish the work’s quality, damage the story and/or characters, or harm whatever messages it’s going for. Even then, I still try to see the good in works I critique and how I think they can be improved, because that's what constructive criticism should be about. My criticisms have never been intended as personal attacks and I’ve been trying to go out of my way to ensure they remain professional and constructive.

//I really don't have a bad word to say about the creator or the fangan itself. I actually want to talk about something else here.

//To be honest, I sympathize with their feelings. The amount of times I've seen posts from people in the fandom taking the piss out of my Switch Theory, mocking it, calling it stupid and me stupid by extension, and spreading misinformation about it? It's a lot. To say nothing about my work on this blog.

//As a small creator myself, I’ve had to develop a thicker skin when it comes to taking criticism or getting hate asks. Early ones I got were pretty harsh, and it did send me into a malaise for many days or weeks at a time, and I had to learn not to try writing when I didn’t feel up to it. Now I have the confidence to challenge bad faith arguments, and I have help from co-creators and friends to improve things.

//I say this because a lot of those asks and a lot of that negativity did affect me and I had to learn to not let it bother me. I still get sad and frustrated, but it’s not a creator-killing attitude for me anymore. That's not always the case every creator, unfortunately.

//Obviously I’m not talking about every single person in the fandom, but I just want to make this clear for fans of any work: please, for the love of all that is good and kind and decent, think about what you say about creators.

//I’m not talking about calling out creators for unrepentant bad behavior, you can and should do that. I’m talking about harassment, entitlement, and even just thoughtlessness commentary that goes into things said about small creators who work on passion projects, who aren’t making money off of it and who are just trying to do their best.

//It can be easy to think your comments, your criticisms, or even your attempts to be funny will be perceived how you perceive them, but not everyone will take them the same way. Your thought processes are not universal, and something small and innocuous to you can really hit a sore spot for someone else. Some people are more sensitive than others, and that’s something you really to keep in mind.

//This is especially true if you’re saying things about a creator themselves. There’s a difference between something like “here’s where I think the creator’s work could be improved” and “the creator is so X.” You can hurt them with the latter more than the former, because that feels very targeted and personalized. Even if it's not true, some people are much more self-conscious than others.

//At the same time, the response to this sort of thing is not and should NEVER be “let’s gang up on the person who said that and force them out of the fandom.” That’s unacceptable, no matter the circumstance. I’ve blocked people who've tried to have that attitude about critics of my own story because I will never endorse that behavior.

//This isn’t meant to be a call-out post, just a PSA on why you should exercise some compassion and thought, and don’t make unnecessary commentary about creators who work hard on projects like these for no money, or for people who say things without intending to be hurtful. We creators do it because we have something we want to share, and as bad as bullying can get, comments like that are worse in their own way.

//Even if you don't intend it to be hurtful, thoughtlessness can hurt worse than open cruelty. Please keep that in mind when talking about other people, especially people you either don’t know or only know from their work or one bad action. At the same time, someone making one bad comment is not an excuse for you to declare war on them.

//Above all, just be kind to people and show how much you appreciate their work. Even small comments have gotten me through periods of bad depression, and when people need time to work on their health before they feel ready to get back to working on their projects, respect that. We aren't content machines, we're just as human as the rest of you.

//Finally, to the DT dev, I don't know if you'll see this, but I've been where you are and also had to take time off for myself. I feel lucky that I have so many kind people in my life, and I sincerely hope you do too. Take all the time you need, and know you've got my wholehearted support when you do return.

[rats-the-bat]

The Voice of Reason ~ Part Two (And the Final Part)

Synopsis: Logan is getting more and more frustrated about being ignored. But fortunately, a certain rat affiliated Duke knows how to help. ;)

As you can tell from the title, this is the second part. Go read the first part so you can understand what's going on!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wha- But that doesn't make any sense," Logan chuckled in disbelief, "that was what I was telling them to do, and they didn't listen to me. Why would they ignore my suggestions only to come to the same conclusion later on?"

"I don't know..." Remus said with too much innocence, "Have you ever considered that you're not relevant anymore?"

And as quick as Remus said that, Logan's attempt to keep his composure collapsed.

"Get out of my room!" Logan threw a book at Remus, hitting him in the face.

"Why do you even bother telling me these things?" Logan snapped, "Do you find that much pleasure in making my day worse? Everyday I get up and I work as hard as I possibly can to ensure that Thomas--and by association, all of us--can live a happy, healthy lifestyle! You think it's 'fun' to laugh at that effort? You have no idea how much work that is! I make plan after plan and schedule after schedule. I keep the other sides from making reckless mistakes. I keep Thomas from making reckless mistakes. Everyday I put in so much effort! And on top of all that, most of these efforts aren't wanted by them. They don't care about my efforts!.. They ignore my efforts... They- they-"

Logan stopped rambling, realizing how irrational he was acting. He also saw that he wasn't proving anything to Remus anyways, for all his actions did was send Remus into a maniacal fit laughter. Along with that, he began to notice a cold and strange tingling sensation run down his face. He lifted his hand to his cheek to feel what it was... Logan was crying.

