#and I think they did that rather well here actually

[pubbamoon]

Midheaven in signs and how can you become famous

Welcome to my new astrology observation, besties! So, did you know that you can use your Midheaven (Medium Coeli or MC) placements to see how your career path is going to go? Midheaven is the highest point in our natal chart and it represents our career, reputation, how people are going to perceive us etc. Keep in mind that the Midheaven doesn't describe your personality, that's what Ascendant is actually about. Midheaven rather tells us how we are going to behave in our work place what could be known for. This observation is going to be about how can you use your Midheaven sign to become well-known and noticeable in any of your sphere. Take it as it resonates and leave what doesn't. Now, let's get into it!

Midheaven in Aries - I think that you should act confident and bold if you want to be successful in your career. Aries is ruled by Mars which is associated with war, aggression and passion, so you might seem a little bit aggressive in the eyes of other people, even if you're actually not (IC in Libra). Aries rules over The Emperor card, while Mars rules over The Tower card in Major Arcana. By saying that, I feel that using your leaderships skills can make you more successful and even more noticeable (The Emperor's influence). Your career path may likely to be filled with a lot of ups and downs, which is the influence of The Tower card. On the other hand, you might be seen as someone who's egoistic and prideful and I'll recommend you to calm down your ego a little bit if it's needed.

Midheaven in Taurus - If someone has this natal placement and wants to be a musician, I think this is a sign to maybe pursue that field. Taurus is ruled by Venus and the Moon is exalted in this sign, so it's a great placement for any artistic type of career. You may be noticeable when you show your elegancy, your feminine side or when you radiate beauty. Taurus rules over The Hierophant card, while Venus rules over The Empress card. The Hierophant is associated with tradition and conformity, while The Empress represents the divine feminine energy. This tells me that your public presence may be traditional or you may look the way that people expect you to look. You might seem to people that you're a normal or naturally beautiful person.

Midheaven in Gemini - People may like you, because you're charming, you communicate effectively and you get along well with others. Air signs are generally liked by other people, 'cause they're so relatable. The word charm is so Mercury coded, since it rules over The Magician card and the words can be very charming. On the other hand, Gemini rules over The Lovers card, which does represent duality, communication and multifaceted personality, which aligns well with the Gemini sign. You may become well-known when you start talking to people and use your charm, 'cause the communication is the key for your success. You might also be perceived as funny and flirty kind of person. You could be a great comedian with this placement, but it depends on how your natal Mercury is placed.

Midheaven in Cancer - I feel that you may become noticeable when you show the gentler side of yourself and when you present yourself to be a homeboy or a homegirl. You could be the people's sweetheart, 'cause the Moon represents the public and something that's comfortable. Cancer is associated with The Chariot card, which represents strong will and determination and Cancer is a cardinal sign, so it makes sense. You may look as a provider to some of the people too. The planet Moon represents The High Priestess card, which is a symbol of the intuition and the feminine energy too. Since Cancer is a water sign, you may seem as an emotional and nurturing person to people, even mysterious at some point. Maybe that's how you should act in the public sphere.

Midheaven in Leo - Okay, here we are now! Turn on the lights and cameras!!! Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce the performers tonight! This is the vibe I feel every time I hear about Leo Midheaven placement and you're one of the performers out there. I mean you should be one of them. You might attract the people to you when you use your creative talents, express yourself and get onto the stage. You could also work with the children, because the 5th house is related to them, or you may just act childish in your work environment or in the public eyes. The combination of The Strength card (which is ruled by the Leo sign) and The Sun card itself makes the natives who seem to be brave, courageous, generous, warm-hearted and optimistic. You may not have these characteristics in your own personality, but that's how people may perceive you when they see you for the very first time.

Midheaven in Virgo - Oh God! I kinda feel sorry for you. If you want to be successful and noticeable, I think you should look like you're clean 24/7. People may sense that you're always nervous, even anxious and that you lack spontaneity. Mercury (The Magician) also rules this sign, but there's more analytical side of the Mercury present here. Virgo rules over The Hermit card, which is related to the introspection, wisdom, perfection, and seeking clarity. You may be a perfectionist in your working field or you just seem to be like that. You're definitely someone who has some knowledge and wisdom and you can use them for your career. You might also be on service to the people and they might even seek you for some kind of clarity. This is a great placement for working at the health industry and you may become successful as a fitness trainer too.

Midheaven in Libra - Another sign ruled by Venus (The Empress). I'll encourage you to always be a people's person if you have this placement, because you could get so much success in your career path. Since Libra is related to The Justice card, this is basically a perfect placement for partnerships, negotiating and team work in career. You could do great in law-related fields, 'cause Libra and The Justice card is all about balancing, harmony, understanding client's needs and fighting for something that's right. I think that people may naturally love you or you may attract a lot of people because of your charming, beautiful and relatable energy. When you develop your negotiating skills and start working with other people, you could get success and even fame if it's actually possible.

Midheaven in Scorpio - You might work on something that you're passionate about with this placement. Mars, the ruler of this sign, is a very passionate planet and with Scorpio, Mars (The Tower) shows its more sexual and emotional side (Mars dominant people may have deep emotions actually). Similar with the Aries Midheaven, your career might be dealt with a lot of ups and downs, which may be the influence by The Tower card. The planet Pluto is a modern co-ruler of the Scorpio too and it rules over The Judgement card. You may be punished, judged and scrutinized by a lot of people. They either like you or hate you, nothing in between. Scorpio is associated with The Death card, which can mean that your career might be transformative to you or to other people. Speaking of fame, you could be noticeable when you accept the darker side of yourself. Your mysterious persona may give you attention from others.

Midheaven in Sagittarius - Whenever I hear about this particular sign, it always reminds me of the old man who knows everything and shares his wisdom to other people. Maybe you're someone who has been always perceived as a know-it-all person, even if you deeply know you don't know everything, but that's how people see you. When you share your philosophies, teach others, become open minded, allow yourself to be free and adventurous, people may start to notice you and your career may flourish too. Sagittarius is related to The Temperance card, so you might be someone who has a calmed, nonchalant or even carefree approach to your career as well. Jupiter rules over The Wheel of Fortune card, which means that you may have some sort of luck when it comes to your career path, but this depends on how your Jupiter is placed in your natal chart.

Midheaven in Capricorn - Your approach to the career may or should be serious. People may always see you as someone who's stable, grounded and ambitious. Capricorn is associated with The Devil card, which represents material world. While you can become successful in your field, don't let your success make you even more materialistic and lustful. Saturn rules over The World card, which represents success, but also the structure and organization. There could be a chance for you to become famous or successful if you use your hard working skills and make realistic and ambitious goals. This is a great placement for practicing your own leadership skills, since Capricorn is a cardinal sign, which makes sense. Make sure to work consistently, 'cause Saturn doesn't like shortcuts.

Midheaven in Aquarius - This placement can make you seem to be one of the unique people out there, or just one of the basic people. Aquarius rules over The Star card, so you may absorb other people's energy or naturally attract other people because of your reliability or you being different from the rest (11th house thing). You could also work with a lot of people, in the environment where you can share your ideas, which could be ahead of your time. This sign is ruled by Saturn (The World), so you might need some form of a structure if you want success in your career. Aquarius is co-ruled by Uranus, which is associated with The Fool card, so you might take some risks when it comes to your career. You may also use your intuition to realize whether some kind of job is good for you or not. You may likely to become famous when you expand your horizons, break free from the societal norms and accept your uniqueness. But also be careful of not to overstate everything, 'cause people may start to think that you're crazy or too weird.

Midheaven in Pisces - Similar with the previous one, you could also be guided by the intuition when it comes to your career path. Pisces rules over The Moon card which represents illusions and it means that your career path may likely lack stability in any way, shape or form. This sign is ruled by Jupiter (The Wheel of Fortune) and co-ruled by Neptune, which is related to The Hanged Man card, which does represent wisdom, sacrifice, prophecy etc. You might be perceived as empathetic, humble, sweet and idealistic and your career may be spiritual as well. You could be an astrologer, psychic medium or even a healer. I think that working abroad may fulfill you our you could spread some prophet words too. People may start to appreciate you or notice you when you start to help them unselfishly, to show your empathetic persona or to be on service for others.

Another astrology observation of mine has come to an end. Hope you can resonate with these messages. Mind you that this observation is general and for the collective of people. I don't mean that everyone will become famous, that depends on many factors, such as our home environment, childhood, chances, luck etc. But regardless, I hope you enjoyed it. Sending you all love and light.

Best regards,

Paky McGee

[dnpbeats]

Why I Don’t Think the Secret Project™ Is a Tour—This Time With Facts!

Let me start out by saying I do think they’ve brought up another tour enough that it will happen at some point, I just don’t think it will be this soon! (Also keep in mind Dan did imply there are two things coming up in his Tweet.) That being said, obviously I could be totally wrong. But hey, if they do announce a tour in a couple of weeks, there has to be someone that gets clowned by the announcement, and I’m happy to take the fall <3 Post under cut as it's long (1.3k words 💀)

The main reason I don’t think they’re announcing a tour is timing, but I do also have something to say about the hints they’ve been dropping and why I also don’t think it necessarily points towards a tour. So, to start, let’s look at how long they spent planning TATINOF and II. In “The Making of TABINOF,” Phil says they are releasing the book (on October 8th 2015) after working on it for a year and a half, which would be April 2014. Presumably, this is around the time they started working on TATINOF as well because they were supposed to be companions. TABINOF and TATINOF were announced together on March 26th 2015, so almost exactly a year after they started planning them. Even if you want to guess that TATINOF planning started a few months after TABINOF planning, keep in mind that they originally only planned the UK leg and planned the US tour after that. The UK leg ended November 15 2015 and they announced the US leg February 26 2016. So that’s a little over two months of them planning the US leg alone, when they already had the show itself all sorted.

With II, we know they were actively planning it for about a year. Phil follows that up to say they planned it for “the majority of this year [2018],” so let’s just call it 10-11 months. More so than that, Dan said that they realized they wanted to do a second tour “halfway through” TATINOF, which in my best guess places that decision around summer 2016. This means they seriously considered doing a second tour for ~6 months before they even started planning it. 

Now, if the new project coming up is a tour, they’ve only been working on it for 6 months max. They only brought back the gaming channel 7 months ago, and we know from the end of Dan’s bday live stream that they didn’t start working on this project until they realized how many people still liked their content: “We were so shocked about how much people care about this light entertainment, sat-in-this-chair-ass content. [...] It took us by such surprise, and now we’re like, where is this going. [...] It was supposed to be a ‘let’s just do this for a bit and see what happens.’ [...] So now we find ourselves going, well okay, this channel, this content, the people, the future of it. What else are we gonna do? 'Cause it seems like there's a thing here.” 

So it’s up to you to decide when they realized that, but I think it was probably sometime in November at the absolute earliest, and then they still needed time after that to decide what they’re going to do, and then actually plan it. (And honestly, I doubt they started actively planning anything in December during gamingmas, but you never know!! Also like I said in my original post about this, Dan was still doing WAD stuff up until February and then some book promo stuff after that, so he was busy with that as well.)

So, that’s all to say, I really don’t think they’ve had time to plan an entire tour. At the very least, not a world tour, but I don’t know if they’d announce a UK-only leg and plan the worldwide tour later based on what they said about choosing to plan II all at once, rather than the split up way they did with TATINOF (also keep in mind that Dan announced WAD all at once, like d&p did with II). Idk I just don’t think they’d announce a tour without having it all planned!

Okay, so, besides the random hints that they’re busy planning something, we also have Phil’s comment about saving money in his Cactus Club post. He wrote “I also just wanted to make your cactus a lil more affordable as Dan and I get busy on what is …. next… ??” Now while this seems to imply saving up for something (hence why the membership needs to be affordable), he doesn’t outright say that. Then in his Q&A vid, he answers a question about what he’s cooking that specifically asks, “Should I save my money?” And interestingly, Phil doesn’t address the money part of the question. Now maybe he just couldn’t say anything about saving money, maybe it would've been too on-the-nose. But I’m also sure plenty of other people asked that question without asking about saving, which means he chose to specifically ignore that part. To me, it seems kinda weird to outright exclude that if the project is something people will have to pay a lot of money upfront for (i.e. tour tickets), but again that’s just my opinion.