How could this be possible? Logan didn't cry. Logan couldn't cry. Crying was a response to pain. Logan wasn't in pain, he was physically fine. That could only mean the pain is emotional. But that was impossible. Logan didn't have emotions. Logan was logic. And logic can't feel emotions. Logic is reasonable. But before he could ask himself anymore questions, he began speak out to Remus, his words spilling out before he could process what he was even saying.

"Oh no," he wept, "oh no, Remus you're right. I'm not relevant anymore! I was never the most exciting side, or the nicest, or the most pleasant, but they were able to deal with me. They dealt with me because I was important. I was able to make decisions they couldn't. I was the voice of reason. And so I was one of them. But things are changing, Remus. The questions Thomas has, the choices he has to make, they aren't rooted in logic anymore. I can't answer them. And now that I can't there's no purpose in the others dealing with me--I'm not the voice of reason anymore. I thought if I tried to be kinder they would still at least want me, but it seems that I'm not nice enough to hide that I'm essentially useless now..."

At this point Remus had stopped cackling and just stood there in silence, completely stunned and unsure of what to do. He knew when he arrived that he would upset Logan--that was his goal--but he had no idea that Logan would start crying over it.

"They're going to replace me Remus, I'm going to be replaced!" Logan continued, still sobbing, "They're already replacing me! Janus is taking my place! He's so clever, so well put together, but most of all, he's reasonable! He understands the questions Thomas has now. He can answer his questions. Thomas and Patton have already started to warm up to him, it's only matter of time before they all accept him. And then he will be the voice of reason! And all I will be able to offer is exposition... He'll do a better job anyways, he actually knows what he's doing! I make so many mistakes--I can't even think rationally enough to not cry!"

His sobs grew louder and louder as he lost the ability to speak. Remus was still standing there, now even more unsure of what to do. Should he tell someone? Surely at least one of them cared about him enough to comfort him, and he definitely wasn't qualified to do it himself... Wait--why did he care? He didn't like Logan. He didn't like him at all! Logan was an arrogant know-it-all, and he always got in the way of his plans. He came here because he wanted Logan to get upset! So should he go? He got what he wanted, so there was no point in staying... No... Remus had no reason to care, but for some reason--for some strange reason--he couldn't help but feel extreme pity seeing the man who showed nothing but indifference and agitation towards his antics act so depressingly pathetic.

"Hey don't cry," Remus whispered as comfortingly as he knew how, "there's nothing wrong with being a little useless. People love useless characters!"

That had the opposite effect. Logan began crying even more violently.

"Well there's no point in crying about it if you know it's inevitable!" Remus blurted out, "Either accept your new purpose in life or find a way to keep the one you had!" Then Remus got an sudden idea. An idea with no flaws in his eyes. The only thing that could go wrong was if Logan refused.

"Hey, hey, stop crying," he whispered again, though with more energy, "I know how you can become the voice of reason again."

That caught Logan's attention.

Remus would help him keep his place? How? And why? Logan thought to himself for a moment. There was a remarkably low chance Remus' plan would actually work, and an even lower chance he had good intentions... But at this point, any solution was worth hearing out. He tried to cease his sobs.

"Well, if you really have a possible solution," Logan sniveled, "then tell me how I can maintain my position as the voice of reason." Remus grinned eagerly.

"You know how you earlier you said they kept you around despite not being nice or exciting?"

"Yes?..."

"And you know how you tried to be nice when you stopped knowing all the answers?"

"Of course, how couldn't I?"

"And you know how that failed?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"Well you said you weren't nice or exciting. You tried to be nice, and that didn't work. So have you considered being more exciting?"

Logan was perplexed. He didn't really think of that. The others were always agitated when he spoke up, so he decided to speak less. But what if he spoke more?

"See, your problem is that you don't stand out enough," Remus explained, "The other sides have such extreme opinions that yours get kicked to the curb. If you want them to listen, you've gotta be as drastic as they are."

"And how exactly do I do that?"

"Well, the other sides do several extreme things. And you're a pansy, so I know you won't do that. So instead of doing several small things, you should one great thing..." Remus' grin grew larger and more mischievous.

"You have reasoned with me long enough, just tell me what to do!"

Knock. Knock.

Out of completely nowhere, the two of them suddenly heard knocking at Logan's door. After a ominously long moment of silence, his door began to slowly creak open. An orange mist started to fill the room. Logan's eyes stayed fixated on the door, contemplating what could possibly be happening right now. Remus' smile grew wider; he knew what was to come. When the door was completely opened, the haze started to fade, revealing who it was at the door.

"Hey, I heard that you're 'friends' have a problem with ignoring you," he said, "I can help with that..."

[unclejackworthing]

TRICKED

send TRICKED for a scene from my muse's past in which they misled, tricked, or lied to someone

“Oh! Didn't expect to see you out here!” The bubbly blonde allows the sight of a celebrity exiting the Reform Club to throw her off her usual strategy for only a moment. Jack can tell the Joy isn't helping with her attempts at staying professional. Anonymity, or at least having the manners to pretend you don't know who someone is, is generally appreciated in these encounters.

“I mean- you looking for a date, mister?” His mask is the only thing that prevents him from grimacing. No. It's seven AM and there are only two things on his mind- primarily, hunger. Food is scarce anymore. He'd been hungry when he entered the club just as curfew hit, and he's famished now that the sun is rising.

Secondary, though, is blood lust; a bubbling rage towards each and every inhabitant in this cursed city. For awhile, the Reform Club had been helping- a healthy outlet for his growing violent urges. It had been easier to stay focused during the day after a night of strangling, and hair pulling, and electrocution on willing parties. But, lately, it hadn't quite been enough. The past few nights, it felt like it was only fanning the flames, teasing him, leaving him more on edge than he'd been the day before.

“Oh,” he laughs cheerfully, feigns being surprised and flustered as though he couldn't tell her intentions at first glance. There's only one reason for someone to be loitering outside when the Reform Club lets out. “I'm afraid not. I've got a busy day ahead of me! I'd best be penciling in a nap.”

She persists despite the polite refusal. “Well, I mean, I'd do it for a discount- half price. Just ‘cause it's you and all.”

The flattery doesn't help. It's shallow. They don't know each other, they've never so much as spoken before, but she thinks they're so familiar just because she watches him on TV every day. How many of her life choices have been based on whatever bullshit he told her to do, based on whatever bullshit his producers told him to do?

She has no idea that they're running out of food entirely, that the people in charge are just going to continue promising that a shipment of supplies is on the way and counting on the fact that everyone is too stoned to question why it's taking so long. She doesn't remember sending the children away. Though she may have been too young to have had any of her own, she's old enough that she could've done something about it. She would've had siblings, neighbors- no one was exempt from what they did.

She doesn't want to know- none of them do. They'd rather be happy and stupid than face the truth of it all. She's clearly uncomfortable with the brief silence, as she continues to fill it with idle rambling.

“Me and my girlfriends, we talk about you sometimes. Wondering why a man like you ain't married. Guess this explains it!” She laughs, gesturing at the building behind them, as though his proclivities have caused his solitude, rather than his solitude has driven him insane.

He could tell her all about why he's currently unmarried; about watching his late wife slowly die of an illness no doctor could seem to do anything about, about watching their daughter die only a few years later, about how he has no interest in ever getting so emotionally attached to another person who could be taken from him. But, he doesn't, because dwelling on the past isn't allowed, because they're all supposed to just keep pushing forward as though nothing ever happened.

He wants to bash her head against the nearby wall. He wants to take it all out on her, to blame her for everything Wellington Wells has done, for the children and for the Joy and for everyone's eagerness to just follow along to their deaths rather than face their own guilt.

In fact… now that he thinks about it, he doubts anyone close to the woman knows where she is or what she's doing. And if they do, well… they'll forget about her just like the children.

“Actually, my dear… Perhaps I do have a little extra time to spare.”

[unofficialadamtaurus]

What’re your full thoughts on season 9? I wasn’t going to watch it—especially after following along with you and other rwde blogs’ feelings on the content as the it aired—but I keep hearing this is the best written rwby season despite that. It’s a mixed bag right now, even within the more critical side of the fandom, and you always have nuanced takes, so, I figured I should ask you 🙂

You don't ask the easy questions, huh. (And I don’t reply to them in a timely manner, huh.)

I think "best written" is accurate from a certain point of view and when you keep in mind that it's being compared to other volumes of the same show. There’s a new framing device with the story, a twist villain that holds together on a second viewing, and emotional beats we’ve wanted to see hit for years. The animation itself is also good. Things are smooth and there’s even attempts at actual fight choreography. Even the voice acting is fairly consistently good.

If you can't tell already, I've said all of that with a massive disclaimer, and that disclaimer is that this volume falls apart when you look at it more closely. To me, this volume is, and I cannot emphasize this enough, frustrating. It's frustrating in a similar way to V8: you can kind of see what the writers are trying to do, but it's all executed in a way that makes you wonder what was going on in the writers' room. The plot beats, messages, and themes are not communicated well, are contradictory, or are otherwise damaging.

Heavy spoilers beyond this point if you managed to not watch it between sending this ask and me responding.

Atlas has fallen. Our heroes failed. This is the belly of the beast moment, the find-your-motivation moment, the break-the-geode-to-see-the-beauty-within moment.

And it falls so, so flat.

Penny’s death, this big moment from the previous volume, comes up a couple times but is never resolved. Jaune never states that he killed her. No one asks. Ruby is sad over her sword a couple times and that’s it.

Jaune is an old man! He’s a little bit out of his mind! Only no, he’s fine, here’s a magic knife that makes him young again.

There’s an interesting framing device! Only no, we’ll stop trying to follow it halfway through, and because the audience never knows how the story goes until the characters experience it or talk about it, there’s no interesting use of the framing device. It’s just there.

The Gods’ origin story! Only…why? Who was asking for this? Why did we need an origin myth for an origin myth? And why did it have to take up so much real estate in the final episode to boot?

To get to the main team:

Weiss’s kingdom, her home, was destroyed. She doesn’t even know the fate of her family beyond the portals. I would expect her to be the most affected by the events of the previous volume: quiet, grieving, grasping for a next step to avoid thinking about it. But no—she’s the comic relief for this volume. In addition to a mouse I personally found annoying most of the time who is also comic relief. Weiss’s trauma is almost entirely ignored except for when she talks about Penny’s death, her comment at the burning market, and one sad face in the Punderstorm. Every scene with her falling down or getting hit by a rock or cheerleading grated on me. It felt so divorced from what she should be feeling that it broke my immersion and was a significant source of frustration.