(Also just a secondary note on Phil’s answer—he actually says, “Look, I can neither confirm nor deny something might happen in the next month.” I find the phrasing he chose really interesting. He didn’t say an announcement was coming, he said something was going to happen. Dan also never explicitly said to look forward to an “announcement,” he just said they’ve been cooking and to give it a couple of weeks. Obviously this could all mean nothing and maybe it is an announcement (whether it be for a tour or something else), but I actually think whatever the project is might be getting released not just announced. But idk!)

A moment of me speculating based on vibes (that also negates the note I just made about this potentially being a release rather than an announcement): part of me thinks this project might be something/similar to something they tried to get off the ground before but then never came to fruition! This gifset by @reunitedinterlude got me thinking about projects that they didn’t get to do for various reasons (namely COVID lol). I think one of these (either one of Phil’s ideas that he’s now brought Dan onto, or something they were trying to do together from the get go) would actually make a lot of sense for what’s getting announced. It would be something that they had already started work on, so it doesn’t take as much planning as something brand new, meaning it could be announced sooner. Additionally, I just feel like they’ve been so vague about what’s coming up, but they’ve also been super excited! They seem really proud about whatever they’ve been cooking. While I obviously think they’d be excited to do another world tour, part of me just feels like they might be this excited because it’s something new that they’ve never done before. Also, if it’s some kind of game show type thing, it would make sense that Dan said the project is a “celebration” of the gaming channel. But again this is just based on vibes lol.

In conclusion, I do think we’ll get a third Dan and Phil tour, I just don’t think it’s what’s getting announced(/released?) in the coming weeks. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the next thing they announce after whatever this upcoming thing is! If you think I’m dead wrong and actually other people have planned world tours in <6 months please let me know, I’m happy to be proven wrong bc I would love another tour :)

[grind-pantera]

Cross Roads. ( Noa x Human!Reader ) Part Seven.

Ha ha ha

Title: Cross Roads. Fandom: (Kingdom of the ) Planet of the Apes. Rating: T. ( We got some violence, some injury, mentions of mating. ) Pairing: Implied ! Noa x Human!Reader. Words: 7.1K ( uuuuuuuuu every word is pained. ) Summary: Everything seemed to bubble to the surface. Expect what was actually needed to be said. READ THE SERIES HERE.

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“I asked Echo… to stay.” Noa was hesitant with the words he chose to tell his friends. His green eyes flickered to theirs for the reactions, which admittedly, in the moment, didn't seem too bad. Well, until the words finally sunk in and Soona’s eyes met Noa’s with a bit of a widened stance and flurried worry, Anaya put it together and sputtered, grasping the side of his head with both hands before gesturing broadly at the hut where the Echo was before gesturing back at Noa.

The Leader only nodded in confirmation to Anaya’s silent inquiry. “Cannot tell anyone! Secret… Very…” He paused and pressed his lips together firmly into a coiled line of nerves, “Very… important to me.”

“Eagle Clan is more important than Noa’s wants!” Anaya yapped, Noa groaned deeply in his chest as a Bonobo came rolling by with their Eagle holding some fish, spotting the trio a rather curious look at Anaya’s statement. Reaching forward, he grabbed Soona by the elbow, Anaya by the upper arm and drifted to stand more exclusively behind the hut that was used to dry fish.

“How important?” Soona asked and Noa, feeling relief, slumbered at the familiarity that she would spare her criticisms until Noa gave more information.

Noa swallowed softly, his agape mouth telling both Soona and Anaya all that they needed to know. Noa hadn’t thought this through.

“This… Noa…” Soona’s voice came out quietly as to not alert anyone who might be passing by as they chittered together about the secret that Noa just spilled.

The three of them viciously scoured around with their matching sets of eyes, and there was no one else around but if an Elder happened to catch wind of what Noa’s intentions were, there was going to be some deeply introspective council meetings in his future about the audacity he had to proceed with such a dangerous endeavor without consulting them first. Noa knew that. That he had made a rash decision but he felt like he could not stop himself from taking advantageous leaps as far and as long as it was going to take him.

The result of the hushed nature of the conversation really depended on how long it was going to remain a secret, and that itself ultimately came down to two possibilities. One was if the Echo even came to agree with the terms that Noa had offered. The second was more blatant; if Anaya had the capability to keep his mouth shut and not chatter to someone who’s business this was not.

“This will not work. Too different… Echo will… will not stay. Leave us! Betray.” Soona’s voice strung around Noa’s mind like a cutting spear and despite thinking the same things, even so much so that the Echo herself said something about it, he still felt the sting and abandonment of support from one of his closest friends.

Pragmatism did not sit well with her as she looked at Anaya who pushed himself forward to speak but only nodded in agreement to his friend's statement. She hoped he would say something to take away the lingering pressure in her chest that rested at denying an idea from Noa, but Anaya just looked at Noa with defeated shoulders, knowing fully well what the Eagle Clan’s leader looked like when he was determined to make something go his way. No matter what either one of them said, Noa had made his bed and already asked the Echo if they wanted to stay, much to the dismay of Soona. Anaya was on the fence, it was evident in how he was teetering between Noa’s points and Soona’s rebuttals.

Noa figured that this was going to be the case - the allure to keep an Echo around was not well established amongst the Clan. Apes liked to talk, and there was no telling if the news would spread to surrounding Clans about the Echo presence and come to hunt them down. That was a true possibility, one that hadn’t really been mentioned to Noa until this moment when it finally sprung forward in his mind. He sat on it for a moment and looked at his friends in contemplation. What was he supposed to do?

Go back to the Echo and revoke his offer? Tell her that he was sorry, but he couldn’t be allowed to let her stay despite having the power to actually acutely disarray anyone else's opinions on the matter? Noa’s jaw clenched, the sun beaming off the movement and telling Soona that she needed to be more gentle with her words of disapproval. She needed to delve further, make it more personal and up the ante. Maybe then… Noa would come to his senses, at least she hoped.

“We have built… so much…” Moving to gesture towards the village, Noa’s eyes followed suit and flickered amongst the small huts that lined around the larger embankments of the tree-houses they had built as homes. Along the small fires that lit in each of them, dotting up the twirling nature of the posts. So finely detailed and sculpted together, baby vines tangled their way up the legs and slants of woods in a happy dance to get more sunlight.

They had been planted there shortly after they returned from the events of Proximus Caesar, and Noa felt a swell of pride hit his chest that they were indeed prospering. It was evident where there had been fire - the pieces of wood and sap used to build were fresher than the old, appearing brighter in color and in shape.

So close to the top of the main tree-bungalow, where small flitters of memories hit Noa when he recalled spending time there as a child with his Father, tending to the birds. Or being chased by them, he was almost positive it was the latter as Eagle Sun was adamant to follow and peck at Noa’s head, even as a child.

All of these things, not worn to pieces in his memory, but losing traction and fading with time. His eyes rested on the hut that encased the Echo in question for a second too long as Soona sighed heavily in front of Noa, her smaller shoulder hitting against Anaya’s with the dramatization of the action. “Does Noa… not realize Echo could tear it back down again? Leave us… in fire…?”

Following suit, Anaya nodded and finally verbalized, moving his hands in the motions of his words, “Agreed! Anaya… not scared to go back to that time but…” He said self-confidently which made Soona roll her eyes and shove her shoulder more aggressively into his. He yipped and looked at her with a sunken gaze. This was about Noa’s predicament.

“Noa,” Anaya shifted forward and placed a hand onto Noa’s forehead, flat-palmed and opened. “Need to think about the future. About the Eagle,” Anaya brought his hand back a few inches, “Clan.” And proceeded to smack Noa right on his brows. Noa squeezed his eyes shut at the feeling, raising an arm and batting Anaya away.

No matter what they told him, no matter how much he refracted and tried to justify his case, there was not going to be mutual understanding on the issue. At least this evening. Noa drew a deep breath in and encased it longer in his lungs before exhaling. He left it with one more stroke to an already burnt out fire.

“Am thinking of future…” He looked at Soona first, meeting eyes and reaching to embrace her shoulders in his grasp. “Echo could help us… Learn their ways,” He moved to Anaya and placed his hand in a parallel fashion as Anaya had previously done to him, “Gain,” The hand moved out a few inches, “Knowledge.” And proceeded to fall right back down between Anaya’s eyes.

And with that, Noa slumped onto all fours, almost like he was hunching in on himself. Drifting between Soona and Anaya and towards the Bird enclosure, his gait was subdued, knuckles pressing further into the ground as he moved, there was no eagerness to really get anywhere and he felt a tingle of guilt hit his chest at leaving his friends so abruptly but they just… Refused to see his side of things. Actually, so much so that in talking to them, he didn't get much time to really explain in his own words what his reasoning was behind taking the action with the Echo.

He tilted his head at that. He had a concise reasoning, that being Raka’s wise words that perhaps, they could live together peacefully, each dominant in their own right but then the words of the Elders and his Father came crumbling down. They brought danger wherever they went. Echo were inherently selfish.

They would tear down the Apes just to build themselves up, even the ones without the ability to communicate and who were lesser in intelligence. It was a deeply ingrained experience and instinct for them, as far as Noa was aware and based on his experiences. Apes had been told their entire lives that Echo were always a threat, especially if they got too close to a Clan foraging or camping, or Eagles forbid, an actual Ape.

That was unheard of, Ape and Echo ever being friendly to one another, let alone agreements being made in mutual understanding like Noa was alluding to. Always, Echo were too stupid to understand, always they were too selfish to understand any other viewpoints other than survival.

Tickling the back of his brain was the incessant idea that she would only accept Noa’s terms out of selfishness, even though he was adamant that they were not going to kill her if she was released, refusing to help. She had nothing really to gain by accepting, and she had nothing to lose by refusing if that’s the choice that’s been made. He’d let her go then, if that’s what she wanted, but he’d always have one eye on the back of his head, always looking over his shoulder, in case she returned with more Echo to destroy the village. Like she had alluded to Noa.

How did Noa know she wasn’t going to? Blind faith was not something Ape’s lept into. Their laws, their systems, were based upon the generations who built them up, from the experiences garnered over and over again as new Apes came to power. It was Noa’s turn now, but he was terrified. There was no easy choice, he felt like he was being pulled into two splitting directions. He wanted to know more, he yearned for it in fact, and this Echo could help him. He wanted to keep his Clan safe after what happened, and this Echo could take it all away again.

One was prey, one was the hunter. A fish to an Eagle. To most Clans of the valley, and especially to those in the valley beyond it was a strict law. The prospect didn't necessarily sit right with Noa when he thought about it, leaving a rather metallic taste on his tongue if he pressed on it too long. If he lingered in pondering about… being actual friends with her, this Echo he had offered freedom to in exchange for teaching Noa, showing Noa face to face if their interests really aligned and if there was any true basis to Raka’s… No, no. To Caesar's teachings and laws.

He could hear Anaya calling for him, telling him that the evening meal was just a few minutes away and that he was going to miss it if he took off now, but Noa slid the words right off his ears and continued on, trailing up the twirling steps towards the solace he found after his Father passed. Noa’s shoulders lifted and then fell with a heavy sigh. He needed to think. Needed to contemplate in the only way that he knew how. With his Father. With his Birds. With himself.

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Anguish wrapped you into her arms, grasping at your head with one hand while the other laid against your mouth, permitting anything from coming to fruition from your vocal cords, staving off any chance in the immediate moment to give Noa an actual answer to his last question. Even swallowing was difficult as the hold your emotions had on you were refusing to let you drain your throat of the thick coating of mucus that built up there from the tears, you felt like you were legitimately drowning as a small gasp managed its way out, tumbling into the otherwise dead air, accompanied in flurries by the crackling of your small fire.

It appeared as if he was unable… to look at you anymore. The tension in his shoulders brought you in but then wiped you right back out when you heeded contemplation to touch him, just to get him to look over at you.

“Noa---” Surprised at the fact that you finally managed to peep something out of your body, you tried to ignore the smothering sensation that flooded right along your diaphragm, curling and encasing every one of your ribs with fiery intent when you looked at the side of his face, his expression drawn in on itself.

Brows furrowed together, wrinkles appearing between them, his actual face fell downwards into a slope, his mouth agape, canines catching your eyes when they enticed the light of the fire just right. He could rip you apart, he could… Swallowing hard, all the build up from your throat and nose slid down grotesquely. Even at the sound of his name, he didn't shift to look at you like he always did.