Blake is an empty character. Her whole role in this volume is two things: person who read fairy tales (that everyone else also read), and person who loves Yang. Her big hero moment is talking about a struggle to bridge humanity and Faunus that we have never seen on screen. If you’ve been bothered by Blake’s lack of agency and character in previous volumes, the former may get marginally better here at the start, but by the end they’ll both be worse than they ever were, and both a significant source of frustration.

Yang is a mess. She starts strong with the “You shouldn’t be here,” but by the end of the volume she’s turning on her sister, blaming her for her distress, and doing nothing while her sister kills herself. She puts Blake over Ruby, hell, she puts Jaune over Ruby. I couldn’t believe what she was doing, and the bees confession scene was cringe-inducing with how it made her love focus on incredibly broad or superficial things about Blake. No mention of shared trauma, or past hurt. Frustrating.

And Ruby. Poor Ruby. This was touted as Ruby's volume. She's going to be the focus, she's going to struggle. The OP hammers this point home with unsubtle imagery of Ruby crying and falling behind while her teammates carry on unbothered. That had me intrigued, because Ruby has been more or less a static character since the end of Volume 3. Her struggles have been momentary, situational, and without lasting impact, so I wanted to see her have that belly of the beast moment in her hero's journey and come out different and stronger for it.

Problems are, they went about her spiral in the most ham-fisted way possible. Ruby is obviously depressed because they have to let the audience know, but it’s to the point that I can’t believe her teammates just let things lie. As a result, her team come off as jerks. Where are the friends from the Beacon days, the ones whose reuniting was a huge moment in V5? Certainly not here, watching adult man Jaune yell at Ruby for a plan he helped create and enact. Certainly not there, slowly walking after a crying and upset Ruby who flew off in a direction Jaune should know is dangerous shortly after Neo attacked, while blaming Ruby for not talking to them when the time Ruby did, Yang brushed her off and compared her to Ironwood.

Her team dismisses her, Neo beats her to a pulp, and she commits suicide. She goes to a tree that’s been established to wipe memories and recreate people.

Is her team upset? No. Worried? No, at least until Yang sees Ruby encased in wood. But it’s all fine, because Ruby sees that her mom wasn’t perfect and that her mom thought she was perfect just the way she was as a child, and that fixes all the the trauma the entire volume hammered into your ears and eyeballs in the span of maybe two minutes.

I will pause briefly to say that Ruby’s brief fight scene is good. Genuine highlight there.

But the main villain who tortured Ruby then gets off without any resentment or frustration from the heroes. And the twist villain, whose motives are far more sympathetic to me than the main villains’, is brutally torn apart.

The dissonance between what the show seems to want its morals to be and what they actually are is staggering.

To sum up:

The status quo for the characters did not change. The status quo for the setting did not change. The status quo for the writing did not change.

If you like the show as it is, if you take it at face value, you’ll be fine, as you’ve been fine for the last several volumes. But if you try to sink your teeth in, you’ll be getting a mouthful of dust—and not even the magical kind. There is little past that other than more frustration.

[depoteka]

my ranking and review of all eurovision 2023 songs

(don't expect any intellectual deep dives, i just tried articulating my feelings the best i could but it was hard bc i'm so lukewarm on so many songs. if the reviews don't make sense it's because i wrote them before i used the esc gerbear to sort the places hhh)

37. iceland: diljá - power

it definitely is a song that is competing in eurovision this year and i've listened to it. it doesn't make me feel anything so i don't know what to say. it's a fast pop song but i'm not even vibing to it :( i just don't like it

36. switzerland: remo forrer - watergun

oh switzerland, just because sad boy gjon worked in 2021 doesn't mean you need to keep sending sad boys now... a really boring attempt at an anti-war song

35. cyprus: andrew lambrou - break a broken heart

i don't think i'm really into men singing some heartbreak songs tbh i don't like those howls in the song and the rest sorta sounds imagine dragons-ish to me, the verses at least

34. greece: victor vernicos - what they say

it's cool that he's playing bass in the music video but the song isn't making me feel much. ain't gonna really talk shit about it bc the dude's just 16, i hope he has fun at eurovision

33. italy: marco mengoni - due vite

i like to think italy is my fave eurovision country and then they send a ballad….. i actually watched sanremo (tho i haven't seen any of the nights till the end bc i'm not that strong Yet) and marco wasn't my favourite at all, i was actually surprised how crazy the audience kept going whenever he was performing. of course i can see it getting some good result because it's a classic italian ballad. just not for me

32. ireland: wild youth - we are one

we've got u2 at home/the u2 at home:…. this song has the most generic love love peace peace lyrics ever and whatever unity they are singing about i don't want to be a part of it

31. poland: jann - gladiator blanka - solo

baybeh….it's kinda crazeh… allegedly it was a big radio hit before "winning" the preselections but imma be real with you, i'd never heard it before. it's a harmless pop song without any substance and if it was selected internally i'd be like meh but all the bullshit that went down at our national final makes me mad. i hope we flop hard

30. portugal: mimicat - ai coração

something about it to me feels like early 00s eurovision and i must admit, i don't really like it. though the performance in liverpool might be quite fun