“Noa, I-I can’t answer that question… Not in the way you want me to.”

You’d have been lying if you admitted to him that you hadn’t thought about it once or twice. Not that you were unhappy with the Clan, unhappy with your life, and the budding perspectives you had now thanks to Noa and the Clan’s ever endearing accommodations, the friendships of Anaya and Soona and… Your eyes rested on Noa once again. Whatever was happening here, whatever force of nature was keeping you tethered to the Clan’s leader.

There was always going to be a part of you that was inherently Human, no matter how accommodating they had all been, no matter how much you learned of their culture, their ways of living, and no matter how much you wanted to be something different, something that Noa would accept…

The times you had talked of other Humans, the redolent nature of your voice, the passing fleeting memories you had of them… The answer itself was remarkably twisted and hit your mind going too fast for you to comprehend. You missed them, but you did not yearn for them in the same way that your hands were out-stretched for Noa to take, if that’s what he wanted. You missed them, but you didn't want to leave.

I don’t want to leave, you told yourself. I don’t want to leave, but I… miss them.

All you wanted was for Noa to pull you up against him, to tell you that it was okay to think about it, but to have the knowledge that no, you didn't want to leave. There would be no argument at that point, you imagined. Knowing the male Chimp well enough, you figured he would hear only the first part of your reasoning and assume that you’d want to leave.

You could hear it in your mind, see the distaste hit his expression as he tells you that you were free to go, you always were, there was nothing keeping you here, and there was nothing keeping him to you. Heart sinking in your chest to the point where it felt like a black hole had been carved out there, you looked down at your hands once again and traced the delicate detailing of the shapes on your palms. A good distraction for you when you didn't want to cry, but still, it only did so much.

Tears were burning at the backs of your irises, your feeble attempts to keep them in their ducts beyond futile as a few of them escaped and trickled down your rounded cheeks, kissing themselves into one singular drop before falling off your chin into your lap. Whereas they had been thin and fast tears previously, these were thickened and fat with ripped emotions you didn't even know how to begin expressing, let alone to an Ape who may or may not have had the right vocabulary to understand the complexity.

You hit yourself on the inside at that thought; Noa was not stupid, it was foolish of you to fall back to the primitive thinking you had when you first met. Noa knew what you felt, whether you were willing to admit that to yourself or not. Noa felt what you felt, unbeknownst to even himself, and surely not to you.

The slow draw of his shoulders raised attention to the standing of his fur along the collarbones, upwards across the sweep of his shoulder blades, and then repeating their pattern on the other side. Twisting his neck at the vibration of your words against his eardrums, he was put into a contemplative state. His body was reaching for an involuntary reaction of mild irritation to the answer you had given him in the form of him shifting from one side to another, the rise and fall of shoulders increasing and the bickering sound of his breathing, straight through his nose.

Noa twisted his head and for a split second of relief, you thought he was going to entwine your eyes with his like he had done so many times before and tell you something you wanted to hear. Vacant and feeling a wash of abandonment, he pushed right past you and rested his glance on the fire. Crackling intently, it seemed the only thing that was able to grip passed the heavy strain that drifted from both of your bodies.

“Tell me the answer… you think… I want to hear.” Like thunder rolling down a mountain, his words sunk into you aggressively, pensively and wantingly. It was deft in its grip around your mind, it was thoughtful in how it showcased that Noa was bargaining in a sense, and it was yearning for some sort of clarity.

Whatever the answer was, Noa knew, was going to cause turmoil. He just wanted to satisfy that itch inside of his brain that still persisted. He wanted to know what you thought. About things in general, did you think that the sky was the same color that he saw? Did you see the beauty in the flowers like his eyes were able to admire? What… Did you think about him?

His jaw clamped firmly shut again as he finally drew his fiery grassy gaze towards you, crushed at the state of your body upon first glance. It reminded him so reductively of when you first arrived, your eyes refusing to meet him, your mind racing at the prospect that he was going… going to kill you… Tightening his hands, he relished the feeling of the wood now digging into his knuckles as he was still seated on all fours

“I don’t think about them.” You harshly whispered and looked over at the fire, eager to see exactly what had previously kept his attention there but there was nothing. Just a regular fire, burning to its heart's desire, much like the sensation that rolled along your chest now. Heated, unbridled anger. He was playing games, getting you to answer something that wasn’t true to help himself feel better. You couldn’t knock it though, in your bids of survival, you had to resort to similar measures. Drawing a deep breath into your lungs, you tried desperately to keep yourself grounded since Noa was unable to do it for you any longer, either by choice, or by neglect and you weighed which one was worse.

They both were, in their own ways.

“I never have thought about them since I got here. I don’t think about leaving, I think about-- about---” You hiccuped and squeezed your eyes shut, unable to bring yourself to come to a complete sentence. It was on the tip of your tongue, the rest of your words that you wanted to say but they were lost to you when it finally came time to admit.

“You think about them… often?” Noa deduced that from what you had just told him.

“No,” That was based in truth and you pleaded that he was able to tell when you looked at him with tearful eyes. “O-Only sometimes.”

“You… think about leaving?” He was even more quiet in asking that, hushed to the point where it was hard to pick his voice apart from the fire.

“Yes.” Another fact based in truth. “Y-yes… N… N…” Your voice cracked and failed before you managed to get the ‘not often’ added to the ending.

Noa nodded at that and looked away from you again. “We… should not be here then…”

Shattering at his words, you finally brought yourself to uncoil from your tightened ball. Dropping onto your hands and knees, you scooted towards him in a quick shuffle, which in any other circumstance, would have made the Ape laugh to see you struggling on all fours when it came so naturally to him. Your scent wafted against him in waves, Noa shutting his eyes to shut down that side of his mind to focus on the now.

Not the possibility of the future, or the past. Now, and here. In your hut, with you, alone… How he wanted things to go differently. If he had command over the entire situation, you’d be nothing but a tangled mess under him as he placed his canines against the delectations of your jugular, dragging them down in a bid to get you to say his name one more time, and then again as he brought you closer to him, and then again and again until the night was over and he drenched himself over your sweaty body, wanting nothing more than to encase you with his fur, to fill you to his hearts pleasure knowing that there was ultimately going to be nothing to bear fruit.

He had no idea where those notions came from, his lack of understanding Echo mating was evident when he thought too hard about it. Animalistically, all he wanted to do was push you down and prove in any way that he could that he was a provider, and he was able to keep you satisfied, by any means.

Bringing his mouth against your neck. Mine. Letting his thickened fingers trail along the tender skin of your body. Mine. The way you would say his name when he left marks along where he was going. Mine.

Instead, in his endless list of fumbles, he had asked one bad question after another, justifiably getting you upset in the process. Noa hated that he was uncouth like that, that his brain didn't pick apart the smaller aspects of how you might react to his questions. You, as an Echo, not you as all Echo’s.

That… Had been his mistake in all of this. Seeing your opinions, hearing your voice and your words as all encompassing to the Echo ways when it simply wasn’t going to be that. They were all yours, never anyone else's, and never Noa’s to dive into. Guilt ravaged his senses and tore down the most basic walls he had built for himself to stop this moment from even coming to fruition. But, here you sat, Ape to Echo. There was no way… that Raka’s words were right. There was no way to come to an agreement, no matter how much he pushed for one, no matter how much you pulled into it.

Noa finally responded to your shift when you finally managed to sneak your way into his vision and he was unable to see anything else. Torn out of a mild sense of abhorrence towards himself, he watched as you moved in front of him to sit on your knees, so close that he was able to feel the heat radiating off of you in waves, nothing coming from the fire any longer. His green and golden speckled eyes held nothing but animosity at you, glass hitting the back of your throat with a small cry, “Why?”

Turning his head away from you at the sight of your tears, trying to ignore the lingering saltiness that now ran between the two of you as a few of them hit Noa’s knees from your sudden proximity, he… Wasn’t sure of the answer. “Wasn’t fair to offer you to st--- stay.” He uttered and finally stood to be bi-pedal. Even though he wasn’t particularly tall, Noa towered over your frame as you were left to rest on your knees in front of him. “Elders always say… Echo’s bring trouble. Should have never offered it to you, I should have…” Growling under his breath, Noa refused to look at you and offered his gaze to rest on the wall to the left, “Never let you.”

“I wanted to stay!” You cried at him, lifting a hand to wipe your forearm under your nose to get rid of the snot that was falling into your mouth caused by the pure vengeful tower that the tears took on the way down. “I want to stay! I can’t go back out there, I-I would die, they would hunt me down! I n-need to stay!”

Noa’s eyes narrowed at you. So, that was it? You agreed to stay to save yourself? He felt foolish and suddenly, all the moments, all the grazing of his eyes against your skin, your glances at him during dinner, your laugh, the way you would hold onto him when you needed leverage, the soft silence that was always around the two of you when not in the throes of conversation… All these things to Noa… That meant something… Selfish, his mind taunted, Echo is selfish. Elders told you, should have listened, Noa.

“I need to think about the Eagle Clan future!” He shouted back at you, regretting it instantly when he saw how you cowered under him, the shadows of his body echoing along your features which were alight at times from the firelight behind you, your shoulders drawing in on themselves, your eyes now widened with understandable fear as you took a tumble backwards, innately out of intensified fear. His voice had come out like a whip, animalistic and growling at you as you had been warned about when you were a child. A tiny whimper left your mouth at that, as he peered down at you. “Cannot… think… Of the future when Echo…” Noa looked into your eyes, still rounded and afraid, “When… you do nothing but cause trouble and distractions.”

He could have sworn he heard a small ‘I’m sorry’, but that could have very well been wishful thinking as Noa’s shoulders dropped the tension, his fur still prickling on the edges. What he said… was right. It was said by Anaya and Soona months ago but… Now Noa knew. They were right, and he was wrong. Feelings never mattered in all of this, if you were so easy to dismiss the kindness that he offered you in favor of leaving, despite your pleas to stay. Squeezing his eyes shut, he thought about his Father. Echo brings nothing but trouble, rattled inside of his mind over and over again, one of the last things, the last pieces of advice he ever got from the Master of the Birds.

“You… you need to leave.”

“Noa!”

“Raka… was wrong.”

“Noa…”

“Apes and Humans…” You blinked at that, never having actually heard him call them that before. It was always exclusive to ‘Echo. “never see eye to eye… Cannot… Live side by side.”

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・●・○・

He had given you time, Noa. Time to contemplate your next move, time to think about the idea and get settled into the prospects that you would… be living with them, and by proxy and association, you would become a part of the Clan itself in a strangely twisted way. He had just taken you around the village to start your integration. At first, the premise left you feeling a bit uneasy at the looks of Apes towards you were less than understanding. There was the underlying idea that Noa was taking you to be killed, maybe in a ritual of sorts, but you pushed that back as you feet pattered lightly against the dirt path.

Noa was in front of you, only two feet or so, with you trailing closely behind. His gait… You hadn’t noticed when you were in the small hut, there was not much room for him to properly stand on his feet, but it was intense and strong, like he had been imbued with much purpose. From small conversations here and there, you got the feeling that your intuition might be correct.

The mantle he had taken from his Father, the Crown itself, must be terribly heavy on his head. Powerful, his broad shoulders captivated your eyes as you tried to focus and find the muscles underneath his dense fur. Fingers twitching, you wanted nothing more than to grab at him just to scratch your internal thoughts, and to say that you were allowed to, and to genuinely test the waters as far as your bargained life went. If you went for him, to touch, to graze, would he see it as a threat and kill you? Would he be perplexed? You were unsure but tucked the notion for later in the back of your mind. Surely with time as you two embarked in this mutual arrangement, you might lean in to learn about the comforts an Ape felt about being touched.

The long sweep of the tree-house structures were a marvel in and of itself, leaving you breathless as you trailed upwards, refusing to look down and satisfy your morbid curiosity to see how far the ground really was, Noa gesturing vaguely towards family nests, explaining in rather simple terms that communal sleep was normal, especially amongst family and close friends.

Often, that broke apart, he told you, when Apes began courting and mating each other, delving into the realm of building their own nest together for the future family they were almost sworn to have, sworn to bear after being ceremoniously tied together. You thought that a wonderful aspect as Noa talked about it, not going straight for the details as to not confuse or intimidate you, but enough to give you a glimpse. You tired it straight to the prospect of marriage amongst Humans. Seemed similar enough, and it seemed like a great start for the agreement you two were flirting around with.