29. romania: theodor andrei - d.g.t. (off and on)

the national final performance of this song is a state of mind. to be frank i feel like the esc fandom is overhating this song, it's not That bad. am i a fan of this song? no. would i like it to see it in the final with the same staging just for laughs? yes

28. israel: noa kirel - unicorn

israel i'm so sorry 0 points……. this song is a disjointed mess to my ears, i think it would've been better if they stuck to just one of the styles they used in this song. all the mentions of unicorns in this song make me cringe. not to mention the "you wanna see me dance?" bit which um, also makes me cringe. no problem with a dance break but why did she have to announce it like that out of nowhere. my favourite part of the song is probably the "u-ni-corn" chant at the very end but other than that eh. this song was written to make the staging crazy and exciting but as a song it doesn't work for me

27. azerbaijan: turalturanx - tell me more

brave of azerbaijan to send two dudes with their song that sound like it teleported itself from an early 00s shitty british movie. that rap part sounds like it's from a corporate song targeted at a young audience to idk make them stop smoking asdfadsf there's something endearing about this song tho

26. uk: mae muller - i wrote a song

i recognize that it's a step in the right direction for the uk and it's a rather fun song but tbh i just don't connect with it. i really liked sam last year and sadly in comparison mae's song seems quite weak to me. though i hope that the (de facto) host country curse doesn't work on the uk this year tho and they don't end up on the very end of the board

25. the netherlands: mia nicolai & dion cooper - burning daylight

ngl i forgot about this song after the first listen. i don't even know what to say about it really, it's just really underwhelming to me. i think i don't actively hate it but i also don't really like it

24. georgia: iru - echo

english grammar rules have left the chat. i'm baffled by the lyrics. but the song overall (along with the video) feels like something from outer space or the future. not in a crazy way tho. i think it has some potential

23. denmark: reiley - breaking my heart

bts are on hiatus so it's his time to shine. no but seriously, there's something so kpopy about this song? i defo like it more than the other "breaking heart" song this year but still. the dude gives me some uncanny valley feeling, especially considering he allegedly pretends to be 5 years younger than he actually is? i love eurovision drama

22. estonia: alika - bridges

we have very few true ballads this year but i think this one's ok!! not a ballad girl myself but i don't mind this one, i like her voice. gives me adele bond theme vibes. i've seen people say alika isn't really selling this song but i saw her national final performance and it seemed fine to me? not much you can really do when you're singing a ballad tbh

21. armenia: brunette - future lover

imma be real with you, i laughed out loud when i first listened to this song because of the lyrics. but i think the song is kinda nice anyway? not a fave but it's nice enough

20. malta: the busker - dance (our own party)

they got sax and in theory i should like it. but i'm not a fan. the whole "ooh i wanna stay at home in my sweater" shtick doesn't work for me. i can see why some people are vibing to this song but it's not doing it for me

19. sweden: loreen - tattoo

i'm a noted hater of sweden at eurovision so don't expect me to say anything nice hhhh the song is rather fine and loreen is fantastic but at the same time i feel like the entire song is just one idea repeated over and over without any sort of variation. her staging at melfest seems quite interesting but overall i don't think this has a potential to win? especially if the people watching in may remember euphoria. tattoo pales in comparison

18. san marino: piqued jacks - like an animal

hear me out………i don't hate this song. yes maybe it's cringe but somehow it keeps getting stuck in my head because it's catchy asdfasdfadsf i'm waiting for the studio version bc it's hard to properly judge it based on the shit sound mix at san marino nf

17. ukraine: tvorchi - heart of steel

was kinda surprised watching vidbir when this won! but then again ukraine keeps giving us different things constantly. i quite like this song but it's also too lowkey for me, nothing to go crazy about. still, it's a vibe

16. norway: alessandra - queen of the kings

ngl when i first heard the song i couldn't understand why people like it so much. now i enjoy it more but i wouldn't say it's a fave of mine? i can see it getting a good result though, there's something very eurovision about it

15. serbia: luke black - samo mi se spava

i feel like technically i should like this song but i….don't. i think the music itself is quite fun but…..the performance makes it seem like it was written for the netflix eurovision movie. something about this guy's voice bothers me. the nail to the coffin for me is the fact that the title of this song sounds close to "samo mi się spawa" in polish which means "it welds on its own for me" instead of "i just wanna sleep" which is what the title actually means 💀 i can't shake this association off and it doesn't help me like this song more

14. slovenia: joker out - carpe diem

at first i wasn't impressed but overall i think it's quite a fun indie/pop rock song!! and it's always nice to hear a native language instead of english

13. lithuania: monika lynkytė - stay

it's a pleasant song and the lithuanian bit is my fave part of the song. overall i don't mind it, but also i'm not crazy about it. sort of disappointed because i really loved sentimentai last year :(

12. belgium: gustaph - because of you

i haven't watched the belgian nf so i don't know what the other options were (that people are so mad about not winning) but i quite like this one!!! it's a bop, makes me wanna dance. i hope gustaph brings some voguing to liverpool

11. moldova: pasha parfeni - soarele şi luna

the only true folk influenced song we have this year, i like it!! it's a banger, it has some sort of flute going on, from what i've seen the lyrics refer to a folk legend? we love it

10. australia: voyager - promise

banger!! pleasantly surprised because i don't think i've ever really really liked any of australia's entries in the past. thought the random high note in the second verse is quite funny to me tbh asdasdfds

9. croatia: let 3 - mama ŠČ!

i think it's more of a whole package where the song doesn't really make full sense without the performance but in some strange way i enjoy the song anyway. the lyrics also are quite understandable in polish which probably also makes it easier for me (and i imagine other slavic people as well) to understand the message without feeling confused about what's going on

8. albania: albina & familja kelmendi - duje

the drama?? i love it. i saw somebody say it feels like a turkish telenovela and they've got a point. it makes me feel something (unlike some other entries) and i appreciate it. plus the instrumental absolutely fucks

7. spain: blanca paloma - eaea

when i first heard the song i didn't understand it at all. i feel like i still don't fully Get it but there's something so fascinating about it to me that i can't stop thinking about it. i'm so confused? but i think it means i enjoy it. definitely something i like more than slomo last year

6. germany: lord of the lost - blood & glitter

yell heah!! germany finally sending something worthwhile. i keep listening to this song on loop, i wanna twerk to it. love the combo of metal AND glitter <3

5. france: la zarra - évidemment

i already liked it at first listen and it keeps growing on me! not a big fan of chanson type of songs but this one is a banger + her look in the music video is gorgeous, i hope she keeps it for liverpool

4. czechia: vesna - my sister's crown

liked it before it was chosen at czechia's national final and was happy when they won but i kinda got bored of it after a month or so? i still think it's a good song (even tho i know people have some issues with it) and i love the mix of three different slavic languages. i think with the right staging they can win me back

3. latvia: sudden lights - aijā

OK OK… when i first heard it i was like ok. but then one evening i randomly found myself watching the moldovan nf and they were guests there and when they played their song in this shitty studio i was like omg it's actually really good?? obsessed with the lullaby bit at the end. i hope to god they qualify, they need to bring justice to latvia after citi zeni's nq last year

2. austria: teya & salena - who the hell is edgar?

what a surprise?? adored it at first listen. it both manages to be a bop while also trying to say something. i loved in corpore sano last year, i love who the hell is edgar this year

1. finland: käärijä - cha cha cha

what can i say......i usually don't really listen to any of the national final songs and just wait for the winner of each one but the thumbnail for cha cha cha music video on yt intrigued me so i watched it. and immediately i wanted käärijä to win eurovision weeks before he even won the finnish nf. the song is sooo addictive and his entire look/performance is hypnotizing. i know he's a favourite to win rn but if he somehow flops in may i'm gonna be really really sad. come on, it's crazy it's party. i think this finnish win would be a really fitting addition to lordi's win in 2006

[mossfeathers]

Thank you for answering and welcoming my questions! ^^ (I sorta tried to pre-organize my thoughts so I hope the formating of this isn't too strange, sorry if is.)

Your sirens are very neat, I think. :3 I enjoyed reading about them. I'll definitely be ready when more info on them sprouts up. 

And ooo yes sweethearts is a very cute duo name for them. I like that a lot. ^^

I haven't actually played Stardew but I did grow up playing games in the series that inspired it so I think I'm picturing the vibe right, I feel like it could be very Harvest Moon, HM: Animal Parade especially. (I liked fishing too ^^ tho idk if it was so much a skill as it was just something you can do for recipes and money and got better at w/ better fishing rods)

& the setup overall seems like fun. Love the complete oblivion to start.

And since you welcomed my questions last time and said you'd like to hear if I have any more, here's some more questions! 

Can we hear a bit more about the dynamics the characters will have with each other so far? It'd be fun to here about, if you want to share that of course. ^^

You mentioned before that Scar & B are brothers in this au and that it'd also be a whole other post. Is that anything you can share with us yet? Or is it future info, It's fine if it is.

Oh but otherwise can I ask how you decided on a lionfish for Scar?

Also, are the others(like Lizzie & them) around as less important townies and seafolk?

Thank you for your time and sharing your ideas!

HI ANON I FORGOT TO RESPOND TO THIS IM SO SORRY OMG Literally always makes my entire day and week and month and also year tbh when you send in an ask and I love you so much (/p)

I've never checked out Harvest Moon before, I'll be sure to try and find a letsplay or something like that. From what I looked up of it, it looks adorable and I can totally see how it inspired Stardew :)

I think Grian and Jimmy are closer to their livestream/non-traffic dynamics, the main difference just being Grian cares a little more for Jimmy outside of the life series (apart from limited life). Grian bullies Jimmy but would do anything for him, Jimmy despises Grian but would do the same. Plus they make each other 500 times sillier and goofier. They're just really close friends, likely either grew up together or met in their late teens and were roomies for a while. Classic bullying friendship. Grian's quick to blame Jimmy, but quicker to take the actual blame if need be. Jimmy's quick to get frustrated with Grian but they're usually fine by the end of the day.