“Do you think… Echo and Ape can.. Live together, side by side?” You perked up at the first question of this agreement that you had chosen to dive into as he drew you back downwards, now shuffling towards the river that was sitting to the east of the village. Privacy, you thanked whatever was up above that Noa had a concept of privacy and intuition enough to see that maybe the topics of contentious conversations were best left between the two of you. Or, he was taking you over there to drown you and then proceed to gut you like a fish, easy access to water for him to discard of the tasty guts, keeping the good ones and to also keep his hands free from your blood. You had no idea, and despite that thought ringing in your ears, you proceeded to follow him.

For the first question, it left you rather… stumped. There were a lot of ways to answer it. You could answer it out of fear, contemptment, agitation…. Fear. You lingered on that and watched with a caught breath as Noa crouched his body down, your mind reeling at how truly dexterous he was as he used both hands equally, both feet equally, never seeming to favor one side over the other.

Mentally, you found yourself then taking notes on his demeanor, knowing you had never seen an Ape, in this particular case, a Chimpanzee so close, so concise with movement and intent. As much as your jaded mind hated to admit, and despite the disparaging size between the two of you, you would venture to say that Noa was more graceful at moving than you were, as you often caught yourself tripping over your own feet or external forces.

Physically, you were hesitant to bring your body downwards as you sat on top of a rather comfortable looking rock and racked through your mind for a rational answer to his question. Noa watched intently, noting how you looked at him before choosing to sit like you were asking permission, which you really didn't need to. It’s not like you were a prisoner. More or less… He tilted his head in thought as he saw a few Apes meters away, staring right at you and then proceeding to chitter to themselves as they walked away. Tolerated guest. For the time being. Until you could be trusted further.

You supposed that’s all this was about, Noa wanting to get to the bottom lip of that very question and it made sense that the first topic he chose to delve into was that. No point in dallying or small talk. The Ways of Caesar, he had briefly mentioned, were heavily based in the ideology that Humanity was not that bad, Apes were not that bad, and in hypothetical situations, they should be able to co-exist. Obviously not, you thought to yourself sarcastically, otherwise you’d have not been hunted to the very brink of death.

“I think that… If it was possible once, it’s got to be possible for it to happen again.” That was a rather optimistic answer and you patted yourself on the back for not giving it too much complexity.

Noa on the other hand, began playing with a smoothened pebble between his calloused fingers as he listened with acute focus to what your thoughts were. And… to his surprise, they were remarkably underwhelming. He figured you’d go off on a tangent about how Echo ways were better, more efficient, more clever and smart. Turning his eyes towards you, he looked at how you were holding yourself. Arms wrapped in front of your body, your eyes turned towards the river as you watched it cut its way across the landscape.

He hummed quietly, tossing the pebble into the water and drifted towards you on all fours until he was sitting only a foot or so in front of you, facing your direction so he was able to see your expressions which he found more than amusing. He found himself detailing them in his mind how they differed from the expressions he was used to seeing with his fellow Apes. “No… way to know for sure.” He commented softly.

Noa looked at you, on equal ground as you were seated and he was crouched in front of you. Even and equal, eye to eye. Instead of breaking the connection as you so often did, finding the intensity of his eyes sitting under an already intimidating brow incredibly difficult to maintain eye contact with, you lingered and peered deeply into them.

Noa’s eyes twitched a bit at that out of skepticism, like you were analyzing him to his very depths. Maybe you were, maybe you were just staring at him with the realization that this was really the first time that you had seen him in such great lighting, having only deduced minor details about him from the dim fire of the hut you were kept in when you first arrived, and teased in the times when he took you to relieve yourself. Admittedly, that’s what he was doing. Looking, watching, noting and remembering.

Working your eyes towards the water, you nodded in minor agreement, not sure what was alright to say and what would be overstepping the line. “There’s never going to be a real way to know unless it happens.” Was your response as you looked down and caught his gaze once again.

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“No-Noa, you need to let me finish---”

“No." He was stern in his actions, almost disgustingly so as his shoulders glowered intimidatingly at you. He’d never hurt you, you said again and again inside of your mind but the chance in his stance, the irritation falling off of him like a song, was smothering all your basic senses and you found yourself crawling backwards a bit at the mere sight of him.

“I was… stupid to think that this would work. I knew---” Noa grunted out of lack of vocabulary to properly express what he was feeling. “I knew this was going to be a problem,” He gestured at you, the movement itself causing a few more tears to ricochet down your face and fall silent on the ground. “I--- I pushed past it, I…” Words stopped and he brought a hand up to sign instead, ‘Never should have trusted an Echo.’

He lingered on the last word he presented to you, the power in his stance dissipating into the air around the two of you and left to encase your body. “You don’t understand.”

“Why… always that?” Noa swallowed hard, “Why will I not… understand? Am I just… stupid Ape to you? Aren’t we all just---”

Finally finding it in yourself to stand up, you stumbled a bit once your feet were planted and tried to shake the feeling of your left leg prickling from sitting on it too long. It was even a tighter fit in your small abode with the two of you standing, Noa’s head nearly hit the roof, yours was a few inches below his, “You need to shut up! You have no idea what you’re talking about!”

It was Noa’s turn to widen his eyes at your words, astonishment clear in his expression. He’d never heard you yell like that, much less with the tear of agony that wiped along your cheeks, fiery still in your eyes as you took a step towards him, almost chest to chest at this point as you poked his right pectoral where his scar was. Noa didn't flinch - it wasn’t painful at all, your touch would never cause him pain and deep down he knew that but nothing was stopping the unresolved from bubbling to the surface as he grasped your wrist tightly with his hand, circling his fingers around the delicate bones without a care. You groaned at that, squeezing your eyes shut as you tried to rip yourself from him.

“Let me go!”

“You need to stop being selfish!” He retorted, “Never have seen Ape as full of themselves…” He growled at you, lifting your hand up above your head in a straight pinned line. Quite literally, Noa had you dangling in the air as he lifted your arm upwards, your feet leaving the ground as he brought you to be eye to eye with him. In them, the familiar glow of greens and golds were replaced by crazed dilation, the color was eclipsed beyond any sense of knowing who the Ape holding you really was.

“But Echo’s are so…” Catapulting your gaze, it fell on his canines which were on amused display for you, “Should have never let you stay.”

He kept saying that like he was trying to convince himself. “Noa---” You reached up with your free hand and grasped at his hand, trying desperately to get him to let you go even if that meant you were falling to the ground with a hard thud. He’d never hurt me, you thought again and squeezed your eyes shut. But he was.

The grasp on your wrist began to feel red with ache, pulled beyond its limits by the fact that he was holding you mid-air by the appendage. “Let me go, you’re-” Clawing at his hand, you pleaded with crazed fluttering eyes.

“You’re going to break my wrist, let me go!” Bringing a leg up, you pressed it against his stomach, right below his diaphragm. Without warning, Noa released you, taking no pleasure in seeing you fall backwards with a hardened sound against the dirt ground below. A tuft of pillowed dust surrounded you as you looked down at your now bruised wrist, trying to ignore the pure burn that hit the side of your body that you ultimately landed on with your entire brute weight. If your wrist wasn’t broken, it was severely strained by the looks of it.

“You’re just an animal.” The anger didn't stop there as you scrabbled to your feet, holding your wrist tenderly. “I knew it from the moment I met you! Just a damn, dirty Ape!”

The words felt like they weren’t yours, but they were what came out much to your displeasure. It tasted like you had just swallowed the most sour berry, having to come to terms with it and swallowing much to distaste. Looking at him didn't help, in fact, it only caused more rage to hit you and swell you into the waves. “I should have never trusted you! What reason does a Human have to trust an Ape like you!?”

“Me?” He retorted and threw you the most tantalizing of daggers, his arm expanding so he was pointing in your direction, “Look at… yourself! I don’t… know why you didn't just leave when I’ve made myself more than… clear… now that…” Noa came to a slow pause, looking down at how you were holding yourself, your wrist. He had felt it crunch below his touch, the self-reflection finally hit his senses at what he had done. What he had said.

“You…need to leave.” Was what he chose to mutter, looking at your wrist for a few seconds before directing his attention towards the exit. Remaining silent on the spot you had on the ground, the side of your body impaled with dirt and sediment from when Noa had inadvertently dropped you, you let him pace without another word, without another objection.

“Morning time, you can… Take my horse, but you don’t… belong here anymore. I need…” Huffing, you watched his shoulders fall in defeat, “I need to think of my Clan’s future, was not when I asked… you to stay… When I w… wanted you to stay…”

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・●・○・ TAG LIST:

@ohwaitimthewriter @hera-annwn @saturnnie-03 @filliandkili

@hadesbabygurl @supergoat12 @moonchild1433

@kaenalsha @unsteady-bitch @whamsworld

@yummyfanta @nuhteyam @babylockley @edynmeyer1  @callsignwidow 

@moonlightnyx

[rocknroll7575]

Okay so now I’m imagining Jaune helping Pyrrha renegotiate her contract with her sponsors. And maybe some threats to them that she doesn’t know about.

Jaune: *sitting at the table after Pyrrha left* I have information on all of you, so much I can bury you and make sure none of you ever show your face in the city again. *turns to Pyrrha's Agent* You have a lot of lewd pictures of Pyrrha cosplayers doing some rather... suggestive thing deep on your computer, tell me, how would that look for you? How would Pyrrha's parents react?

Pyrrha's Agent: I... How did you...!?

Jaune: *Turns to Sponsor 1* You seem to have a mistress- oh! Forgive me, I mean multiple mistresses with a few of your co-workers, and I have the pictures to prove it *opens scroll to show him* Like that?

Sponsor 1: H-How the hell!?

Jaune: And as for you *Turns to Sponsor 2* You're actually pretty clean, matter of fact, I don't want to threaten you, knowing your situation with your daughter... but it be a shame if something were to happen to her in the hospital...

Sponsor 2: *terrified* P-Please don't...

Jaune: Well then, I think our business is done here, Pyrrha's free from her obligations and her contracts... right?

*All nod in fearful agreement*

Jaune: *Smiles* Good, now get the fuck out here

*They all leave*

Jaune: *kicks up his feet on the table as he takes out a cigarette and lights it up, taking a large puff of it* Ah... business is good...

[glitterpensupremacy]

(NOT MTS CONTENT) Alright, as a Miraculous fan (with a particularly vested interest in Chat Noir) I’m making my thoughts on the new Chat Noir look clear.

I’m not super upset that he doesn’t have a new outfit, since, let’s be honest, Ladybug and Carapace needed it WAY more than he did.

I’m also not that concerned about his new proportions. Yeah, they’re a little funny looking, it that might just be the camera angle. Either way, he’s getting older so it makes sense that his facial structure is changing (plus I give my own CN a slightly more angular face to indicate that he’s a sweet kid, sure, but there’s a lot more to him than just “good perfect bean”.

So then, what’s got me emotionally invested enough to make a Tumblr post? (By now it’s probably pretty obvious…)

The hair.

HERE’S THE THING THOUGH- it’s not that I think the hairstyle is bad or ugly. It’s very stylish, and the smooth swishy look would be more than welcomed on a different character. But that’s the problem, this is the wild and chaotic Chat Noir, the catboy of destruction who tells terrible puns. His hair should not be that neat, and it should not be that perfect (yeah it’s a little messy, but only enough to have that “effortless, natural look” you’d see in a shampoo ad)

Maybe I’m overreacting; after all, it’s just a hairstyle, and I’m treating it like it’s the end all be all for his character in Season Six. However… it’s not just the hair. While watching Season Five, I noticed that Chat Noir doesn’t really joke around as much as he did in previous seasons (especially in the second half of S5), and isn’t really allowed to get mad or be rebellious outside of when his role as the love interest needs him to (trying to cataclysm Dark Owl because of the Married LadyNoir vision, trying to cataclysm Dark Cupid because he’s being a protective boyfriend to Marinette, telling off Nighttormentor because Gabriel forced him to go to London, sure, but the show makes it clear that the REAL problem is him trying to keep Adrien and Marinette apart). Other than that, he’s the perfect well-behaved supportive partner.