Grian and Scar are close to third life, Grian being exasperated with his attempts to scam him and Scar just being a silly little menace. Oddly enough, I haven't thought of many specific interactions, but based on Grian and B's first in-universe interaction I'd imagine Grian just threatens Scar if he ever tries to use his voice on him and that stops Scar from using it real quick. Doesn't mean that he won't tease G a lot. They're best friends. I gotta catch that grian+scar disease so I can more thoroughly think about them, I can only make them besties and happy forever. That doesn't slide in this AU, unfortunately.

Grian and B are really interesting, actually. In their first interaction (at least I think), Grian makes a very close threat on B's life if he ever uses his voice. He's rather aggressive in this au, but this is only because of the fact that sirens don't have a super awesome reputation and also because, in the context, Jimmy is missing and Grian suspects it's to do with sirens. I think. But after that, they bond a lot over their dumbass siblings and just the fact they like each other so much. Grian's oddly fanboy-ish over B in a really silly way and B just thinks Grian is awesome.

BIGB AND JIMMY!!!!!!!!! They're so incredibly underrated. They are SO silly. They just click with one another. I'm going to try to incorporate their super long friendship by just making them hit it off straight away when they first meet (in the life series, especially, they just constantly bring up inside jokes from hanging out, especially irl. they're absolutely adorable. i'll be genuinely shocked if they don't team next life series). They really like each other, and one of the main things about their dynamic is that Jimmy just thinks B is plain cool, and B thinks Jimmy is absolutely the funniest man alive. Really liking how Jimmy, quite possibly the most clueless man alive, is besties with the sirens. Very fitting.

I can totally talk about Scar and B being siblings! One of the reasons I didn't answer this in your previous asks (sorry about that btw) was just I didn't really know how to word it? Again, this au is very self-indulgent and I just really like the Scar and Bigb dynamic, and also really like weird sibling dynamics where they don't quite like each other and probably wouldn't be besties if they were allowed to not grow up together. But they did. And they're besties. And don't quite like each other. Except it's even more weird than this because B doesn't quite like Scar but absolutely loves him but also would really rather prefer to never interact with him ever (one of my favorite clips of them is b hanging out in third life, hearing scar's voice in the distance, and instantly saying 'oh no oh no oh no i gotta get out of here'. then scar comes to swindle him. a very similar thing happened in last life but scar didnt even come to swindle him, he just showed up at the shadow tower after the fairy fort burned down and b just runs and hides behind a little stone box. bugs to me). And Scar loves B soooo much but even more than that he loves teasing him. 'Life series best friend' has been referenced every single life series. And most of those times has been during a moment B is not red and Scar is. Very untrustworthy man. But at the same time I just know in my heart of hearts that given the chance (forcing them on a team together) they would be SO dynamic and interesting with a more haphazard trust and confused devotion type thing going on. So yeah: Guys who would absolutely never talk to one another again in their life if not for the fact they're siblings, but since they are they absolutely love each other. Oddly, that's inspired by how my mom talks about her and my aunt (her sister), and kind of how I feel about my own sibling. I haven't really thought out parental/other family ties, and i'm leaning towards either just having siren culture be very independent from parents or just never explicitly addressing it, as I don't really think it's that important, even though B and Scar's childhood is (I do not know what the details of their childhood are yet. i am such a good storyteller. clearly.)

Being completely honest, I chose a lionfish because I think they're cool, I just kinda got Scar vibes from it, and I associate him with orange. As with all good decisions, it was completely random and I'm actually super happy with it! I guess it also plays into his dangerous side, with the toxic needles and all that. If you happen to have any ideas for what B's tail could be (doesn't need to be blue tbh i'm just trying to get an idea), I would LOVE to hear it!

As for side characters, I have a few townsfolk planned out and kind of forgot to think of more seafolk. I think Gem and Impulse run a bakery (impulse bakes, gem decorates), Martyn and Ren co-own a pub (look up the stardrop saloon from stardew valley, kinda looks like that but they have little shows and a stage and all sorts of little entertainment things in it), Pearl has something to do with spirits and the supernatural (I'm toying with the idea of having an arc where she gets possessed and there's a whole red pearl thing with an angry spirit), and a number of other hermits/lifers (?) are villagers. Since the town is built on fishing and farming due to how rural it is, that's a lot of their occupations. Still, very few choose to live on the beach, as we know. In terms of merfolk, I just know that Etho is a sea slug and Iskall is a manta ray. Sorting some people into 'categories', Scott, Skizz, and Cleo are merfolk (sirens or not, undecided) and Bdubs, Tango, Joel, and Lizzie are townsfolk. I kinda want to explore other "supernatural" creatures (hence Pearl's potential ghost arc), so I might make a few of the villagers some other creatures. That's all up to fate, though.

I hope you don't mind, but i'll be leaving your other ask in my inbox just so I can go back and look at it easily. Thank you so much for the kind words and interest in my silly little au! More questions and ideas are always welcome!!

[walkeddeath]

for one muse to push the other out of harm’s way / buck

  "Hey, when we get back, you owe me a meal. Like, i'm talkin real food. outside food, shit i can order off a menu and not eat off a tray. got it?" 

The mission had been a success, as in, they hadn't actually had to do anything. Whatever had been picked up on the scanner had been a fluke, a fluke that had forced her out of bed at an ungodly 2:00 AM, only confirmed after waiting for half an hour for the kaiju to show its face. It hadn't, Gen had even started calling out for it as if it was a cat or dog ––– though that had been more for sanity's sake than actual attempts at summoning it.