In general, it feels like Chat Noir and Adrien are becoming more similar personalities, which is good: I think a lot of us have anticipated this happening for his character arc… but the problem is, Chat Noir is becoming more like Adrien rather than Adrien becoming Chat Noir, because isn’t his arc supposed to be breaking free of the perfect controlled persona his father has forced him into, learning to express himself and become his own person? (There’s also the fact that I think he’s a little more interesting to watch as Chat Noir or the more expressive early seasons Adrien, but his development is the more important issue here.)

This kinda thing has me worried that everyone who believes that the finale was bad on purpose (the secret dystopia route) and that the writer’s genuinely do want us to believe that Gabriel’s actions have been valid and ethical (THEY ARE NOT: BRO IS A TERRORIST 💀.) Either that, or they just want us to watch the cute shipping scenes and not really care about Adrien’s character outside of that. Kinda a bleak view, I know, but that’s how things have been looking lately. (Maybe they’re making him look neater as a part of the dystopia route though? I guess we’ll see but it seems unlikely…)

(I probably should reemphasize that I’m not actually getting this “doom and gloom conspiracy board” over JUST a haircut. It’s more like I saw a bunch of other (personal) warning signs over the last two seasons, and this is just one other thing making me more worried.)

I know this isn’t my usual stuff but I felt like I needed to air my grievances (especially since while I have seen other people not like the new hair, it doesn’t seem to be for the same reasons as me, seeing as I don’t even dislike the hairstyle itself; just the fact that Chat Noir’s the one who has it). Hopefully this was at least interesting or even validating, but if not… Well, I’ll get back to my normal content after this anyway.

[mcflymemes]

PROMPTS FROM TASKMASTER SEASON 12 *  assorted dialogue from the tv show, adjust as necessary

i was trying to start a heated debate, but no one gives a shit.

see, this is where i think i went wrong.

i feel like i've let down, like, god.

i think the public perception of me is that i'm quite cool.

i don't fear death. in fact, i yearn for it.

i want you to look at me the way i look at you.

it's the most passive-aggressive, calculated personal attack that i've ever experienced.

this is gonna summon something.

i'm not confident about it.

i've got a black belt.

are you ready, babe?

if i knew what cool was, i would not have arrived at this point in my life.

is there anything really basic that you don't know how to do?

do you know what that is, [name]?

i believe that's what you call a shelf.

it's like being on holiday in the '70s.

i'm going to have to make another one.

do you know i recently completed a master's degree?

i did the right thing.

what is beatboxing?

i knew you wouldn't let me down.

i don't want anything to do with you.

how does that look?

you could have stopped that sentence way earlier.

if you bump into anything, i'm going to prod you with it to stop it happening.

is it electric?

don't put pressure on me.

it looks like you're holding a piece of paper.

look down here!

that's a lovely twist on a professional sport.

i'm trying to express myself in different ways.

we've known each other 25 years and you've never heard me do this before.

do you have a favorite number?

you're a very charming woman.

are you serious?

i just want to visit once. could i?

lobsters are red, oceans are blue, i won't give you crabs if you let me marry you.

i'm so happily married.

if you got mad and killed a guy, i would be your alibi.

have you proposed to anyone before?

in a galaxy far, far away, everyone has tiny penises.

i was going to do great things.

i don't know what the hell's going on.

don't penalize me for that one.

i can't relax.

i always laugh when i'm nervous.

how can i add to this?

can you blow on my neck?

is that a thing i can ask you to do?

i'm not really up for this.

is that what happens at a certain time of day?

i don't remember at all.

me and you are different.

it's like looking in a mirror.

who created this atmosphere? i didn't.

can you let me in?

you look great.

i have flapjacks with me at all times.

i learnt that on instagram.

science is key.

that's the thing that ruined it?

i think that's actual dirt.

this is rather splendid.

i use it at least once a week.

is it weird that i want to slap it a little?

i hate everybody!

would we need snacks of some kind?

that's an hour well spent.

there's a word i've never used before in life. it's called hindsight.

can i touch one of those ducks?

i really wanted to do some substantial damage.

you've got to dig deep.

[a-girl-in-neverland]

Once again, im here to complain about the bridgerton subplots and changes

So spoiler for Season 3 ahead

I hated that they just cast Anthony and Kate aside. Do they really had to go RUNNING to India and couldnt wait for FRANCESCA'S WEDDING???? Hello??? Werent they the head of the family??

The intention with that is great and loving but is the showrunner allergic to having Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley in our screens for more than 3 minutes????

Like at that scene of the night before Polins wedding. Colin mentions that Kanthony has "come back"??? From where??? Did they run off again??

(Also i would really like to know who Edwina married and a bit of her love story)

The way in which the writers simply forgot about benedict's art/painting plot is atonishing. The build up of S1 to S2 was great, with the art school, but then in S3 is like that never happened?? Why didnt they explore more Benedict's lack of purpose or even his disappoinment with Anthony's actions?? Noooo, they just rather have him have sex with people all season long

(Before you come after me, im not critizing Benedicts sexuality, im just pissed that his character had barely nothing to do this season other than have sex, but i did enjoy a lot his scenes with eloise)

The Mondrichs plot was sooooo inconsequential and had nothing to do with any other one in the entire season. What was the point of keeping them?????

Somehow the writers in this show can make up irrelevant plots for lukewarm characters but cant come up with anything for the most beloved ones

And lastly about Michaela Stirling. So many people on twitter are fighting over this that is sickening. But lemme tell you this, all my life i had the pleasure (or better, the experience) to see many books i adore turn into movies/tv shows. Sometimes in adapting change is good, sometimes is necessary. But this change alters the whole story.

To be clear, i am NOT trying to be disrespectul, or homophobic or even mean about it. I dont mind the representation. In fact i think stories centered around LGBTQ+ leads, in this period of time, is a niche that could be much explored. Bridgerton could inspire people who belong in this community to write these stories, which is great.

However, the change of introducing Michaela completely transforms Francescas story. The second-love with the exploration of sexuality trope has great potential. But changing so greatly a story thats well known between the fans is risky to say at least.

Francescas book is not my favorite (by far actually) but it is for a lot of people, and a lot of readers have been enamoured with michael for the last 20 years, at least. So i understand if people get upset, because i would too if my favorite couple/story changed so much out of the blue

And honestly, i think this is one of the ways the show is trying to remain relevant. I AM NOT trying to say that TV should use LGBTQ+ love stories as clickbait. But be serious, the books were written as 8 straight love stories, in todays society people would be complaining if they followed if by the rule.

Anyway, Polin were wonderful. Nicola and Luke you are so so so loved, we couldnt have actors that loved their characters more

(And at this point i might be a Portia Featherington stan, she grew a lot on me)

If you read this far, i hope you have a great week and please dont come for my critics, they are not hate opinions, i just needed to rant <3

[citylighten]

@cocoanmelaninsims @sheplayswithlifee @wannabecatwriter @percosim

@havenroyals @splodge86 @eslanes @xldkx

@nyrarachelle @spiderlilyart @ellemant @ladygangsters

@swiftviolets @weirdosalike @smok3inm1rrors @dresdendarlin @quesims

@digital-deluxe @keesimziaa @thewalkingplumbob @4twenny @nightlifeseries

@miss-may-i @spnmoosejerk

“I called him.” Goodlove says.

“Yeah.” Sal replies, hoping he catches onto his lack of enthuasiam.

“Told him I’m just around the corner. So what you gonna do is head up t’his room - s’402, look out for that number - you know on his door. Say you’re from 404 and ask if he got some cigarettes. Then - now listen carefully now - I’m gonna give him another call ‘round that time and that’s when y’pull your piece out.” 

At this point, Sal could agree and get Goodlove off the phone, but he wonders what Goodlove would say if he was woefully unprepared for this essential hit. 

“Y’know I ain’t got a hoodie or mask, right?” 

“You ain’t-” Opposed to Sal’s calm question, Goodlove was alarmed. Sal thinks he heard a little offense there too. But, the other man doesn’t conclude his exclamation. With his composure up, he says: “God will see us through. Best believe, God will see us through.”

“Yeah…” Sal grunts. 

“Now you get t’movin’, this timin’ is everything.” “Right.”

And with that, the call is over. 

Sal couldn’t get Goodlove off his back. Prior to this call, he rang him up three times to make sure he was on his way to his brother’s motel and all that shit. 

Goodlove’s itching a little too much to get rid of his brother. This was nothing but an indication to Sal that there’s shit in his private life that he really wants confined to the dark. Sal asks himself, what if Goodlove’s really the one who did, ‘the worst thing you could do to another human being’?

Although Sal has no intentions of pulling the trigger on this stranger, he does think of what the outcome of such a thing would be. The first possibility of this murder is jail, of course. Where he’ll join Ben and form an unlikely alliance for the greater good. Sal would rather avoid that.

The second possibility is Goodlove will proceed to see him as his little hitman and moments like this will go on and on and on until one of them fucks with the wrong person. If Sal and Goodlove aren’t dead they’ll end up in hot water for getting sloppy and Goodlove won’t hesitate tossing him under the bus. Which circles back to that jail idea…

The third thing that comes to Sal’s mind is retaliation. What if Goodlove’s brother has a kid about his age who doesn’t take kindly to his dad’s murder? They’re a crime family, from what he understands, after all. Beyond that? Even if his brother is just a normal guy? Sal can’t imagine this theoretical kid letting this slide. Sal actually finds himself thinking that he would shoot someone between the eyes if Franco was killed by some asshole. Actually empathetic, Sal decides he shouldn’t just drive away. He ought to give Goodlove’s brother a heads up - and if the man is hostile?

Well, Sal opens the glove compartment and tucks the pistol by his belt. 

If Goodlove’s brother doesn’t blow his head off, Sal swears he’s going to kick Goodlove’s motherfucking ass. He swears on his mother’s grave that he will!

Composed, Sal knocks against room 402 and in no time at all, Goodlove’s brother appears. He doesn’t seem offended at the sight of Sal: only wearing the perplexed expression that many sport when unfamiliar faces come to their door. “Can I help you?” He asks in his smoky voice. “Look.” Sal begins, “Y’don’t know me. I’unno you. But I’m here with a heads up: your brother’s talkin’ about offin’ you.” 

BEGINNING // PREVIOUS // NEXT

[justatalkingface]

I'm really starting to spiral this rabbit hole but here it goes.

Did Aizawa really care about Oboro? Or was his death used as a prop to justify why his teaching methods are helpful?

Because let's look at Mic. It's implied through the MHA canon that Mic was friends with Oboro first. Aizawa only knew him for a year. Yet...Mic never made Oboro's death his entire personality.

In fact, he was willing to placate someone who didn't really know Oboro like he did.

And what's even worse, he became the same teacher that let Sensoji off with a slap on the wrist despite the fact he bullied the three of them.

He let Bakugou openly bully Midoriya because of "potential".

I'm going to be honest: Oboro, as the Kurogiri origin story, was some lazy, copy-pasted crap on Hori's part. It's the Obito origin story's beats, but half-assed and kind of lazy. Honestly, it feels so forced at times I wonder when he even decided to do it? Because if Kurogiri was planned as Oboro from the beginning the entire process wouldn't have been executed as badly as it was, and he probably would have made it a bigger, more dramatic thing, rather than a one chapter flashback.

Before that point, I'm not even sure Oboro was a character, at best he was just a name for someone Eraserhead had lost (and I think Kurogiri started talking a lot less after his first couple of appearances... probably because his personality didn't agree with the Oboro concept, so he was made a silent, compliant minion rather than an active person in his own right.) It honestly feels like Kakashi Eraserhead was so popular that Hori ended up scrambling to develop a background for him, before just copying more ninja things.

But that's on the meta-end. On the character end...

Well, his character is absolutely a prop to try and explain away Eraserhead's methods, the same way it was retconned so that he didn't actually expel anyone. That doesn't mean Eraserhead didn't care about him, but...

*shrug* Granted, it's been awhile since I read the spin off, where I'm pretty sure this all was, but... Aizawa wasn't Oboro's friend as much Present Mic was, sure. But. Just because Eraserhead wasn't as open about valuing his friendship, or that he wasn't friends as long, doesn't mean Oboro wasn't important to him. The thing is that Aizawa was a withdrawn, somewhat depressed loner; in all honesty that's exactly the kind of person who probably value's their one or two friends that much more because that's all they have, that these few people are the only ones who actually valued them.

Thing is, because of how withdrawn people like that are, to really convey that right to an audience, you need to go the extra mile to set that up, and I'm not sure Hori really did that.

All of that said, though? Eraserhead became the kind of person that would have kicked out Aizawa, and I don't think Hori really gets how much inherent hypocrisy is baked into Eraserhead. The before/after of him don't really mesh well, and the only way to try and justify it is he just... got worse. Like, constantly. He took the wrong lessons from Oboro's death, and just never stopped getting the wrong lesson after that.

[professorsparklepants]

welcome to fanfic I won't write fridays, where I talk about fanfic I won't write

happy dragon age 4 to those who celebrate it's time to put all my "pevensie siblings isekai'd into dragon age pcs" thoughts in one post

peter is the inquisitor; i considered lucy for this but she's more what the inquisition wants you to appear to be (a divine prophet protecting the people) rather than what you actually are (the head of a military organization with fingers in politics and heavy religious propaganda

edmund is the champion of kirkwall; the entire point of da2 is that everything is in shades of grey and there are no right answers, and edmund is painted as the most familiar with moral ambiguity and the most forgiving of it

lucy is the grey warden originally through process of elimitation but being dropped in a dying world, told there's a near futile mission to hold back the decay that's eating the continent, and not only facing it whole heartedly but succeeding so well you have time to run off and try to cure it yourself with no backup is EXTREMELY lucy behavior

susan is "sir not appearing in this film (until dragon age 4 comes out)"

all four of them land around the same time. lucy gets wrapped up in the origins plot immediately, and da2 happens mostly simultaneously iirc so so is edmund. peter is biding time doing the qunari mercenary backstory until da:i starts. susan is also biding her time but by clawing her way up the local social hierarchy.

DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS

lucy is a mage with the spirit healer specialization, but based on her canon weapon use i think also has traces of the arcane warrior.

duncan literally finds her by the side of the road and goes "hey kid you wanna fight darkspawn." lucy asks if they're evil and he says yes so she signs up immediately. a simple woman.

she absolutely makes the full party her bisexual polycule. yes even the unromancable ones. i have faith in her.

morrigan: i'm straight lucy: for now.

leliana is her favorite but don't tell anyone.

lucy adores mabari. absolutely nothing in thedas is more narnian than the mabari. when she meets her siblings again they are all going to be so fucking jealous that she has one.

lucy doesn't make alistair king because he seems like he's kind of bad at it and i think she can sniff that out. my sister is of the opinion that lucy would make him king and then marry him bc she knows she would do a good job. i think she only said this because she finds it funny.

however i do think lucy would convince alistair to do the ritual because she sees absolutely nothing wrong with him having sex with a woman he hates who turns into a giant spider sometimes.

lucy, has attended dozens of bacchanalia: who hasn't slept with someone they dislike while under the effects of magic? all her companions: where did you say you were from again?

she does absolutely kill loghain though because a. all the shit he did is deserving of an execution, b. edmund isn't here to stop her, and c. alistair threatens to quit if she doesn't and despite having a mabari he's her emotional support animal

DRAGON AGE 2

i couldn't decide if edmund was a mage or a warrior but i decided it would be funnier if he were both, because it has such hawke energy. you surpress his magic? he has a sword. you disarm him? he has a fireball!

i don't know what warrior specialization i would pick for him, but he's definitely a force mage

i think edmund literally falls out of a portal and saves bethany/carver's life so the hawkes just decide to adopt him. he's theirs now. leandra just full on lies and says he's her son. what the fuck is her brother gonna do about it.

edmund walks into the den of sin and darkness that is kirkwall, sighs, and rolls up his sleeves to get to work. he is going to make this city a better place one back alley brawl at a fucking time. try him.

edmund romances anders because he has "i only date disasters/i can fix him" vibes and i think it's funny for him to be a former sovereign whose boyfriend is a wanted terrorist.

but also the da2 polycule IS real edmund is just not dating everyone at once. he's busy and also i hc him as only into men. imagine what you want though this isn't a real fic.

sorry the image of edmund just pspspspspsps-ing all of his sad, angry, morally grey companions into being friends is so fucking funny to me. local man brainwashed by evil as a child is too full of love and the belief in second chances to say no to a blood mage, guy who is willingly possessed at all times, escaped slave who lives in a mansion full of rotting corpses, a cop, and a romance novelist who keeps stealing your life story.

DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION

peter has the qunari mercenary backstory, and is absolutely a warrior build. probably champion build?

also i think he romances cassandra. i considered josephine but that's more a susan romance. if peter were into men that way he'd be all over iron bull and he says as much after a couple drinks.

peter, cornering cullen after their first war meeting: you haven no military experience do you. cullen: please don't tell anyone. i need this job.

he takes one look at solas and goes "oh this guy is not normal. idk what his deal is but this is some kind of oak god at least."

varric doesn't know edmund and peter are siblings until edmund shows up and he is INCREDIBLY offended by it. what do you MEAN i've been calling you hawke for years and it's not even your fucking name. the BETRAYAL.

edmund: my ex-boyfriend blew up the chantry and started the mage/templar war peter: HEY DORIAN, MY HONORABLE GOOD FRIEND WHO IS GAY, HAVE YOU MET MY VERY GAY BROTHER

"well his family owns slaves that's enough of a project for Edmund"

you know the table mission where the warden send you a letter? instead of that i think lucy just turns around and immediately heads back to thedas. THAT'S HER FUCKIN BROTHER!!!!!!!! she shows up after edmund does obviously for maximum "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!!!!" drama

[scene: all three pevensies are roaring drunk in skyhold and casting members of the inquisition as Narnian creatures] Peter: I think Solas is a centaur. He's wise, respectful, and vaguely condescending. Lucy: [sniggering bc she clocked Solas] I think he's a wolf. Edmund: I think he's a marshwiggle. [Peter and Lucy absolutely lose it]

Lucy, halfway through stumbling back to her room: WAIT. DORIAN IS A PEACOCK. Peter, three floors up: [ugly donkey noise]

DRAGON AGE: VEILGUARD

obviously there's nothing 2 say about this yet

however i will say for certain that if there's a noble human background i'll be giving it to susan

idc that she literally got portal fantasy'd into this world. she's pretty and socially dangerous she wormed her way in there. she's got those diplomatic social climber stats.

she's also a rogue, no question.

[sarahowritesostucky]

📖"Alpha, Beta (& Omega)"

Rated: Explicit

Chapter Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 3201

Pairing: Steve x Bucky

Tags: a/b/o, arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, nobility/royalty au, alternate history, dom/sub elements, beta bucky, anal sex, oral sex, hurt/comfort, first time, age gap, domestic discipline, spanking, head of household, wedding night, Edwardian time period, m/f/m poly marriage

Summary: To save House Barnes from scandalous ruin, James must agree to a contracted marriage, accepting Lord Senator Steven Rogers as his Alpha, Husband, and Headship.

To read previous parts of this series first, go to the story's masterlist

19. A Courtship

This Chapter: "I want to get to know you, Steve. Really know you. Maybe even the parts that are hard to talk about. Because …” here he pauses, nervous to say it out loud. “Because I think maybe I could. Love you."

Setting up house with Steve is … unexpectedly endearing. Now that the honeymoon is over and they’re back home in New York and regular life is resuming, Bucky learns more about his new husband.

Steve snores sometimes, but only softly and in a way that actually kind of helps Bucky drift off to sleep better himself. Steve does have the occasional nightmare, but Bucky’s been able to wake him quickly enough, the few times that they’ve happened. Steve never seems very eager to talk about it, and Bucky finds that he can relate.

The one time that Bucky asks Steve about the two other spousal bedrooms, Steve gets a hurt look on his face that he tries to hide and tells Bucky that he can have his own separate room, if that’s what he prefers.

Bucky’s a little unsettled by how quickly he says no, just to make that hurt look go away. They continue to share a bed.

Steve takes his work as a Senator seriously, often preferring to have breakfast in his office, where he can read over the day’s briefings before heading out. But once he notices Bucky’s fondness for the morning room, he takes to joining him in there half of the time. Bucky pretends not to notice, while secretly finding it sweet.

Steve works long hours in the city during the week, but more than one afternoon finds him sneaking home to surprise Bucky with a kiss and a request for them to take a stroll together. It’s like they’re courting one another, only after the fact, and Bucky tries not to blush and smile like a dolt each time Steve shows up at noon, requesting one of their walks in Prospect Park.

Half the time they make it to the park. The other half of the time, well …

Bucky pants, still out of breath from what he's just finished doing. Or rather, from what Steve has just finished doing to him. His husband has just climbed back up and laid behind him in their bed. He’s humming lightly and stroking his hands over Bucky’s naked skin. “You liked that,” he says, sounding smug. Bucky looks back over his shoulder at him and gives him an incredulous look. Steve grins. "Yeah you did."

“… Eh,” Bucky feigns, still a little winded from the climax that Steve worked deliciously out of him only seconds ago. “It was nice.”

Steve raises an eyebrow. “‘Nice’, huh?” His face, from his chin all the way up to the tip of his nose, is pink and messy with spit. “‘Nice’?”

Bucky tucks his lips in and rolls away again so Steve can’t see him smiling. “Mmhm,” he says. “Yeah. Nice.” There’s a beat of silence, then Steve growls and Bucky gasps as he starts tickling him, hands and fingers dancing over his ribs and stealing his breath away all over again. “Steve! No!” he half-laughs, half yelps. “Ah!”

“‘Nice’,” Steve is still repeating, grin evident in his tone as he attacks him mercilessly. “How’s this for nice then? Hm?”

“Ah! Okay! I’m sorry!” Bucky’s writhing, trying to escape, but Steve is strong and hauls him back in against his body. “It was great!” Bucky nearly shrieks, desperate to get away from the onslaught. “Amazing, the best! Ah!” Satisfied, Steve stops the attack and holds him tightly instead, nipping at his neck. Bucky heaves in his next breath, winded. “Oh, Jesus.”

Steve hums against his neck, a little bit of a pleased growl in the sound. “Brat,” he grumbles. “‘Nice’.”

“You’re a sex god,” Bucky deadpans, halfway expecting another tickle or at least another nip to his neck for the quip, but instead he gets his husband rutting his very evident—and still clothed—erection against his backside. “I—oh,” he says, flushing all over again.

“Mm,” Steve hums in agreement, continuing to rub against him. He moves to hook one of his legs over Bucky’s, but Bucky shirks him off, moving down the bed to get in-between his legs instead.

He grins slyly up at Steve, running his hands over the now-rumpled fabric of his trousers. “You’re gonna have to change before you go back to work,” he says. “Or else everybody’ll know what you’ve been up to.”

Steve’s eyes shine down at him. “Maybe I want them to know.”

Bucky scoffs, liking the idea but knowing that Steve is full of shit—he’d never make such a spectacle of himself. Still, the thought of it is nice. He unbuckles Steve’s belt, then starts in on the fastenings to his fly. “Such impropriety, Senator Rogers,” he scolds, trying his darndest not to let his grin slip back through. “Imagine the scandal that would cause.” He reaches into his underwear, watching Steve’s expression as his fingers find his cock. “Mm. People would talk for days.”

“Weeks,” Steve gasps, face going pink alarmingly fast as Bucky strokes him. “Oh, Buck.”

“What about me, huh? If I went out looking like this. Out on our walk.” Steve shivers, and Bucky thrills a little at how the other man’s eyes track up and down his body, full of lust as he imagines it. “Yeah,” Bucky encourages, rubbing his thumb under the head of Steve’s cock where he’s leaking, spreading the moisture around. “After this I could just throw my clothes back on, maybe not even do everything all the way up. Leave something unbuttoned, or untucked.” He squeezes and wrings his hand downwards, making Steve grunt. “I’d be so sloppy.”

“Oh, fuck,” Steve whispers, and Bucky knows him well enough now to know when his husband is getting close to coming sooner than he’d like. “Bucky, Bucky wait. Oh, Honey. S-slow down.”

He climbs further up the bed, laying himself out atop Steve’s bulk. He doesn’t slow down by much, but a little. He starts mouthing at Steve’s lips, licking him and tasting, teasing him with the promise of his mouth more than a proper kiss. “My hair’d be all messed up,” he whispers. “And my lips’d be all red and … and swollen—”

Steve surges up and connects their mouths in a fierce kiss, his big hands holding Bucky’s head so that he can’t pull away. Bucky moans at the dominance of it, and Steve pulls back just enough to husk at him, “What would make ‘em so swollen, huh Baby? You gonna show me?”