Being cooped up in the con-pod, just waiting, with all the beeps and blips of the different sensors was worse than actual combat, the unease of where is it and are we just not seeing it hanging unsaid in the air. The attempt had at least gotten a smile out of Buck, a success in Gen's book, so they don't mind feeling just a bit silly. It hadn't produced any bites from what they had been trying to bait, no new sightings on the radar ––– as if it had simply disappeared, if it had even existed in the first place.

 " This is like, so fuckin' unfair, if i'm gettin' out of bed this early –––– "

They don't get to finish their sentence, or thought, or even the breath she was about to take. The entire world stops in exactly three seconds. First, there's a sudden fury of alarms and DANGER DANGER messages flooding the screens, her brain is screaming along with it, matching intensity ––– Gen looks over at Buck with a deep dread in their bones, but there's no time to say anything .

Second, there's an even louder sound, a sharp as razors scream from somewhere outside of the Jaeger, the source unseen but presence deeply felt.

It shakes and rattles her bones, even under the layers of the drivesuit, and Gen doesn't know if they'll ever get used to hearing it. It sounds different when it isn't expected, when it's delayed, when they can't fucking see where its coming from. Kaiju might be massive, horrible and god-like in their appearance, but it's when they're still lurking in the depths of the ocean that they're at their most terrifying. 

Even though you can't see it, that doesn't mean it can't see you. Not seeing it doesn't mean shit, only means that you're an even easier target. 

Third, there's a sudden crash against the front of their machine, sending it skidding backwards. The strength of the hit knocks the wind out of Gen's lungs, the surprise of it not helping in snatching her breath away, and they struggle to keep upright. DEATH IS HERE, get your fucking head in to gear. 

Gen yells a quick "YOU READY?" to Buck and doesn't wait for an answer. There's no time to wait. The only thing there is is FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT against the raging mass of fury outside. was it waiting this entire time? did it know to wait until defenses were down?

Two questions that will remain unanswered, now and if they get out of this ––– Gen can't think about it, head has to get out of its own way, don't fucking spiral don't end up down the RABIT hole , not now, stay out of it. It would be easy to fall, keep falling down into old memories and past blood spilt, but they are not alone and Buck can't afford to follow her down. So, Gen tries to pull herself together just enough to refocus on killing the bastard god trying to kill them.

Moves are barked out, quick calls back and forth to keep an update on the running plan of action. It isn't doing much, whatever cat classification they had given to this one was clearly underestimating it. No matter what they both throw, nothing is working. Gen can hear the voices of the team back at base that backup is coming, to just HOLD ON AND DON'T FUCKING GIVE UP. They'll get them out of there, though there's no guarantee or promise they'll get there on time. It's the smallest shred, the tiniest glimmer of hope in an otherwise shitshow situation and Gen isn't ready to give up on hope just yet.

It's another three minutes of non stop fighting, they've been throwing their all into it, Gen's throat is raw from yelling and they're drenched in sweat, shaking from exhaustion, the thing is almost fucking dead up and it looks like Buck is going to have to buy her food after all. The thought slipping into her head in this moment almost makes them laugh, but they can't and they have to focus. All thoughts must be on ending it ––– and they hear another update on backup.

It won't be able to get there for another three minutes.

It's nearly the one minute mark when time once again stops, Gen isn't sure it ever truly started back up again, when Gen hears Buck yell something ––– they hear a sharp " MOVE " ring out in their head and in the fraction of a second it takes for them to look over at him, he's diving and shoving her, and before they can say anything there's another scream and it's far more horrifying than the one of the kaiju. It's her own, it rips out of her and it hurts it tears her throat apart in the process ––– 

Something had been slammed through the window, directly towards where they had been standing, they hadn't been paying attention ––– and Buck is laying on the floor in a heap and there's a rip and tear at her skin. Her heart is being shredded, it's a pain so truly unique they have no name for it. He isn't moving. He's on a heap and he isn't moving and she can't hear him in her head anymore she can't hear him can't feel him and they've been plunged into what could only be hell. They can't find him in the drift and they're still fucking stuck in it. 

All she wants to do is check on him, see if she can bring him back she has to be able to has to has to has to ––– they later tell her he was gone for three minutes but she'll say it went on for eternity. They should be trying to finish the job, but like a fucking miracle , the other Jaeger shows up, at least god has a sense of humor .

Gen scrambles to his body ––– she's been screaming at him to get up to stop fucking around that he needs to get up come back please come back –––

nothing.

He's gone. Everyone is silent, aside from Gen, who is still screaming at him ––– at herself for not paying attention when she should have been.

"Buck, please, come back ––– please ––– "

They're begging, holding on to him, and later they'll tell her that nobody knows how they were able to stay as functional as they were ––– Gen chalks it up to that knack of evading shit they've got.

There are voices in her head again, telling her she needs to calm down that they can't do anything until she does. 

It isn't until three minutes pass and she's getting tired from the stress that suddenly everything is online again, barely, but it's there.

three goddamn minutes of him being dead  –––– they'll tell them later, in the hospital bay, while they also tell them how it was a miracle he even made it.

like something wouldn't let him go. something held on and wouldn't let go.