Bucky’s never been more eager to demonstrate his meaning. He moans, still turned on even though he’s just had his own release. He mashes their mouths together again before nodding desperately against Steve’s face and pulling away, moving down his body to get back between his legs. Steve curses and shoves his pants and underwear down just enough to bear himself. Bucky’s instantly wrapping his hand back around him, stroking the hot, reddened length of his cock and rubbing his cheek against it. “Fuck, Steve,” he breathes, sucking at the glans and working his hand against the plump skin of his knot. “God, so perfect.”

“Put it in your mouth,” Steve growls, and the Voiced command is so strong, so needy and so alpha that Bucky can’t do anything but obey. He opens wide and sinks down on Steve’s cock in one go, moaning like a whore as he does so.

… and that is the exact moment that the door to their bedroom opens and a maid comes bustling in with an armload of linens.

It takes a good long while for Steve to calm the maid down and convince her that she is not going to be fired for walking in on them.

“Gertie please, you don’t have to keep apologizing. I’m not angry.”

Bucky’s loitering by the edge of the room, desperate to extricate himself from this poor woman’s—girl’s, because Christ, she’s probably no older than Bucky himself—presence. Steve manages to convince the mortified Gertrude that she’s done nothing wrong and that all will be forgotten (Bucky would argue against that latter point), and then he sends her home for the day.

Bucky sort of grimaces politely at her as she passes and leaves the room, his face still feeling like it’s on fire. “Christ,” he mutters when she’s gone and it’s just the two of them again. “I’m never going to live this down.”

Steve tuts and walks over. “It’ll be alright. We’re married men. She only saw us doing what Spouses do.”

Bucky glares at him. “Oh sure. You’re not the one who got caught moaning like a whore with a cock halfway down your throat.”

Steve winces and draws Bucky in against his chest. “It’ll be fine.”

“Servants gossip,” Bucky pouts. “They’ll all know by tomorrow.”

“Honey …” Steve hedges, as if he isn’t sure he should say what comes next: “We are married, and we’ve been living here for nearly a month, now. Anyone in our employ would know that you and I are intimate together.”

Bucky pulls back, incensed. “What’s that supposed to mean?” When Steve just looks apologetic, Bucky pokes him in the chest. “Are you saying I’m loud, or something?”

“No! No that’s not what I meant. I mean, I’m sure we both are at times, but even still—”

“Oh great!” Bucky huffs, put out. “So all of our servants think I’m a great big floozie!”

Steve’s lips quirk. “A ‘floozie’?” Bucky pokes him again and tells him to shut up, and that just makes him laugh more. He kisses Bucky on the nose and once on each cheek, then moves down to his jaw and neck. He keeps it up, peppering kisses and reassuring Bucky that nobody thinks he’s the ‘great whore of Brooklyn’, until he gets the younger man to calm down. “So,” he says when he pulls back. He’s looking kindly at him in a way that makes it near impossible for Bucky to continue on with his pouting. “Are we still going for our walk?”

Bucky shrugs. “I don’t know.” In truth, he had been looking forward to it. But now he’s feeling oddly clingy and kind of just wants to keep Steve to himself for the time being. He presses his face into Steve’s neck and inhales his scent. “Can we just stay here? Eat in our room? In private?”

Steve hums and hugs him tightly, kissing his hair. “Sure, Honey. I’ll have our lunch brought up.” When Bucky pulls back and glares at him, he laughs and promises to give the servants strict instructions to knock and leave the trays outside the bedroom door.

Domestic life only holds its appeal for so long. Eventually, watching Steve leave to go work on interesting and important matters each day, while Bucky himself is left to dawdle at home and argue with Sharon about the aesthetics of the curtains or whatever else, grows old. He still kisses Steve sweetly goodbye when the alpha leaves their breakfast table and heads off into the city each morning, but slowly but surely, Bucky grows restless.

That’s how he finds his way back into the property’s garage one afternoon, having dodged Sharon’s questions about the guest list for some dinner party they’re apparently supposed to host soon. Bucky’s far more interested in tinkering with the motorbike he finds behind a bunch of rubbish. It’s seen its better days, that much is obvious as soon as he yanks the dusty tarp off of it. He recovers from a brief coughing fit triggered by the dirt and tosses the tarp aside with a curious grin. “Huh,” he says, running his hands over the cracked leather seat. This could be fun.

That night at dinner, he asks Steve about it. “There’s an old motorbike in the carriage house,” he says conversationally. “Who’s is it?”

Steve looks taken aback. “… Oh,” he says. “Is that out there?” Bucky raises an eyebrow, and Steve supplies, “It was mine.”

“Really?” Somehow, Bucky has a hard time picturing Steve zipping around on the thing. “I’m surprised. It’s not exactly a mode of transportation for the genteel.” Bucky's intrigued.

“Believe it or not. I used to consider myself somewhat of a rebel, I suppose." He hesitates. "Before my service.”

Before the war, goes unsaid, but Bucky hears it all the same. Not for the first time, he wonders if Steve had been such a consummate adult before he went off to war. He wants to ask about it, but doesn’t get the chance to say anything before Steve sobers and says,

“Don’t have much use for the thing now. I didn’t even know we still had it.”

“Jarvis said it came with the move. It’s kind of broken.”

“Mm.” Steve doesn’t seem keen on discussing it. “It’s not very safe. I’ll have him scrap it.”

“No!”

Steve pauses with his fork halfway to his mouth. “No?”

“I was thinking I’d work on it,” Bucky says. “As a project.”

“It’s a piece of junk,” Steve says. “I don’t even think it runs.”

Bucky tries hard not to roll his eyes. “Hence the ‘working on it’.”

“I didn’t know you were handy like that,” Steve says, managing to make it a question. His eyes flick to Bucky’s left hand, and Bucky scowls as he notices.

“Yeah, I am,” he says. “I can still do some things, Steve. I’m not completely useless.”

“I didn’t say that!”

He stabs another bite of his dinner, stuffing it in his mouth and chewing. “Sick and tired of sitting around here with nothing to do,” he grumbles. “You get to go off and be important every day and I’m stuck here."

Steve looks pained. “I’m sorry it’s so boring for you.”

“Hmph.” Bucky knew what he was getting into when he married Steve, but that doesn’t mean he has to like it. “Being your housewife isn’t exactly my cup of tea,” he grunts.

“Hey.” Steve reaches across the table and takes his hand. He gives it a light squeeze. “I told you I don’t expect that.”

“Well Sharon sure does,” Bucky grumbles. “Yesterday she had me picking out window dressings.”

“I’ll talk to her,” Steve says, and Bucky can’t help but be grateful to him for that.

Steve releases his hand, and Bucky draws it in toward himself, feeling sheepish for having complained. “Thanks.” Silence stretches out between them for a long moment, before Bucky dares to ask, “Steve?”

“Hm?”

“… What was it like? The war?”

Steve tenses, and all his attention shifts back to Bucky in a very loaded way. “I don’t like to talk about it,” he says quietly. “Usually.”

Bucky bites his lip. “I know. But sometimes I get the feeling that it’s something I should ask about.” He takes a chance and reaches over the table like Steve had done, taking the alpha’s hand in his. Steve’s eyes widen, but he doesn’t pull away. Bucky tries to offer him a reassuring look. “You said you loved me, the other day.”

Slowly, Steve nods. “Yes. I did.”

Bucky swallows as he feels heat creep up his face. “I … I can’t say that back to you. Not yet.”

“Bucky, I don’t expect—”

“No, let me finish,” he says quickly. He forces himself to meet Steve’s gaze head on. “Look, trying to get you to divorce me was my only plan while we were in Europe.” Steve rolls his eyes and Bucky forges ahead, “I didn’t consider the alternative: that this could actually work, or that I could be happy with you.”

Steve’s expression pinches. “Buck,”

“But now I have considered it. And, well, I want to get to know you, Steve. Really know you. Maybe even the parts that are hard to talk about. Because …” here he pauses, nervous to put to words what he’s been thinking since they set up house in New York together. “Because I think maybe I could. Love you. I just need more, though. More time, and ...” he huffs, embarrassed at having admitted his feelings. “... Just, more.” The next time he dares to look up and meet Steve’s eyes, the man is practically beaming at him. Bucky chuckles self-consciously. “Come on now, don’t get all—”

Steve squeezes his hand. “Buck,” he entreats. “That makes me so happy. You know I’ve only ever wanted to make you happy. And I do love you, and you don’t have to say it back. Not ever, if it’s not what you feel. But—”

“Christ, Steve,” Bucky chuckles, embarrassed by how darned happy his words have made Steve. “Calm down. I just meant that I wanted to get to know you better. Really know you., ya know?”

"Yeah. I want that too, Buck."

“So, will you tell me? About your service? About the war?”

Steve doesn't look enthused bout it, but he doesn’t look like he’s closing himself off anymore, either. “I'd always wanted to join the service, back when I was younger.”

“Course you did.”

“Hey, don’t make fun.” He smirks. “I was overeager, yeah. Got my rank right out of the gates at eighteen and didn’t think anything of it. Not until we went to war a few years later.”

Bucky peers at him, noting the tense lines around his mouth. “Was it very horrible?”

“Not at first. But the conflict went on for too long, and then it became ..." he falters, frowning. "We shouldn’t have been down there. In Mexico. The fighting got bad fast.”

“You had to kill people,” Bucky says, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah.” Steve is staring at his plate, clearly remembering. “War is … it’s not noble. It’s not brave, either. It’s just a lot of ugly and dirty and mean.” He shakes his head. “I didn't learn that until I was already locked-in to an officer's commission. I had to follow orders, even though it wasn’t at all what I’d envisioned, or what I wanted to do for my country.” He looks across the table at Bucky, and the guilt in his eyes is heartbreaking to see. “I knew I was a good person, up until then. And after, well …” He shrugs. “After I came home, I wasn’t so sure anymore.”

A small, upset noise catches in Bucky's throat. “Steve, you are good.”

“I had to follow orders, Bucky,” Steve says sternly, and for the first time it feels like they're back to arguing “Some of them were wrong, but I followed them anyway. I was a good soldier, and a bad person.”

“Steve,”

He shakes his head, clearly wanting to put the topic to rest. “It’s over now. I’m a civilian again and I like it that way.”

“People still call you Captain,” Bucky says quietly.

“Yeah, they do. A formality.” Steve meets his eyes. “Having a normal life with you, having a husband and a home and an omega and children one day; it’s all I want now. And my time in the service is a big part of why. I tried doing something extraordinary, and all it did was give me nightmares.”

Bucky suddenly thinks he understands a lot more about why Steve was so quick to form an attachment to him and their marriage. “I get it,” he says. “Makes sense.”

Steve nods, seemingly done with discussing the topic. After a pause, he admits, “I hate talking about it, and I’m hoping you won’t ask much more. But ... I’m glad you wanted to ask. If that makes any sense.”

Bucky smiles softly. “Yeah. It does.”

They finish eating their dinner together in heavy yet companionable silence, and for the first time in their marriage, Bucky feels almost like an equal to Steve.

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[riseofamoonycake]

I knew it would happen. I. Knew. It. Now, enjoy my favorite men having their fun.

The Shinsengumi members having their first time (with an expert gn!reader)

Warnings: mention of NSFW (including kinks and sex), body fluids (including blood), dirty talking.

Hijikata Toshizo

Let's be clear: it's not so easy to catch Hijikata's heart. He is too focused on becoming the strongest, training, chasing and facing foes and starting chaos, that being in a romantic relationship is not among his priorities.

But. But. But...

But even if all of this is true, it lasts until he meets you. Yes, this story takes slowly to develop: it takes difficulties, quarrels, sleepless nights and an enormous amount of patience, but eventually you are the winner.

Oh yes, you are. You conquered the Demon Vice Commander. The Mad Dog of the Shinsengumi is all yours to cuddle and to tame. And about taming...

Hijikata is furious with you, almost as crazy for you. He doesn't forgive you and himself for how deep he felt for you, your appearance, your smile, how your tongue rolls when you spell his name... EVERYTHING. YOU RUINED HIM.

And you have to pay... in all the hottest ways his mind can think about.

Sooo, his first time with you is a total mess, because now you are his fiery opponent, and he holds back anything... even if this is a new kind of battle for him.

Uh oh, you are the experienced one here, now what-

Well, let's say that at first Toshizo is a little... astonished? And confused by the sensations he feels. The kisses, the touches, the soft strokes of your fingertips on his skin and the trail of sparks they left behind, your tongue eliciting moans and jolts whenever meets his bare flesh... everything sends shivers along his spine and his breath keeps being erratic. WHY????

Really, he doesn't understand why his body is feeling this so much...

But he feels incredibly well. And overwhelmed. And exposed. And weak. And more and more aroused, and no, being on his lap or on top of him doesn't help restraining the turmoil inside of him.

Fast learner, so when he gets the hang of it... good luck.

His only purpose now is to return your teasing and affection at least triple, by copying your own actions on you... but stronger and relentlessly.

You made him cum by eating him out without any mercy? He does the same until you cannot even breathe anymore. You masturbate him, ride him, or simply stimulate him, toying with his weakest spots? Well be ready to change your sheets for some times because they will become a drenched confused thing very soon. And he is on top, don't even try to argue about it.

The last drop of your juices is his. He is not satisfied enough if he doesn't make you faint by licking and sucking you like an ice cream, and he quickly becomes addicted to your taste. Even if he can't help flustering when he sees you drinking all his cum and not even letting a drop slip out from your lips.

Hijikata then spends the (little) rest of the night with a pout on his face, arms crossed on the chest, and grunting because he is not sure to have won on you.

It is what you get by behaving as you did. You called it upon yourself. Now complain.

Shinpachi Nagakura

The one who seems aggressive and always angry, but actually is a good boy, one of the best you could find. So cutely shy and reserved when it comes to love, and totally deserving of the sweetest cuddles.

Shinpachi thinks so highly of you, you mean the world to him, and he is ready to give you the entire universe: from the first moment he sees you to his last breath, his loyalty and devotion towards you is as strong as a diamond.

He would rather commit seppuku than disrespect you under every aspect, so he asks for your consent a thousand times, for literally everything.

He takes a lot of time before giving in the idea to touch you and have intimate moments with you, because what if he hurts you somehow- or if he fails you- or if he makes you cry-

Too many thoughts, Shinpachi, take it easy and take what is yours!

He needs time. We can understand him. He needs all the time in the world to savor the moment completely: the atmosphere, the words, the cuddles, the soft, gentle and passionate touches at the same time, the look you two exchange, there is no rush in it. Shinpachi prefers to take it very slowly and calmly, especially when and if he knows you are more experienced than him. He simply wants to be worthy of you. You deserve not less than the best.

So, he starts to moan, whimper and nearly cry as soon as you start to undress him or move aside his garments to cover him in kisses.

At least for the first night, you have to take the lead of the situation and hold him back, because he is a fury: the more he gets to know your touch, your taste, your smell and your body pressed against his, the more he craves them like a mad man, so he has to be calmed down. He becomes easily overwhelmed and needs a guide, and the best thing to do is pinning him under you, basically trapping him, and if possible restraining his wrists.

Surprisingly, Shinpachi lets you do so and willingly surrenders to your mercy; but only for the first night, and until he learns everything you want to teach him.

Eager to please, eager to show his abilities and feelings towards you, he listens to your instructions without losing a word and follows them, staring at you all the time while he maps your body with his fingers and mouth, mentally noting down your reactions and fulfilling every dirty secret, request and kink you have.

Did you wish for a love slave? Well now you have one.

Insatiable and untiring, he worships you from head to toes, and he prefers to let you have all the pleasure; when it comes to him to suffer your love ministrations, he nearly goes insane, not knowing on how to focus himself more, trembling and shaking under your teasing fingers and tongue.

Suck or bite on his neck and nipples, masturbate him or give him a slow, long blowjob, and he loses his voice and sanity in no time.

Noisy. TOO MUCH NOISY.

Good luck when it comes to taking him, you need all the strength in your body to keep him at bay.

Probably he faints at least one time, but keep it a secret. For his sake.

So completely enamored he asks you for another night like this, and another one again. And again.

Very good in the aftercare, he cradles you to sleep and asks you to rest on his chest, holding you in his arms and refusing to let you go.

Hajime Saito

He doesn't have any romantic or sexual experience and doesn't hide it. Nor he holds back anything when he finds the occasion to tease you.

His feline eyes staring at you, full of lust and promise of torments, never lie. He desires you from the moment one you two meet and he tells you so a thousand times, even if never openly or by words.

You are the target of his allusions, the ghost behind his every thought, the presence who fills his words. Hajime keeps you in a safe corner of his mind and you move there incessantly, as in a sensual dance, fueling his desire more and more.

And when he somehow discovers you have some experience in intimate matters, things get even worse. Especially if you are used to fight back and replay tit for tat.

Nobody is surprised when you two start talking about a night together. And even less when it really comes.

Totally laid back, the most relaxed man you can meet. Hajime takes everything you do to him with a smirk stuck on that handsome, annoying face, the look glued to you, the tongue licking his own lips more than once, chuckles and comments filling the room.

It doesn't matter that your experience in sex is used against him, he really appreciates it, even if he ends up wrecked.

Because he has a plan, and you can tell it. Just look at him, at how he reacts, grins and narrows his eyes while he whimpers and moans, how he squeezes your flesh when you go down on him, how his nails sink into your waist or arms at every bite on his chest and neck, even encouraging you to try to restrain, choke or spank him. Come on, do it. He dares you.

The problem is when Hajime pays you back for your kindness. But not with the same gentleness...

Such a sadist! He lives to find out where you are sensitive the most and to play with your weakest buttons, to hear your sweet cries and moans ringing in his ears and eliciting them more, to mark you with his teeth and nails, to pour all the dirty talking you can bear - and even more - on your mouth, before giving you the most heated kiss of your life.

If he could, he would devour you piece by piece; but he is satisfied enough with nibbling you and marking you deeply. Of course, in the most visible spots, so everyone knows to stay away from you.

I have already said he is a damned sadist? Well, I add that he really loves to see a bit of blood running, so almost immediately his kink for knife play kicks in with prepotence (but only with your consent) and in adding his teeth sink into your flesh enough to let out a drop of blood, that he immediately licks away with his eyes filled of ecstasy and satisfaction. Keep him at bay, because he could ask you to suck your blood!

(FEMALE OR AFAB READER!) Periods don't stop nothing but a sentence, especially if he can use your mouth to... clean you. I said what I said.

More a giver than a receiver, blood is not the only thing he loves to drink. You taste so sweet in his mouth, your smell is arousing, and the way you jolt and chant his name while your belly goes up and down frantically and the legs stiffen, the whole body struck by waves of pleasure... Y U M M Y

And now go, get that dick. He would say no.

Todo Heinosuke

The easiest to fluster and arouse, it takes literally a second to make him fall in love with you.

On his knees for you, his new deity. Literally.

Todo is such a precious baby, every moment is a good moment to take care of you, to leave you a little gift, to steal a breath of your time and to leave a kiss on your cheek or hand, day after day, and always with respect and gentleness.

Probably pays you a brief (or long) visit before retiring for the night. More than one, actually (he has to be reassured about your well being, okay?)

And to be fair... he doesn't really hope and believe about you asking him to stay with you, especially in the hours ruled by the Moon. It is a fervent dream he has, yes, but... no, he cannot fool himself that much, you'll never ask him to spend the night with you... he is sure about it.

So Todo is satisfied thinking about you until he falls asleep, dreaming of your smile and pleasant warmth, and nothing more. It can be enough...

But what about you REALLY asking him, on a night like the others, to stay and cuddle under the blankets of your bed, or more.

PANIC

PANIC OVERLOAD

Error 404, he doesn't react for a long time, staring at you with his mouth wide open, knocked out by your words.

At this point, it is a moral duty to take the matter into your hands and lead him towards consciousness again...

... And towards your bed.

He completely regains his senses only when you take him into your arms and call his name slowly and sweetly, and he immediately starts crying and whining, melted and overwhelmed.

Probably keeps on crying for a long time, even if it doesn't prevent him from giving in to your kisses, caresses and the soft touches that free him from his garments.

No matter what, the first request he has for you is to sit on his lap, or at least on top of him. To make him happy to the core, on his face. And it is the start.

The more you press against his body with yours, the more he screams in excitement.

Eager to touch and feel your bare skin under his fingers as much as to be covered by your hands and teased till no return; especially if at some point you decide to tie and gag him.

The thought that only you can hear his muffled moans sends him over the edge in an amazing way.

Too many dirty secrets and kinks for him to keep at bay, he wants to try everything, EVERYTHING. He prefers to have his back broken, but that position must be tried-

And what about the toys you are surely hiding somewhere-

Be merciless, if you have to, but with a bit of kindness. Please.

Icing on the cake, you wearing his clothes. And with this, you can be sure that he won't leave your bed that soon.

Harada Sanosuke

The Grim Reaper who will keep asking himself, day and night, how he came to find someone like you.

And not in a bad way; just... how. HOW.

He is not an easy conquer, even more difficult than Hijikata; but Harada catches your heart no matter what, and so you decide to stay and accept his long silences, his (apparent) lack of emotions, and even the unsettling presence of his scythe. Because you can't help loving him, and there is nothing wrong in it.

And Harada understands so; even if he keeps thinking you would deserve someone... different. At least, until he realizes what the world would be without you, and if you weren't here.

Maybe not the most romantic man you can find around... but one of the most loyal and dedicated, especially when his feelings towards you become clearer.

A calm relationship, where actions count more than words (also because you are the only one to talk, basically...)

… And yet, where it doesn’t take much to get to the more intimate aspect, and at the first night together. Harada waits for you to make the first move, true, but due to the fact you two learned to communicate without words, he immediately understands when you are ready to take a step further... and he follows.

He lets you lead him in everything, in silence. Yes, do not expect him to talk that much, even in this situation; maybe a little more than usual, but as I said before, he reveals his world with actions. It is the way he immediately obeys at your requests; how he lets you touch him everywhere and as much as you want, holding your hands into his, gently stroking your fingers and palms; how he doesn't complain when you take off his hood and stroke his face and lips, deeply breathing in your room, where even the stars cannot enter and interrupt you.

Soft, low moans and hitched breaths that leave his mouth whenever you touch his skin and explore his body, and sometimes, if your mouth takes the opportunity to tease him with kisses and little bites, half words. Keep going this way eheheh

He doesn't show it in words or in his face, but Harada immediately learns to respect and fear your mischievous tongue, especially when it slides on his throat, breasts and inner thighs.

Not the horniest man around: he is more than satisfied with a long, slow and complete intercourse where you can show each other care and adoration. But when it comes to your pleasure... well, this is another story.

And who knew that as for sadism Harada had nothing to envy to Hajime? Because he literally hunts you down. Using the excuse to give you pleasurable moments (and to repay you for the lovely torture you gave him before), he traps you under him with the goal of finding all the way to push you over your limits and drive you insane, and works mercilessly all over your body, wrecking you head to toes, devouring every moan and sweet cry escaping your lips and drinking every tear escaping your beautiful eyes.

Follow the shape of every curve to give more and more torment.

You have to beg him if you want to breathe, but he stops if he sees you faint and waits for you to regain consciousness, so the games can go on.

The Angel of Death but not only on the battlefield-

If now he talks, is to tease you a bit while he sees you panting and flustering; he knows nobody will believe you if you should talk about this, so his revenge is complete.

But eventually he takes care of your sore body, covering you with his own haori and watching over your sleep all night, until he falls asleep too. With his eyes open.

He adores you.

[thesearchforbluejello]

I am honestly just rendered very much speechless by this week's SNW. Like... I am not sure I have come this close to the exact vibe of M*A*S*H as having this fucking unbelievable gutpunch of an episode between the LD crossover and a musical episode???????????? I don't even know how to unpack this episode honestly. I didn't see it coming at all even given the title. I don't know how to place it between silliness and fun when I know people who are living the reality of what this episode explores, but I think it is something that current audiences sorely need to see.

[bambeebirdie]

This is for @bluepeachstudios ‘s Ghost in a Shell. It’s really good you should read it.

I looked at exactly one picture of Jupiter Jim and went “yeah this should be enough to draw him.” I will not be answering if it actually was

Have some bonus content under the cut!

And sketches

(I love any character who can say “I don’t want to go back to prison” it’s like the funniest thing to me)

[liquidstar]

a friend who'd wait :)

[sysig]

Getting up to trouble is his speciality (Patreon)